Daily Times

Now that Naya Pakistan is nigh, many people are wondering about its contours. Will the old Pakistan completely disappear? Will the Naya Pakistan engulf old Pakistan? Or will it be created somewhere new? Perhaps all of old Pakistan might become Naya Pakistan? Just as such questions boggled the minds of those in the mental asylum in Manto’s Toba Tek Singh, Pakistanis seem very confused too. I just hope that the confusion does not end like it did for Manto’s Bishan Singh!

In creating this Naya Pakistan, the incoming government, both at the federal and the provincial level (here I’m mainly referring to the Punjab), must be very careful about not throwing out the baby with the bath water. All was not barren and desolate before this grand ‘Tabdeeli’ and no magic wand will transform this nation. Therefore, the incoming government must tread intelligently and carefully.

For example, the Punjab has made great strides in the field of education and healthcare in the last decade. Massive investment, both from the government and international donors, has increased school enrolment and retention, improved teacher training and attendance, and infused technological innovations which have markedly improved monitoring and evaluation. This is no mean achievement. Of course, there are still a lot of children out of school and the drop out rates are certainly not under control, yet a lot of progress has been made and it must be acknowledged. Similarly, significant interventions, especially in terms of technology led organisational improvements in the healthcare system have markedly improved efficiency and accountability in the system. These are successes which need to be owned and built upon rather than discarded and the wheel reinvented.

Similarly, the practical reinvention of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under the chairmanship of Najam Sethi over the last few years has been exemplary. From being a cricket pariah, Sethi has not only brought international cricket back to the country, but has also started the lucrative and exciting Pakistan Super League (PSL). In a country where the only news headlines were of terrorist attacks or political and social instability, headlines of massive public excitement over international cricket in the country were a breath of fresh air for a people that had long felt suffocated. The success of the cricket team over the last few years — the wins against India and England especially, have proved that the choices made by the PCB and its Chairman were correct. Therefore, the incoming government must rise above personal animosity and past grudges, and reward performance and sound decisions with support and encouragement of the cricket board and its Chairman.

One of the great hallmarks of a true democratic transition is that the positive legacy of previous regimes is taken forward, not discarded. The PML-N government, for example, learnt that the Benazir Income Support Programme was a good thing, and did not even try to change its name, let alone attempt to wrap it up. Similarly, the incoming government of the PTI should make a careful assessment of the earlier regime, and build on its successes rather than wipe them away

Finally, the incoming government must continue the pro-middle class economic policies of the outgoing government. The tax break given by the outgoing Finance Minister, Dr Miftah Ismail, were the largest in history to the middle class, and this relief will certainly have a positive impact on our economy. Similarly, the tax amnesty — which again is common in several countries — is a way to encourage people to declare their assets and pay taxes, which must be protected, but with strict enforcement of the law after the amnesty expires.

One of the great hallmarks of a true democratic transition is that the positive legacy of previous regimes is taken forward, not discarded. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, for example, learnt that the Benazir Income Support Programme was a good thing, and did not even try to change its name, let alone attempt to wrap it up. Similarly, the incoming government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) should make a careful assessment of the earlier regime, and build on its successes rather than wipe them away with its tsunami of change.

The writer teaches at IT University Lahore and is the author of A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, 1947-55. He tweets at @BangashYK

Published in Daily Times, August 15^th 2018.