Daily Times

In my last week’s column Rise and Fall of Societies-I, published in Daily Times, Pakistan on June 24, 2024, I highlighted the possible causes of the demise of the golden era of the Islamic society. In Part II, I will make an effort to suggest a way forward to recover from the morass our society has fallen.

At the cost of repeating, it is necessary to highlight that Allah Al Mighty has outlined several events of the near and distant past in The Quran about the perished nations who were involved in societal crimes. While the disobedience of the Prophets of Allah was a common reason, the societal crimes also included unethical and unnatural practices and even cheating in measurements.

The Islamic societies across the Muslim world soon forgot the golden principles due to which they had risen so quickly to defeat the great empires of the time and rule nearly half the world for over a thousand years.

Instead of pointing fingers at other states, let us have a look at the Pakistani society that has progressed for over seven decades. Although this is not enough period to evaluate societal rise and fall the area had been under Muslim rulers much longer than the new state of Pakistan. Unfortunately, societal degeneration in Pakistan has been much faster than in any other Islamic state. Since Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, it was widely expected that it would serve as a model state for the rest of the Islamic world. However, the same did not happen rather the opposite happened in every walk of life, unfortunately though.

Societal degeneration in Pakistan has been much faster than in any other Islamic state.

Today, Pakistan cannot serve as an example for any other Islamic society. Unfortunately, Pakistan ranks very low on all the international indices; Human Development Index, Human Rights Index, Judicial System Performance Index, Passport Ratings, etc. The situation demands major reforms of the basics: the judicial system, the bureaucracy, the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), Local Bodies Systems, Fiscal and financial management systems, the Governance system, the political system, the legislative system, the price control mechanism, the building authorities, the health management system, the education system, and perhaps every possible public system.

The people of Pakistan deserve a lot better lifestyle than the one made available to them by this corruption-prone governance by the so-called elected bodies. Allah, The Almighty, has blessed this land with numerous opportunities and natural resources, however, the people at the helm of affairs have betrayed the people to be served. Perhaps the time has come to reverse the situation through controlled reforms. Since I am an enthusiastic optimist, I think it is doable without creating too many waves in society.

The judiciary should take the lead and provide speedy justice to all regardless of political affiliation and material strength. Once the judicial system starts to work, everything else will fall in line. LEAs will ensure that law and order are maintained, and bureaucracy will have to answer for its failure to provide services to the people of Pakistan. Unfortunately, public servants ignored Quaid’s directives that they must serve the people but they chose to become masters instead.

Once justice becomes the norm of society, people will have greater confidence in the system. The political elite will find it difficult to continue with the loot and plunder of public money, and the political parties will have to follow their manifesto instead of hollow slogans. The people will also be more aware of their rights and demand actions related to their well-being.

Only small but focused steps can prove to be game-changers, like renovating schools, and health centers, cleaning and carpeting roads, orderly traffic, and price control.

The next step should be to ensure merit-based selections in educational institutions and employment so that the brain drain can be controlled. This will help in building confidence among the people. Concurrently, promoting core values of Islam particularly patience, forgiveness, and keeping promises, so that the people return to live like a developed and progressive society.

The corruption will have to be controlled to stop the economic drain so that the public money is spent on the projects necessary for development. The economic managers will have to revert to the golden era of 5-year development plans so that the country can be put on the right path again to be able to join the club of developed nations before it reaches 100 by 2047.

The local bodies must concentrate on the basics whereas the provincial governments should execute the planned schemes as per the development plans. At the federal level, the legislature should ensure that relevant laws are improved if required.

My suggestions may sound very optimistic but these are certainly doable and needs to be done to recover people’s confidence.

The people of Pakistan deserve a much better lifestyle than the ones they have for the past several decades. Allah Al Mighty has blessed this land with numerous opportunities, and it is the successive leadership that has denied them the facilities of life that they very much deserve. It is time that the people get their due share of Allah’s Blessings.

(Concluded)

The writer of this article has authored three international books: “Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan” “South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace” and “Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War.”