The rewards of pursuing change

The recent contemptuous remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Pakistan and his deliberate extremely hostile policy of isolating it should stir the conscience of the nation. This is not the first time he has had the audacity to openly discredit a neighbour. Moreover, the prejudice and ill treatment being meted out to the minorities, especially Muslims, in India is taken for granted with hardly any voices being raised against it internationally or even from the Muslim countries.

The recent visit of Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to Pakistan in connection with the SCO summit in Islamabad marks the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years. No doubt this was a welcome development, but it was Prime Minister Modi who was supposed to attend the conference but he deliberately stayed away. The Prime Minister of China and of other countries had come. This merely reinforces the fact that Modi wants to maintain the hostile attitude toward Pakistan by avoiding contact with its leadership. In the past the relations with Pakistan were relatively better when the Sharif brothers were in power. So far, that Sharifs are back has not made any perceptible change in India's policy.

Interestingly, the Chinese media highlighted the rarity of Jaishankar's visit, emphasising its significance in the broader context of regional politics. Jaishankar's visit took place when there are serious concerns over terrorism, following recent attacks on Chinese personnel in Pakistan. Lately, the government has further tightened the security of Chinese in Pakistan and is working closely with the Chinese security establishment.

Addressing the security challenges needs a more comprehensive approach involving improvement in the country's economic conditions, addressing poverty seriously and strengthening political institutions. Giving the people greater voice in managing the affairs of the state is equally critical. All these aspects of governance need to be seriously addressed and very concrete measures to rectify these have to be taken.

Compounding Pakistan's problems is the toxic environment that it has to face. Apart from the strained relations with India, the relationship with Afghanistan is marked with tension. The Taliban government has not been sensitive to Pakistan's security concerns and has failed to maximise the benefits of economic cooperation. Allowing the TTP and other militant organisations the freedom to operate in Afghanistan and plan attacks or infiltrate in Pakistan is another major worry. The question of TTP to commit to making a transition from their militancy to a political force and part of the democratic culture has so far remained elusive.

The internal situation is no better. Democratic institutions are weak. Pakistan has been going through the exercise of holding elections but it has failed to maximise the potential of its people. Few families and elite interests continue to dominate politics even at times at the cost of merit, causing despondency and undermining the potential of the state. The attitudes of some of these politicians are feudal and fail to inculcate democratic ethos in the party or in conducting the affairs of the state. Probably, the way to overcome these weaknesses lies in having fair and open elections within the political parties so as to keep on improving the quality of leadership. This in turn requires bold and progressive leadership within the parties that sees beyond their short-term interests.

The other obstacle to stabilise the political situation is due to the acrimonious relationship between the political parties that are part of the government and PTI. The fact is that there is, as yet, no clear political understanding between the PTI and the political parties in power on the constitutional changes. This could lead to further complications in the long term.

Moreover, the army leadership's concern of weak governance has led to their involvement. It is to be seen how this will play out. Hopefully, it will address the complexity of the challenge and improve the quality of governance.

Our leadership, in the past and now, has not given education and health the priority they deserve. As a consequence, we as a nation are lagging behind and compromising the future of coming generations. This is a major challenge and the government has to priorities to catch up with the world and our neighbours. It is also critical that the provincial leadership keeps a close watch on the quality of education because our very future progress and ability to compete rests on it.

It is clear that none of these challenges or improvements can be achieved in a short term. And a single term in office can initiate the process, introduce changes and bring improvements, but subsequent governments should follow course. Sequencing is critical; and for that, all major political parties have to be on board. But this would require cooperation and mature leadership that shares common goals. This may sound idealistic but what other way is there for the country to move forward and keep pace with the region and the rest of the world.

It is also necessary for the leaders to understand that they are under minute scrutiny of the people and have the ability to judge them as never before. Television, radio, internet and other means are used by the opposition or the media itself to expose their weaknesses or highlight their strengths. The days of empty rhetoric are gone. So, considering how the world has changed and the understanding of our people much better it is in the interest of the country to strengthen the political parties and improve the political culture that is in tune with times.

Moreover, the onus of bringing about changes also equally rests with other state and private institutions, like the bureaucracy, judiciary, media, etc.