The centrality of morality

An aggressive and belligerent quality of discourse has become a common feature of Pakistan’s politics which, with every passing day, gets worse. The unfortunate aspect of it that abuse and slandering has become a policy tool and even the Prime Minister seeks pleasure in promoting it. Although lately it seems the military leadership’s advice has prevailed and to some extent has tempered PM’s tone. How enduring this restraint will be only time will tell. The opposition is retorting, albeit with some degree of restraint but nothing to give us confidence that Pakistan’s politics would be civilised, at least in the near term. In brief, Pakistan’s politics is undergoing one of its lowest and most demeaning phases and the leadership is dissipating their energies in wasteful and counterproductive pursuits instead of addressing the real issues of the people.

In this situation it is important to question ourselves: is morality and good conduct a critical ingredient of political correctness and stability? If so, then what is the reason for flouting of accepted norms of political conduct by our leadership and continuing regression in our moral values? More importantly, what would be the likely outcome of this on politics, economy, societal behaviour and overall image of the nation? When a large percentage of politicians gain power through using their financial clout, which necessarily may not have been amassed through fair means, then it is reflected in their official dealings. Having used their financial power to get elected they generally try to use their official position to get that money back and even more. For them serving the people is not their highest priority. This sets up a whole cycle in which corruption gets more and more entrenched in society.

Morality is equally critical for good governance. A bureaucrat or a politician who is morally upright contributes to stabilising the society, promoting its moral standing and taking decisions on merit. He is sensitive to people’s feelings. The nation’s founding fathers had this quality and it was one of the main attributes that gave them the determination and strength for fighting for the just cause and rights of the people. Over the years a failing and morally weak leadership in major segments of power has led to overall societal decline and highly inefficient governance. This viscous cycle has to be arrested and reversed. Unfortunately, the religious leadership too has focused more on form than substance. True, the Jamaat-e-Islam leaders do stress on personal character and lead by self-example, but they have a relatively limited following, and thus the impact has been minimal. At the same time, it is essential to understand that in many countries where people are least or comparatively less religious do adhere to and maintain high standards of ethical values. They are governed by their own and collective conscience. So, unless our leadership sets a high standard of conduct and adheres to certain moral standards, the society will remain chaotic and ungovernable. Let me here reiterate that emphasising on morality is not sermonising but treating it as a functional requirement of a stable and functional society and nation. Moreover, our opposition leaders are no beacon of virtue, or we the ordinary citizens. But as long as the opposition and civil society keeps the government in check and the government leaders in power realise morality as a central attribute that matters in maintaining standards of governance and civilised behaviour.

Leaders are crucial in placing the country on the right path. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s towering personality and impeccable integrity were the key drivers for the birth of Pakistan. We have examples of Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Lech Walesa of Poland whose contribution to their respective countries was phenomenal. Of course, leaders of this caliber are rare and born perhaps once in a century but certainly attributes of good conduct should be a normal feature and expected from the political class and heads of other power centres.

The example of China is before us. President Xi Jinping’s greatest success has been in fighting corruption and raising the standards of conduct of officials and society as a whole. He literary launched a crusade against corruption in a very systematic manner. In this endeavor, he has been fairly successful. Reducing corruption and raising moral standards of conduct has been a major factor in China’s economic success, political stability and global assertion. European countries generally have far less corruption and maintain better standards of dependability. In this there are lessons for all of us. Pakistan’s political stability and maturity is linked with its economic stability and progress. For a country whose national income remains as low as GNI Per Capita of 4770 PPP dollars, politics and governance has to be handled with great maturity and sagacity.

Morality has a direct bearing on politics and economy. PM Khan has been repeatedly quoting and idealising the Medina model of governance. But when it comes to its implementation, the PTI leadership is practising it more in default rather than following its injunctions faithfully. These may be tough choices for the PM either to continue with his confrontational style thereby feeding his sub-conscious ego or working towards higher moral standards and bringing about a peaceful and constitutional order.

Only those leaders succeed who understand the crucial value of morality in building a politically stable and economically independent country. The present political tussle in Pakistan centres around next elections, which is quite natural. But our leaders should know that no successful political transition can take place without leaders conducting themselves according to accepted dictates of moral behaviour. Leaders contributing to chaos and being party to corruption lead their country in the wrong direction. If wise counsel were to prevail the continuous name-calling and bad-mouthing of opposition leaders or of opposition doing the same to the government leadership will have to come to an end. If domestic tensions keep running high these would have serious impact on foreign and security policies as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2022.

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