All is not good : Peace, a prerequisite for economic growth

Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice: Harrison Ford.


Saad Amanullah January 22, 2012

KARACHI: In Pakistan the concept of “Peace” is very misleading as majority would think it exists if there is no war with India. Peace in fact is when every citizen can sleep blissfully at night and not worry about being robbed, murdered or prosecuted for his beliefs. Peace is when you follow the law and pay your taxes; you have nothing to worry about. 

Today when someone gets robbed or mugged, we all look the other way and express gratitude to Allah that at least our life was spared. If someone’s home or business is robbed, no one volunteers to identify the culprits as they fear for their own safety.

Today criminals no longer bother hiding their identity because they know there will be no retribution.

Most unfortunate part is that there is nothing you can do to avoid it if the justice system and the law enforcement agencies do not help and bring the rule of law to our neighborhoods, cities and country.

Due to this dilemma, our society is currently trapped and hostage to a bunch of criminals and gangsters who are clearly in minority but their impacts are far reaching and destructive.

We desperately need to revamp out judicial system which must address delivering the following objectives: a) Timely justice; b) Zero tolerance for lawlessness; c) Quality judges with high values and honour; d) Merit based judgements without any fear of consequences; e) Follow proper judicial process in prosecuting culprits; f) Safe functioning of the court process; and g) 100% implementation of the court’s order via strong law enforcement.

If any violation is seen on any of the above points, a thorough investigation must be carried out and if the judge or law enforcement agencies are found abusing authority, they should be suspended.

Today there are no repercussions for long delays in hearing of cases, for giving bad decisions which are overturned later, for taking days off without prior notification thus creating frustration for the masses or for non-implementation of court’s order.

Today judges, lawyers and law enforcement agencies all are equally responsible for delaying justice to the common man, and this must stop. Once lawyers find out that the judges will not reschedule their cases behind frivolous excuses, they will come prepared for the hearing.

Bear in mind that once the common man realises that he can get justice from the judicial system, not only he will be empowered but he will not be at the mercy of criminals and hence the incidence of criminal activity will drop significantly.

Once justice is available it will act as catalysts to many who have stopped having any faith in the administration’s ability to protect them, their businesses, their lives; you will see a revival of the entrepreneur spirit and productivity of the society will increase manifolds.

This will have a direct impact on the economy, exports and in raising the standard of living of the common man.

The writer works in the corporate sector and is active on various business forums and trade bodies.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd,  2012.

COMMENTS (4)

Nasreen Rashid | 12 years ago | Reply

I agree with you about the role and responsibility of our Judicial system. But until that happens,we, as the civil society, must also play an active role in voicing our strong protest against the injustice and atrocities being committed in our society on a daily basis. We must realize and accept that by remaining silent and indifferent, we are actually encouraging the unfair system.

Hammad Siddiqui | 12 years ago | Reply

Agreed 100% peace and prosperity go hand in hand.

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