Daily Times

Passion has been in short supply in the land of the pure. Ever since the House of Sharif entered the political arena, an effective system of personal profits has been introduced to perfection. Nothing moves unless driven by individual gains. Without passionate efforts, there can be no change. While Kaptaan is committed to building “Naya Pakistan,” in the absence of personal gains, the system is not keeping pace with his desires. Choices are clear in the present set-up. One of the two is required otherwise it will be business as usual.

In Pakistan, the periods of passionate rule have been limited. Jinnah passed away in September 1948, one year after the partition. With him, ended an innings of selfless sacrifice and devotion to the cause of freedom. The first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, then took on the mantle of leadership. Yet, with his assassination in 1951, another era of honest and devoted service to the people came to an end (1947 – 1951). Till October 1958, there was a struggle for supremacy between the forces of passion and profit. With Ayub Khan’s Elected Bodies Disqualification Ordinance (EBDO) in August 1959, all efforts of nation-building came to an end in the nascent republic. His imposed 1962 constitution was deplorable and insulting as it was built around him. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s era was full of passionate leadership (1970 – 1977). In fact, the entire elected assembly was outstanding. The period between 1977 to 2018 has been debilitating and, perhaps, the worst period in our chequered history. With an honest leader at the top after the 2018 elections, passion is making a comeback while the challengers continue to stall it: the Azadi March being a part of this very effort.

Four years of Jinnah/Liaquat leadership and six years of ZAB make a total of ten years of committed and passionate leadership. Now, with a year of Kaptaan’s struggle to regain the lost grounds of passion, it remains an uphill task. The era of personal profits introduced by the Sharifs was religiously followed by Zardari, who managed to wrest control of the party from the Bhuttos. The religious right is neither here nor there. They become passionate for their own good only. Some opt for diesel while others for dollars.

Today, in the land of the pure, no one is willing to do anything in public interest. Kaptaan’s passion has not yet trickled down. The entire system is non-performing, remains sluggish as ever and the public representatives, required to drive others, remain shy of action. Unless personal profit is involved, nothing moves. Four years of the founding fathers and six years of ZAB were totally different. Public wellbeing was the top agenda item then. Even the civil servants had a passion to serve. Public assets were preserved instead of misuse.

Four years of Jinnah/Liaquat leadership and six years of ZAB make a total of ten years of committed and passionate leadership

Bhutto introduced the concept of “People’s Government,” known as “Awami Hakumat.” Chief ministers, governors and ministers used to meet the public for the retrieval of their grievances. Orders were given on files, which had to be implemented by the bureaucracy. Noncompliance had to be justified and questioned. Bhutto himself reviewed the files with immaculate paperwork and notings. As student leaders, we had free access to the Governor’s House. Mustafa Khar, as Chancellor, took a personal interest in the affairs of the universities. Every time we marched to the Punjab Assembly, Malik Ghulam Nabi (father-in-law of Dr Yasmin Rashid) as Education Minister came out to hear our issues. Ayub Khan had turned Pakistan into an executive state operating out of the air-conditioned Ivory Towers of Islamabad. Awami Hukumat changed it all. Bureaucracy, backed by the Khakis, had started to rule not to serve but Bhutto challenged this evil nexus through “People’s Power.” Alas! It was short-lived.

Since 2018, it has been back to the basics. Profit-seeking public representatives do not command respect over the bureaucracy. People have nowhere to go for relief. With a genuine desire for change, Kaptaan is doing his best, but the trickle-down has not happened yet. A realignment of the state apparatus has to take place. Issues of corruption and incompetence have to be dealt with appropriately.

This gluttonous and only-for-personal-profit state apparatus has to be dismantled as it has no output. The masses are unwilling to carry this unnecessary burden. In the absence of passion, service to the people is not possible. In our 72 years of existence, only ten years have been under passionate leadership. The results speak for themselves. Jinnah and Liaquat are revered and remembered. Even Bhutto is lauded as a great political leader who did not seek personal profits. His finance minister and secretary-general, Dr Mubashir Hassan, still remains passionate about the social reforms of his party. Till today, he lives in the same house on the main boulevard in Gulberg with his beat-up Volkswagen. Passion is hard to fade while profits diminish and evaporate over time. What sells today may not be sellable tomorrow but passion is everlasting. It delivers against all odds. Profit-seekers have destroyed Pakistan. While the People’s Republic of China has lifted the people out of poverty, the Islamic Republic has failed to deliver. A model has to be developed to effectively transition from profit to passion till then the masses will continue to suffer but it remains our only course forward. Passionate leadership is the need of the nation without which our future remains bleak. Passion, passion and more passion is needed to build “Naya Pakistan” and Kaptan cannot do it alone.

The writer is the former chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation