Fourteen points: a new version

Have you ever wondered how life would change if the impossible became the improbable and the improbable became the possible? Read on and imagine:

1. What if the elections scheduled for this year were truly, genuinely free and fair? What if there was no pre-poll, poll-day and post-poll rigging or influencing or arm-twisting at all? What if the genuine will of the public prevailed and a truly representative government was formed? What if the Election Day arrangements were so ironclad, so tightly monitored and so transparent that every political party had no choice but to accept the results?

2. What if there was a genuine across-the-board accountability that netted everyone regardless of his/her present status of affiliation or loyalty? What if for once — just once — there was no hidden agenda, no vested interest and no ulterior motive behind holding people accountable? What if law was actually applied equally to all citizens of Pakistan?

3. What if the proportional representation system of elections was introduced in Pakistan? What if it broke the curse of the electables? What if sweeping reforms were enacted so that the elections of 2023 were held under a system that was not held hostage to the electables and that could significantly lower the barrier to entry for Pakistanis from all walks of life? What if this was possible, practical and doable?

4. What if Pakistan could borrow some traits from a system in which the chief executive can choose his/her cabinet from among the citizenry and is not bound to pick a person only from parliament? What if the elected parliament legislated while the prime minister as the head of the executive could choose his team based on professionalism, skill and ability? What if such reform was not considered as assault on democracy but as an improvement on the current democratic structure?

5. What if in 2019 the federation of Pakistan was divided into 10 or more provinces through a constitutional amendment by parliament? What if each province then elected its own provincial assembly and each assembly legislated an empowered local body system that enjoyed administrative and financial autonomy? What if the National Finance Commission Award was reconstituted so that population did not remain the sole determinant of funds and the new provinces received their fair share? What if the Senate was reconstituted to accommodate the new provinces and represent the new and improved version of the federation?

6. What if before the elections of 2023 the federal and provincial bureaucracy could be reformed in the light of numerous reports that have recommended restructuring, not the least of which is the comprehensive one by Dr Ishrat Hussain? What if all objections and hurdles to this reform erected by the present bureaucracy were brushed aside with contempt by the next government and within five years the entire structure was revamped to transform the bureaucracy into a modern, specialised, incentivised and delivery-oriented service?

7. What if executive organisations like the Federal Investigations Agency, Intelligence Bureau and National Accountability Bureau were service-structured in a way that they could brook no political interference or influence? What if they were reformed in a manner that they enjoyed autonomy, independence and safeguards to investigate and prosecute every citizen regardless of his/her rank or social standing? What if such a reform was possible within the next electoral term?

8. What if no citizens of Pakistan went missing, ever?

9. What if it was possible for the judiciary to clear the backlog of all cases within the next five years? What if the courts could enable themselves to dispense swift justice to citizens? What if this was doable by superior judges who ensured vacancies were filled, legal reforms were initiated and the entire criminal justice system was revamped before 2023? What if some judges made this reform their highest priority and used the weight and powers of their high office to demolish all resistance and barrel ahead with this crucial reform?

10. What if the next government could actually increase the number of taxpayers while decreasing the tax rate? What if this was neither impossible nor improbable despite the magnificent failures of the past?

11. What if every single point of the National Action Plan (NAP) could be implemented in genuine letter and in spirit within the next few years? What if doing so was accorded the highest national priority by the federal and provincial governments and the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC)? What if it was mandatory for the DCC to meet every single week till the time that NAP was fully implemented?

12. What if a reformed parliament could legislate away all laws that discriminate against women and minorities? What if the Supreme Court could actually uphold such legislative reform and not strike it down? What if this could genuinely pave the way for Pakistan to become a society ruled by progressive laws? What if such reform was not considered an assault on our identity? What if the State held strong in the face of any such resistance and stopped appeasing medieval mindsets with loud voices?

13. What if the next parliament legislated greater clarity in Article 19 of the Constitution? It says: “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression…subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence.” What if this law was made less subjective and open to varying interpretation? What if it was made less open-ended, sweeping and restrictive? What if parliament had the sagacity and wisdom to reform this law and what if the superior courts had the foresight to encourage this reform instead of striking it down?

14. What if all the next governments that will come into existence after the elections of 2018 were to actually take Article 25A of the Constitution seriously? It says: “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to 16 years in such a manner as may be determined by law.” What if every government made this happen before the expiry of its term in 2023?

What if these fourteen points are not just a dream?

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2018.

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