Most Pakistanis, while not oblivious to the country’s multiple challenges, still think that the country, resting on weak foundations of democracy, conservative religious orthodoxy, and poor economy, remains fundamentally instable. Optimists think the country has survived numerous crises over the past more than six and half decades and there is little reason to think it cannot continue to do so in future. To the optimists, past is the preface. But history is not always a reliable guide and status quo will not be the future.
No single problem in Pakistan is likely to be fatal to the state. It is the confluence of so many challenges coupled with the rigidity of religious class, the sullenness of the society, the escalating demands of the youth, weak and shabby political structure, immature political vision of politicians, and most important, the instability inherent in generational succession that could well prove detrimental to the country. It is not that Pakistanis are worse off than other neighboring countries people. They lead more comfortable lives than most. It is not that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been a worse leader of the country than his predecessors. On the contrary, he is more sincere, a man of developmental economics, visionary and benevolent than most. It is not that Pakistan is making no progress. But the confluence of challenges is far greater than any time in the past. More important, the Pakistanis are less patient and more demanding than they were in the past. This can be witnessed from the recent general elections in the country where four provinces experienced four different political parties and alliances. The clergy class, once upon a time both feared and respected, these days is neither. Thus people are neither guided politically by the politicians nor spiritually by the Mullas, which is resulting in a rudderless and aimless nation, trying different experiences and experiments to find a way out for themselves.
Alexis de Tocqueville, in The Ancient Regime, described a kingdom of France “made up from different, disunited orders and from a people whose citizens have only a small number of ties in common. As a result, no one concerns himself with anything but his own private interests.” Louise XVI was the only French king in that nation’s long history to make an effort to unite his people in anything other than “an equal state of dependency”. But after so many years of divide and disunity, the French discovered, de Tocqueville wrote, that “it had been much simpler to divide them than it was thereafter to reunite them.” When Pakistan is seen in its present circumstances in the prism of history, one finds that de Tocqueville could have been describing today’s Pakistan.
At the 67th independence anniversary, Pakistani society is facing multiple challenges. Religion, the glue that kept the society intact, is today a source of division. Different contending religious forces wield the Quran to challenge each other and the regime. Some do not want to join politics but still drop no chance to harm the government and the country. Some cannot join the government and hence out of frustration damage the government and the state. In both cases, religion proves a strong tool to declare their opponent as an infidel.
An overwhelmingly youthful society with its access to social media like the Facebook, Twitter, internet, e mail etc has outside information and influence that challenges the authority of all sorts. The state is amidst a global war on terror and hence is unable to create jobs to absorb the youth bulge. Disappointed youth is ready to follow any political force that gives them a juicy slogan of “change”.
From abroad, India poses a far greater threat to Pakistan than has any foreign power in the recent past. Indo-US nuclear deal, and growing Indian role in Afghanistan will lash back its repercussions on Pakistan. Pakistan is reducing its defense budget due to its economic difficulties. However, Indian defense budget is souring with every passing year. Over and above, Pak-Afghan irritants have also soured the region’s atmosphere. Different terrorist groups operating in Pakistan and threatening Pakistan’s state and society have been funded by the Indian and the Afghan secret services. Moreover, deteriorating Pak-US relations are further fueling to the fire. Pakistan is situated in a region where very few neighboring countries are in true sense its friends. Thus the fish is having hard time swimming in an unfriendly sea.
So at the 67th independence eve, what might the Pakistani government do to resolve some of the Islamic Republic’s challenges? If Arab Spring takes place in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya with no yielded improvements, Pakistan will benefit. As an alternative to any such Spring without reforms and improvements and with bloodshed and destruction, Pakistan is grateful at least for stability. However, instead of banking on failure elsewhere, we need to take initiative to improve our standing.
For starters, the elected government supported by the civil society should codify into law and enforce the modest and modern reforms so that they do not fade away under a new Prime Minister or a forthcoming dictator. The reforms which are proposed here do not mean the last words. It’s just to begin the debate so that we as a nation may start thing on these lines. Today debate means tomorrow serious actions. We have to go step by step.
Democracy means Westminster Democracy. However, different countries have trimmed it as per their needs, culture and requirements. If the Pakistani nation is not that patient and if the Pakistani politicians are not that reliable, why shouldn’t we reduce a government term from five yours to three. This will mean lesser time for a government in which she will have to perform more. Their strategies will be quick and swift for achieving victory in the forthcoming general elections. On the other hand, frequent elections means the electoral college (the voters) will be politically more mature and will judge the performance of every government with comparisons and contrasts. Every political party that assumes power will remain at the edge of seat to perform more in less time. This would mean a true welfare state and benefit of the common man.
Pakistan deserves a strong law and order process. Thus law enforcing agencies must be given extensive powers. I know declaring it a police state will have its own negative repercussions. However, this will also strengthen the principle of upholding rule of law. Strong police with latest weapons, more authority, and greater training will serve the purpose. British, German, French, American, and Japanese police can be sighted as a few examples.
Governing a country is too serious a process to be left to the politicians only. Hence, even they need assistance of experts. if half the parliament is composed of technocrats (University professors, subject experts, retired civil and military bureaucrats, eminent Ulmas (clergy class), sports legendaries, NGOs, successful business men/women, labor union leaders, house-wives and other sections of civil society), this will give an expert glance to legislation taking place in the house. The law passed by all such sections of society will not only be a pure law but will also be abided by all and sundry. Indeed it will be a law passed by the voice and mind of the people. This will be a way forward, presumably well short of Western democracy, to provide elements of political and societal pluralism that would engage the best and brightest of Pakistani society, not just more and more businessmen/landlords-cum-politicians, in governance.
Local municipal councils have just become a crowning feather into the caps of every government to score more marks in their tenure. But they do not empower them for local development. Funds are still distributed to the MNAs and MPAs. Local municipal councils elected for a term equal to the tenure of a National and Provincial Assembly must be given the right to tax citizens to fund programs they favor in their own municipality. This would mean local revenues spent at local level. This would result in two-fold benefit: first, the nationalists will be satisfied that their money is being spent in their own area; second local development would mean, at mega level, development and prosperity of the entire country. This would also mean trickling down effect of delegated powers from PM to local council and reduction of the headache of the PM.
Normalization of relations with neighbors is a prerequisite of peace inside and outside the country. Exchange of status like MFN between India and Pakistan are a good-will gesture which must be copied with other countries like Afghanistan and Iran. More economic ties with neighbors mean lesser political problems. Our foreign policy must be now from high politics to low politics. The world look has changed from security to economics. Hence our every ambassador and diplomat must have some kind of education on economics and its bounties and their performance may be evaluated on the basis of economic agreements between the host country and Pakistan.
Stronger economic relations with other countries will prove cyclical. The industry in the country will be on move. This would mean more employment. Hence the youth bulge will be employed here who would not heed to the Arab Spring in the long run. Of course on one amongst us would like to see the repetition of what happened in Cairo last week, in Libya or in Syria. Youth must be kept employed or there would be an irreparable damage to the state and society.
The clergy class is left free of the state control. Such freedom has cost us a lot. If its an Islamic Republic, religion is the part and parcel of the state. Hence, state must be in control of the clergy class. State must know who they are and what they are doing. Thus state must issue the Juma Khutba. Eminent religious scholars must be hired to seek their help in fulfilling such activities with religious zeal and zest.
Since independence, Pakistan has been wedded to its status quo. Successive administrations found any significant change in that status quo to be so threatening as to be almost unthinkable. But the greater danger now lies precisely in clinging to the status quo, as rapid changes swirl both inside and outside the country. Keeping the Arab Spring in view, especially what happened on last Wednesday in Egypt, any effort to bring reforms through public pressure is bound to backfire. This will doom the reforms with an infidel kiss of death and ruining the country more. Only the government of Pakistan can save Pakistan from the back lash of ‘Pakistani Spring’.
