Regaining motivation

Pakistan has a problem. On the one hand, it is faced with multiple challenges such as our macroeconomic health, restructuring needed by various engines of our economy such as industry, energy, agriculture, building our education and health sectors and fighting poverty, and further strengthening security and national unity. On the other hand, recent events have deepened divisions within our society on sensitive issues, and shaken people’s faith in government to protect life, property and keep the country open for business.

The multiple challenges require clarity of purpose and efficiency of execution to surmount. Social disruptions and challenges to the rule of law have created chaos that has distracted the nation from this clarity of purpose. A climate of discontent and gloom has descended on the country that threatens to freeze it in its tracks, or at least slow it down. How do we overcome this malaise?

First, we must acknowledge that the issues being tackled at a social level are complex, challenges that in the lingo of computer programmers may be called “wicked problems.” They are not linear problems. Wicked problems do not have black and white and swift solutions. Solutions are complex, multi-faceted and take time. So, when we expect that these problems will be tackled overnight, we are being unrealistic.

Many groups exist in our nation that have operated above the law, routinely resort to violence to try and get their way, and have been tolerated and appeased by the state. They have been emboldened and gained strength from what they have gotten away with in the past. They are not going to disappear overnight.

At the same time, the course that a government undertakes to tackle the challenges that it faces must be very carefully selected and robustly implemented. Credibility is a valuable resource that is built up by the government over time, through wise, intelligently arrived-at decisions, the will to implement these decisions, and a track record to demonstrate this. There are no short-cuts to building this credibility. The nation is watching, and in this age of hyper media, there is no trick or spin on the events that they will miss.

Yet, a few pragmatic points need to be made. First, the country needs to remain open for business. Whatever contingent arrangements, understandings and temporary accommodations that need to be entered into to ensure this, must be engaged in. At the same time, a clear, logical and credible strategy must be designed, announced and implemented to uphold the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution.

Trivial political point-scoring must be resisted. The strength of a country, in particular its democracy, depends on how well its political parties work together. Confrontational politics during pre-election campaigning may need to be tolerated because parties are vying to offer up contrasts to win votes, but during regular times, meaningful collaboration must happen. Politics must be about issues, and not about individuals, and consensus must be forged regarding the key issues facing the country. Parties failing to do so must remember that they will face the wrath of the voters in the next election.

In our challenging times, all pillars of our democracy must rise to the occasion. The executive must govern successfully, using the best available human resources, judiciously utilising our limited financial resources, and winning over the support of political parties, without compromising on principles. The judiciary must uphold our constitution and ensure speedy justice at all levels. The provincial governments must uplift their provinces, using the enlarged resources granted to them. The press must resist the temptation to dramatise issues and responsibly cover key challenges facing the nation.

With this mature and measured approach, our nation will successfully overcome its challenges, and succeed in becoming a strong and prosperous country of our planet, which is its destiny.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2018.

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