This Article was published in
The Frontier Post (October 26, 2010)
By Sahibzada Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri
Rumours about the fall of the government are galore. Not a single day passes
when a section of the media does not come up with new deadline about the ouster
of the government. These media-led speculations about the government emanate from
the ongoing legal battles in the Supreme Court where the government is in the dock
for its lack of willingness to implement the verdicts of the Apex court especially
the one related to so-called National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). The Opposition
is also hiding behind the smokescreen of judicial battle and waiting for the entire
script to play out there. The government on its part is contributing no less to
this political melodrama by increasing the chances of confrontation with the Supreme
Court over the non-implementation of its NRO verdict. There appears to be a manifest
disconnect between what the leaders of the government say with regard to the judicial
challenges and what they actually are doing to make sure that the situation reaches
a ‘boiling point’.
The government does not seem to have a handle on the issues facing Pakistan and
is clearly bereft of any vision or long-term strategy to cope with them to steer
the country out of its never-ending crises. The opposition political parties are
also not playing any constructive role either to help defuse the explosive situation.
They are more interested in getting into power than contributing to the maturity
and evolution of the nascent democratic order. The entire political class is adrift
and unwilling to rise above its petty interests. The extent of apathy of political
class can be measured from the magnitude of national crises. There was and is a
clear need of forming national consensus to resolve these crises on a war-footing
basis. In the absence of a clear vision, general discontent and disenchantment with
the so-called democracy is on the rise forcing people to rethink their preference
for the oft-tested political brigade. The following is instructive in this regard:
The devastating floods have left behind agonizing tales of death and destruction.
More than 20 million people including a large number of women and children are in
acute need of support from the government. It requires undivided policy focus and
long-term commitment of the political forces to battle with the challenges in the
aftermath of the floods. The rehabilitation and reconstruction phase can be completed
to the satisfaction of the flood victims if the government involves all stakeholders
in spelling out a national vision through consultation and consensus. The rehabilitation
phase is a battle for hearts and minds. If those at the helm of affairs fail to
respond to the enormity of the challenge, they would hit hard at the national unity
and cohesion, for the consequences of this criminal negligence would be too grave
to think. Can the reconstruction and rehabilitation tasks be undertaken while instability
holds sway with the government and opposition dissipating its time and energies
on non-issues?
The second major challenge before the political class is the revival of national
economy. The damage done to infrastructure, livestock, agriculture, energy and communication
sectors runs into billions of dollars. The government is having to slash Public
Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to meet the needs of rehabilitation. Our national
economy, which was already hugely impacted by the energy shortages, law and order
situation and global recession, has been crippled due to these unprecedented floods
in the country’s history. Our oversized public sector eats into precious national
resources, while the country’s tax to GDP ratio falls below 10% with very inequitable
and limited tax structure. Pakistan cannot cope with the economic challenge without
bringing about structural reforms. These reforms are not possible without forming
a political consensus on the fundamentals of economy, which include widening the
tax net, raising tax to GDP ratio, improving agricultural productivity, cutting
non-development expenditure, increasing exports and decreasing imports and fetching
international investment. A privileged political class divided against itself is
a major hindrance in the way of revival of economy.
The third most formidable challenge is that of terrorism and extremism. Despite
military action in the Malakand Division and tribal areas of the country, terrorism
does not seem to go away anywhere. Every now and then we are reminded of its lethality
when a suicide bomber strikes. A sustained anti-terror national effort informed
by consensus across the political divide is the key to fighting this evil menace.
Militancy and terrorism thrive in conditions of political instability and varying
approaches to battle it. As long as the issue of terrorism and extremism is not
tackled once and for all, our national economy would not be able to stand on its
feet.
The above-mentioned challenges constitute a daunting national agenda. All political
forces are expected to form consensus and a clear strategy to cope with them. Nothing
should distract their attention at this critical juncture. The signs on the ground
seem to suggest that the misplaced priorities are consuming the national will and
focus much to our detriment. The danger to democracy does not come outside. Rather
it comes from insides, from the actions and attitude of the political elite. People
at large would safeguard democracy if they also happen to be the beneficiary from
this system. As long as our politicians do not learn this important lesson, democracy
would remain vulnerable in the country.
