New year, old challenges

The PTI government in the previous year failed to focus on matters related to governance, with its election pledges

Accompanied by our long-drawn woes, we enter the New Year. It’s indeed a challenging time for the whole nation, given that political instability is a persistent problem; governance remains a disaster; social services needs continue to go unmet; democratic dispensation is a big question mark; the economy is a mounting challenge; external security front demands ever more attention, though the internal security is pretty satisfactory; bureaucracy is in a defiant mode; and the writ of the executive is virtually non-existent — recently challenged by a segment of the lawyers in Punjab. While the Prime Minister, in a message of hope for the nation, says 2020 will be a year of national progress, all the signs are there that yet another difficult year is waiting for us.

Well, the past year was not a smooth one either, rife with heightened hostility between the government and the opposition — something that continued throughout the year, impeding efforts for bringing in the political calm that is needed for the rulers to focus on issues of core concern for the country and the people. Even the one-page wonder failed to work the way it was anticipated to. Government’s much-trumpeted accountability drive was mainly to blame for the bitterness between the two sides that was quite too visible everywhere — inside the assemblies, out on the roads, and during TV talk-shows. Frankly speaking, the government miserably failed to nullify the impression of one-sided accountability, only targeting members of the country’s two main opposition parties.

The impact of this political disharmony was wide-ranging. The economy was, no doubt, the biggest casualty. Since sustenance in government policies is of prime concern for the business community, the reigning political turbulence kept businessmen and traders mired in what-next confusion all year round. Financial markets too suffered badly due to the government’s inability to provide the feel-good factor and ensure the right sentiments. That the economy went from bad to worse in the outgoing year is hardly debatable. And while the government’s economic policies did most of the damage, what could have had an enabling effect on the economy in the shape of political harmony was also missing.

Legislation matters also took a big hit. Parliament was left virtually non-functional, with the business of legislation only running by fits and starts. The assemblies continued to witness a contest between opposition and treasury benches of who can shout louder and who can come up with a wittier jaw-breaking reply. Besides, many a constitutional matter requiring consensus between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition suffered gravely. The dysfunctional Election Commission of Pakistan is a significant case in point.

As most of its energies and attention were consumed in measures to tackle the opposition, the government failed to focus on matters related to governance, with its election pledges — to reform the police, restructure bureaucracy, control the electricity and gas theft to make the energy-use cheaper, and fix the ailing industrial units — offering nothing to write home about. Public welfare remained mostly neglected, save for a few initiatives under the Ehsaas Programme. Administrative measures to control price hike were also missing. And so far there has been no concrete progress as regards the PM’s claim for the provision of five million housing units for the needy and 10 million jobs for the youth.

And to add to all that, acrimony also seeped in — towards the end of the past year — between two powerful state institutions over an unexpected court judgment against a former military dictator, threatening to give rise to political uncertainty in the country in the new year.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2020.

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