Governance in Pakistan - let's light our own candle

My article on 'Governance and Bureaucracy' published recently in these columns received a tremendous response from all shades of opinion – serving and retired civil servants, senior professionals, former superior court judges, and people who had themselves served at the highest levels of government. Though the feedback differed in emphasis, the common concern that emerged was singular: "Governance is the real issue."

A few civil servants inquired whether bureaucracy can be judged fairly when political governments frequently deny officers the security of tenure essential for independent and merit-based administration. Others pointed out the role of supreme audit institutions in bringing to the fore inefficiency, irregularities and misuse of public resources, stressing that independent audit is an indispensable mechanism for transparency and accountability.

Still others sarcastically remarked that governance has increasingly been reduced to video-link meetings, TikToks, colorful presentations, roadmaps, "open-door policies", and fashionable terminologies, while service delivery as a basic right of every citizen continues to be poor.

One disturbing response came from a former Chief Justice of a High Court, who later became a judge of the Supreme Court and subsequently a caretaker Chief Minister. Narrating his own experience, he mentioned excessive expenditure, the misuse of official vehicles and residences, the mechanical movement of files, and a bureaucratic culture in which responsibility was often passed downward or upward rather than owned. His conclusion was meaningful: government servants must be made accountable, responsive and public-friendly.

But, the most painful response was the expression of complete despair: "Nothing is in order because our genetic makeup as a nation is out of order. The question is, can anything be done?"

That feeling of pessimism is the real question, associated with other auxiliary questions.

Is there something organically wrong with us as a people? Are we as a nation tuned in to the Rule of Law in the real sense of the term, or are we incapable of efficient administration and accountability? Or have repeated institutional failures created a psychology of paranoia?

Despite these expressions of distrust, I have not lost hope and refuse to accept hopelessness as our destiny.

Undoubtedly, institutions builds behaviour, but those are also conditioned by laws, incentives, accountability and public will. A bureaucracy bereft of security of tenure is vulnerable to pressures. Without accountability it becomes unresponsive. Political authority without institutional restraint becomes arbitrary. Audit without consequences becomes ritual. And citizens unaware of their rights gradually become petitioners before offices that were created to serve them.

The answer is simple: good governance is for the well-being of the people. The Constitution contains a roadmap for good governance, we need not opt for a re-invention.

Article 4 of the Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to be dealt with in accordance with law. Article 9 protects life and liberty; Article 14 protects dignity; Article 25 guarantees equality before law.

More significantly , the Principles of Policy sets a positive blueprint for the State to improve the lives of its citizens. Article 37 requires the State to promote social justice, ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice and decentralise government administration with an object to make it responsive to public needs.

Article 38 directs the State to "secure the well-being of the people" by raising their standard of living and providing opportunities for work and adequate livelihood. It emphasises on social security, reduction of disparities and provision of the "basic necessities of life" – including food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief – for those unable to manage them. However, those remain a dead letter unless they are translated into reality.

If citizens remain without justice, education, healthcare, livelihood, security and basic public services, then trust deficit is the natural outcome.

The Constitution contains both destination and the compass. This reminds me of Thomas Paine, who challenged the fatalism of his age more than two centuries ago. His writings were addressed not to kings and courtiers but to ordinary people. In Common Sense, he states: "We have it in our power to begin the world over again." He also declares: "In free countries the law ought to be King."

And in Rights of Man, his asserts: "A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government."

That principle is as relevant to today's Pakistan as it was to the revolutionary days of Europe and America.

The state is not a private fief, but a public trust under a contractual obligation - in the form of the Constitution - to exercise its power within the restraints of the law and to ensure public welfare.

The real catch lies in the implementation, and certainly not by waiting for a messiah to correct things. In democracies, citizens are not passive spectators but watchdogs who must react to wrongs.

Professional autonomy for civil servants and security of tenure, laced with measurable accountability, are a must. This requires merit-based appointments, strengthened audit institutions, and action upon their findings. Legislatures must exercise meaningful oversight. Courts must defend constitutional rights. The media and civil society must expose failures and demand remedies.

Above all, these ideals can only be achieved where citizens, conscious of their rights, have the will to organize and raise their voices whenever rights are violated and denied.

Ahmed Faraz expressed this civic responsibility beautifully:

Shikwa-e zulmat-e shab se to kahin behtar tha

Apne hissay ki koi shama jalatay jaatay

(Better light a candle than complain about darkness)

The crisis of governance in Pakistan is serious, but losing hope and living in despair is an even greater danger. This mindset only benefits the status quo and the vested interests woven into it.

Then why wait for a messiah to liberate us from bad governance. We need vigilant citizens conscious of their rights, institutions conscious of their responsibilities, and public servants conscious that authority is a trust.

There can be light around us if each one of us opts to light a candle rather than complain about the darkness.