Daily Times

The Judicial Commission (JC) report cleared the PML-N of all election rigging charges. The verdict should be accepted to work for Pakistan’s national interests in a new chapter of positive politics and national integration. The destructive dharnas (sit-ins) and rallies of the PTI, under Imran Khan, were bad decisions that led to politics of hate and open conflicts, and reflected negatively on the quality of leadership, particularly with reference to the level of political maturity. Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has urged political parties to help in the electoral reforms process.
The JC’s verdict has provided an environment for the government to gear up, improve performance and meet the challenges that negatively impact the people. The renewal of policies and strategies to better serve the people is the way forward. The government and the opposition need to do some self-analysis and soul searching to help correct wrongs. There should be no room for extremist narratives, adventurism and distasteful behaviour. Collective, cooperative action and deliberations are the need of the day for a healthier Pakistan. As the PM said, it is about time to learn lessons. All stakeholders need to learn from their mistakes. It is time to rethink relationships, structures and functions. The mission before the nation is defining the public representatives’ responsibility. Their accountability is essential in improving the governance and direction of decision-making.
There are powerful limitations on human action imposed by history that hinder people from creating viable institutions out of the abstractions of pure reason and there are incalculable difficulties in building a free society. Society, according Edmund Burke, is indeed a contract, but “as the ends of such partnership cannot be obtained in many generations it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.”
It is often necessary for democratic governments to take the lead in organising the unorganised and in providing the voiceless with a voice; the problem in the relationship between the electorate and the elite is essentially a problem of association and organisation. We need an improved mechanism to determine which set of leaders will regulate our policy. The role of the electorate has to be redefined to give them clear choices in electing their representatives on merit. Once elected, representatives should be allowed to do their best to satisfy the interests of the electorate.
Most people would agree that the establishment of a modern state has to be based on constitutionalism. However, we cannot ignore history and the political reality, especially the negative internal and external forces impacting the state of Pakistan. In Pakistan’s specific situation, constitutionality cannot be maintained in its true spirit unless an integrated civil-military strategy is evolved and sincerely implemented to confront the challenges facing the nation. The real threats to Pakistan are many but they are compounded by the failure of state representatives to address the needs of the people and the failure to establish an effective relationship between the elite and electorate. These two major factors are the root cause of extremism, ethnocentrism, sectarianism, ignorance and poverty. Why would anyone block any sincere intentions for a way forward? The attitudes and behaviours displayed are distasteful. Corruption has gone unchecked and unhindered, and has linkages with the law and order situation, increasing the rate of crime and extremism of all types that eventually mould into terrorism. Unless the roots of these problems are addressed, the people will not find any comfort in their lives.
There is nothing wrong with our security concerns and plans to address them. Our foreign policy is fine, given the kind of orientation Pakistan was forced to adopt from day one of independence in 1947. External enemies and internal hostile elements have always been creating serious problems. A joint, integrated civil-military strategy is the need of the time to convert threats into opportunities. This will be possible if the leadership takes initiatives to convert weaknesses into strengths. We need action, not rhetoric. Army bashing is not the right approach. That is what the enemy has done ever since the state of Pakistan came into being. Military operations have to be continued to end crimes of all sorts, everywhere in the country, till their logical end. It will take time to wipe out terrorism and corruption completely. All necessary measures need to be adopted to improve the credibility of the government and the writ of the state.
A focus on governance could help improve things on all fronts. The distasteful behaviour of politicians and lack of courage on the part of the leadership are negative forces that have diverted focus from real issues such as the Kalabagh Dam (KBD), which is a solution to Pakistan’s energy crisis. The dam will also take care of the problem of devastation caused by floods, particularly during the monsoons. Another advantage would be the availability of water for agriculture. In the background of issues like the KBD are divisive forces that are ethnic or ethnocentric in nature, which push national objectives to the back burner. The law-makers and those at the helm, where found guilty of negligence and supporting anti-Pakistan elements, should be taken to task. Politics in Pakistan have to serve the people, without prejudices, discrimination and indifference. The law must come into action where and when positive norms are neglected and Pakistan’s national interests are subordinated to personal motives and vested interests.
At this juncture in Pakistan’s history, the most pressing need is for the country to stand united. We need to put our own house in order. All wrongs must be corrected and all inequalities must be removed. All prejudices and misperceptions are unwanted obstructions. The real question is not about the power of the government itself but how that power is used to promote justice and national wellbeing.
Economic factors that cause underdevelopment are influenced and shaped by local culture and, particularly, local political structure. Structural reform is essential to accommodate the evolving needs and corresponding functions to be performed. The essence of governance is to enable the government to regulate and enforce policies, to keep a check on excessive powers, maintain balance and ensure that things are done right. Politicising issues creates a negative image of public representatives.

The writer is a former director, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), a political analyst, public policy expert and an author.