Rising up to the multiple challenges

Nations that suffered from chronic political instability, economic dependence and a highly disturbed or inimical neighbourhood have corrected course when their leaders had the vision, far-sight and the ability to implement prudent measures. South Korea, Vietnam and China are shining examples of this transformation that we witnessed and admire them for. In the last seventy-five years, Pakistan has made progress in relative terms from what we inherited at the partition but clearly, the progress has been slow and unable to keep pace even by South Asian standards. So, when our leaders talk big, give examples of the past glory of Islam it sounds evasive and sidetracking and no substitute for delivery and performance. Similarly, when the opposition derides the government, it fails to inspire us for the nation has experienced their quality of governance. At best it could be rated marginally better in certain areas but below our minimum expectations. The role of the army in influencing governance and exercising power beyond the ambit of the constitution is another factor that cannot be brushed aside, as besides distorting democracy it does affect good governance and hampers political and economic control by the civilian government.

These facts are well known and repeated ad nauseam and it seems we have accepted them as fait accompli. From this what should one conclude of our state of despondency and national pride and more importantly how do we come out of it. The irony is that as people and as a nation we are as good as any, but suffer because our leadership in self-interest or lack of commitment to democratic values with a feudal mindset is more interested in promoting its narrow interests than the well-being of the broad masses and standing of the country. This reaffirms common experience that only those developing countries have progressed who were fortunate to have a sincere leadership that practised and promoted the right values and good governance. But ability, professional competence and honest leadership are virtues not easily found and not the preferred choice of political parties and vested groups. This has to change and it can only be brought about by people’s pressure, civil society movements and reformation within the political parties. There is hardly any drive or undertaking in this direction as a result the level of discourse and quality of legislation remains far below generally accepted standards.

The effect of Covid-19 has pushed Pakistan like many other countries to function in an unfamiliar environment creating confusion and stagnation. Whereas, the government did control the spread of it comparatively better than neighbouring countries but its managing of consequences in workplaces and societal impact was not as good. The hope that the worst is over was probably an over-optimistic assessment as a fresh outbreak of a new variant is spreading fast. Nonetheless, this is one area in which the government’s handling the crisis deserves to be recognised.

Most disturbing feature of the political and economic crisis is that there are no solutions in sight or being discussed seriously in parliament or media to give confidence to the public. The hopes of change that were built up through the speeches and statements of the PM and the ministers have come crashing down as inflation hits a record high and politics takes a turn for the worst. Even the receipt of a few billion dollars from Saudi Arabia, China or IMF in the form of loans is considered a boon for supposedly a country that justifiably prides itself in niche areas of security and information technologies.

We have repeatedly heard from practically every government, including the present one, of dealing effectively with the bleeding public sector enterprises but this endeavour in most cases only ends up with some facelift instead of seeking a long-term and financially-viable solution. The hold of the Unions or the policy of maintaining the vote bank at the cost of bleeding state enterprises is a sad reflection of the inability of successive governments in failing to take hard decisions in the larger interest of the state. The government’s package that provides a suitable compensation to those who have lost their jobs should serve the interest of the workers and open up avenues for reviving the industries through modernisation and technology upgrade. Private sector is doing relatively better but has limitations when it has to compete for exports in quality and price. This would require improving the industrial and technological infrastructure, and enhancing the national educational and technological expertise to compete. These require long-term planning and implementation as there is no shortcut to achieving these goals.

These are issues that can be successfully dealt with provided the leadership is focused on seriously addressing them instead of delving on peripheral matters, chasing opponents or shadows.

It is important to break despondency that has set in due to the conditions that the people are facing and they know the political leadership instead of addressing their problems is more interested in personalised battles. The power of positivity — confidence in oneself and the people — is missing. Our diversities — cultural, social and ethnic — should be our strength and not a source of friction and division.

A serious approach toward changing the conditions of the people of erstwhile FATA is a must, without which our border would be no different from that of the western neighbour. We are dealing most of the security-related problems kinetically which is an important element of showing the power and resolve of the state in maintaining its territorial integrity. But simultaneously political, economic and social measures are necessary to address the root cause of discontent and emergence of militant and anti-state elements. More significantly, the burden of policy formulation and fighting terrorism primarily rests with the military and the drummed-up national action plan has been largely ignored.

The involvement of people and making them an interested party is a must for change and we are only partially taking this approach.