Daily Times

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa has said that the Judiciary as an institution deems the impression about ongoing accountability process being political engineering a dangerous trend. CJP urged for steps to dispel this impression. The Supreme Court, as a relevant organ of state, thinks steps need to be taken “urgently so that the accountability process does not lose credibility”, said Justice Khosa. Doubts about accountability are dangerous. Suppression of dissent will harm democracy: CJP. He said the reports of growing censorship are “Disturbing” and such practices are a “serious threat to the democratic system itself”. The CJP said, the constitutional rights of citizens ought never to be compromised for the sake of short-term political or governance advantages. “Suppression of any opinion creates Lack of Trust” which poses threat to democracy and rule of law. Justice Khosa said that instead of Judicial activism, the present Supreme Court was promoting the “functional judicialism”. CJP emphasised that Supreme Judicial council (SJC) will do its job without any fear, ill -intention and pressure.

When we talk about accountability we need to keep in view authority, responsibility, constitutional rights, national image, and credibility of government and state institutions as well as the writ of the state. Tasteful behaviours are essential for the guarantee of good governance and application of rule of law in the spirit of unity, faith and discipline, political parties, the ruling party and the opposition are required to play their respective role effectively.

A failure to find solutions to problems is essentially a failure to objectively analyse the situation on the ground. It is a failure to identify factors, which could have caused the problem. What makes problems more complex includes over-simplification in explaining a phenomenon, using a hidden agenda; lack of sensitivity to a very critical situation; mismanagement and incompetence. Think of a protest situation on roads in the twin cities or war of words and beyond (scuffle) in parliament. Inappropriate handling can result in violence and chaos. Most of the situations that end up in violence are due to lack of governance and proactive policies, decisions made in haste and withdrawn under pressure. Such a behaviour pattern of the political administration negatively reflects on the character of the government and the credibility of its leadership. Ultimately, it is a failure to respond to the people’ needs.

The credibility of the government is at the lowest, especially when the problem of poverty and haplessness is being made more and more complex with the ever-increasing cost of living and unending price hike. Increase in transport fares has not happened for the first time. It is not the first time that the police mishandled the situation. It is not the first time that facts were misrepresented. It is not the first time that important personalities indulged in a blame game, which everyone knows is in nobody’s interest. Such situations only damage Pakistan’s image. In no way does it improve the lot of the people. The sufferings of the people are on the increase as life becomes more and more miserable for them with each passing day.

What can you expect of lawmakers who are law-breakers and promoters of an ethnic divide and provincialism instead of national harmony and integration? What can you expect if the government itself is instrumental in creating problems and then making unsuccessful efforts to correct the wrongs? The public’s mistrust in the government is progressively growing as it fails to address the real problems. It may be in the jurisdiction of the federal government or a provincial authority, a wrong policy is wrong and should be reviewed from the viewpoint of public welfare, economic development and growth. Policies should protect constitutional rights of the people, including property and personal status. Bureaucrats involved in planning and implementation of policies should see to it that individual rights of property, etc., are not infringed and that injustice should not be done for the pleasure of some whimsical politicians.

Instead of depriving the people of what they have, the policy of the government should be to encourage development, growth, productivity and increased benefits to the people. Any other strategy will add to poverty, insecurity and law and order problems. There can be no peace in a state of poverty, gross injustice, mismanagement and bad governance. Peace and development are directly related and both depend on the quality of leadership and the nature and character of politics.

We have to accept the challenges of change and rethink methodologies and strategies to learn from our own mistakes and success stories worldwide. Issues of national integration are critical to Pakistan’s democratic development. Religious intolerance and the sectarian divide present a challenge to civil society. Other challenges include lack of political responsibility; moral vacuum existing in public administration; and the ever-deteriorating situation of human rights and law and order. All these threats and weaknesses are barriers to efforts for sustainable socio-economic development, an approach that takes the development debate seriously beyond political expediency. A practical approach to understanding and managing positive and negative forces of development would involve a broad perspective focusing on society and culture, institutions, traditions, socio-political diversity, technology, skills diversity and environment for effective communication.

The credibility of the government is at the lowest, especially when the problem of poverty and haplessness is being made more and more complex with the ever-increasing cost of living and unending price hike

In the context of sustainable development, it is important to improve credibility of the government and to halt the clash of institutions. A serious and honest political government would not challenge what the Supreme Court has declared illegal. The coercive power of the state must be held in reserve and used sparingly. The main reliance has to be on authority to generate consensus on policies through negotiation. The need is for authority based on performance. The elite who have access to power and wealth should become part of solutions rather than problems. They have the facility and opportunity to organize efficient and effective delivery systems and a moral and credible government essential for a strong economy, healthy society, mature politics and a visionary leadership. Let us put an end to hate politics; opt for cooperation and reconciliation.

Our resolve to address the challenges confronting the country becomes meaningful only it the people trust the government and believe that it can create an environment for promoting plans and programmers of masseducation, healthcare, agro-industrial productivity, housing and employment as elements contributing to poverty reduction and establishment of a dynamic, progressive, pluralist, democratic Islamic state.

If an enabling culture is missing, the vision for a prosperous Pakistan gets blurred. The trend of extremism and violence encouraged by some quarters must therefore be halted as a mission and as a reform effort. The role of a moral and credible government is that of a facilitator and a guide. Societal harmony is lost if the government fails to do a thing about moral vacuum, corruption and negative forces, leading to conflicts and violence. A fragile economy, instability and social disharmony, all stem from entropy caused by a less than credible government. Hence the need for credibility of the government as part of our vision for a prosperous Pakistan. Credibilityof accountability process is essential to enhance public’s trust in the government and accountability agencies. Urgent necessary steps are required in this context as Chief Justice of Pakistan has advised recently. CJP knows what and where change is needed. So let it be, follow his vision, to put our own house in order.

The writer is former Director National Institute of Administration (NIPA) Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert