Daily Times

Political repression has been rising across the world without distinction, be it Donald Trump’s unexpected win in the 2016 US presidential elections despite his intolerant rhetoric on migrants, women and various ethnic groups; or be it Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s suppression of free expression; pertaining to shutting down media outlets, shuttering schools and universities, firing thousands of civil servants and jailing numerous suspected dissenters in Turkey. However, politics of repression, whether in western democracies or developing autocracies, impedes the potential for sustainable economic development.

Clearly, the suppression of free expression and creativity can have deleterious consequences for innovation and economic growth. Citizens of free and open societies such as Germany, South Korea and Chile witness advances in business, science and technology that Belarusians, Burmese and Cubans cannot fathom. In 2016, more patents were filed in France than in the entire Arab world. Nearly all of them live under stifling authoritarianism and have fewer opportunities for quality education and technical training. Hence it is important to nurture values, policies and practices that promote tolerance, mutual respect, plurality and rule of law.

The current rise in repression of freedom of expression in Pakistan is no exception. In fact it indicates that Pakistan is still struggling to establish effective institutions. A democratic polity can only progress if institutions work in coherence within the well-defined ambits of the constitution. Unfortunately, institutional instability in Pakistan and transgressions into each other’s domain creates chaos, uncertainty and loss of public confidence in the system. When the judiciary tries to micromanage the leaders of a political party in terms of their performance, candidacy and leadership choice, it certainly raises eyebrows. The job of the judiciary is to dispense justice and not guide governance and infrastructure development.

This year was marked by the media blackout of the PTM movement and the forcibly taking off air the popular news network GEO. Such moves categorically harm the public interest of Pakistan, denying it freedom of expression and freedom to information. Apparently in the past few months, courts have been micro-managing matters of PML-N leaders indicted in corruption, including their personal lives, statements, development projects and policies, despite the fact that Punjab is economically a more vibrant and a better managed province compared to others, as argued by Ishrat Hussain in his most recent book “Governing the Ungovernable”. No other CM drew as much attention of the chief justice as the Punjab CM, despite the lacklustre performance of other chief ministers in the country.

Judges must dispense justice and not fester confrontation with political entities. Parliament is, and can be, a much more effective forum to deal with many such issues but unfortunately not even the political governments and opposition have paid any attention to strengthening its capacity to keep check on the executive, and bring matters of public interest such as foreign policy to the Parliament for the past five years. As a consequence Pakistan has been placed on FATF grey list. Such apathy towards the functioning of the Parliament by its own members eventually led to manipulation in Senate elections and Balochistan Assembly. If elected representatives do not fulfil their responsibility of addressing issues faced by the masses effectively, such as child abuse, civil liberties of Pakhtun and Baloch youth, marginalisation of minorities, civil-military relations, institutional reform and stability for accountability and justice, macroeconomic management and debt sustainability, why do they even want to be its members anyhow?

If we look into the manifestos of mainstream political parties or just listen to their speeches, no one seems to be prepared or equipped to tackle the challenges faced by Pakistan

As the upcoming elections are approaching fast, the citizens of this country need to ask themselves many questions before voting. The most important must be whether political parties are addressing key issues affecting the country such as water crisis, impotent handling of foreign affairs, upholding civil liberties of individuals in KP and Balochistan, industrial uplift and export promotion, eliminating “all forms” of corruption from “all organs” of state, leveraging human capital and an economic vision for sustainable, inclusive potent economic growth and development. If we look into the manifestos of mainstream political parties or just listen to their speeches, no one seems to be prepared or equipped to tackle the challenges faced by the Pakistani State. A culture of abuse and intolerance is being promoted instead of highlighting key political and economic challenges. No political party is discussing the need to have an independent, comprehensive and informed foreign policy that is debated and deliberated by the Parliament after taking all stakeholders into confidence. How does a country run without a foreign policy?

Similarly, it is equally important for a country to have an economic vision. There hasn’t been adequate emphasis on how Pakistan can mobilise resources to finance declining foreign reserves and mounting debt. We need a sound macroeconomic policy framework that keeps check on a widening current account deficit, balance of payment deficits and growing external debt. The budget deficit is projected to stand at 5.5 percent of GDP ($12.03 billion) at the end of fiscal year 2018, while SBP-held foreign exchange reserves amount to $11.51 billion. The Caretaker Finance Minister Dr.Shamshad Akhtar pointed out that the public debt has increased to an unsustainable level of Rs 24.5 trillion ie 72 per cent of GDP which is the highest level in 15 years due to poor economic management. Hence the upcoming government, which is predicted to be a coalition setup, will have to resort to the fiscal consolidation path by limiting expenditures and developing a radical plan for domestic revenue mobilisation.

The ADB former director Werner Liepach recently revealed that Pakistan will not need a bailout package any time soon and there was no need to panic. However, in order to provide employment opportunities and alleviate poor and marginalised communities in various parts of the country, it is necessary to promote exports growth, agriculture productivity and industrial innovation. As a citizen we need to be asking the candidates what they have to offer in terms of people’s welfare and the country’s development. In order to elevate the wellbeing of the masses and the best interests of the country, we need committed, focused and competent candidates and not so-called “electables” or opportunists whose only motive is to stay in power. We need high quality education, technical training, affordable health care and a vibrant job market but how this is to be achieved, has not been outlined by any of the power contenders. As the fourth industrial revolution advances, it poses some risks to developing countries, many people especially the youth may start feeling left behind by technological change, the global economy, and growing inequality. On the other hand, horrific incidents of terrorism generate apprehension and fear. The heart wrenching scenes in Mastung and Bannu call for national unity, empathy, solidarity and respect for the lives and rights of all Pakistanis equally.

The author is a freelance writer and an Economic Analyst based in Lahore

Published in Daily Times, July 17^th 2018.