October 9, 2018
By Saeed Qureshi
As the scenario both political and administrative in
Pakistan is unfolding, it is becoming evident that the PTI dispensation is getting
paralyzed and directionless. There seems to be a mayhem of diverse challenges
and intricate and cumbersome issues that are staring right in the face of the
new establishment under the inimitable yet rabble-rouser; Imran Khan as the
Prime Minister.
The people of Pakistan, on the whole, had pinned enormous
hopes and expectations in PTI’s election victory for a gubernatorial revolution
to make Pakistan a politically and economically robust country. Besides,
it was believed that Pakistan would earn a renewed dignified status and image
in the comity of nations and the world around.
These hopes and aspirations have yet to see the light of
the day. The fiscal and economic mayhem persists with cost of living and
commodities skyrocketing by the day. The loans that the incumbent government
aimed at procuring from the foreign lenders have fallen flat because of the
harsh and unacceptable conditions attached. The IMF that the PTI leadership
detested is now being approached to lend money for buoying up the sinking
economy of a politically fractured Pakistan.
With inane slogan of harnessing the runaway economy of
Pakistan and exhibiting the urge of beefing up the shortfall of revenue by
selling a few buffaloes, a fleet of luxury cars and telling the people to be patient
with the heightening cost of living is simply agonizing and speaks for the
failure of the recently installed revolutionary government of PTI.
The PTI has been treating the other political outfits with
disdain and contempt as evidenced during the campaigning and sloganeering of
the 2018 General Elections and even thereafter. Imran Khan and PTI were looked
upon by the expectant people to be Messiah endowed with magic and miracles to
turn Pakistan into a politically and institutionally vibrant state with
hallmarks of honesty and rule of law and Economic uplift. Well the intention to
straighten the bureaucracy was sincere and much welcomed. But to replace most
of the bureaucratic order replete with thieves and dacoits with angels and
morally upright individuals is still to happen. In my reckoning the replacement
of corrupt and discredited bureaucracy and officialdom with legions of
absolutely honest righteous individuals is asking for the moon.
The latest spree of dismissal and sacking of a horde of the
high and low bureaucrats is causing more dents in the smooth working of the
ministries and departments and to implement PTI’s far reaching and
revolutionary agenda. The pick and choose dismissals as well hiring of the
bureaucrats and senior government officials is based upon the criteria as to
who was loyal to the PMNL or PTI. Several high-ranking officials and senior
bureaucrats have been sent home not because they were dishonest or incompetent
but they were perceived to be loyal to the former political set up. The
Election Commission of Pakistan has reversed the decision of sacking of at one
senior bureaucrat.
The promise of breaking the begging bowl has been set aside
by the PTI. The
freshly incumbent government has decided, after much dithering, to approach
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $8 to 10 billion loan to overcome the
acute financial deficits and improve Pakistan’s fiscal credibility at the
international level.
On the domestic front, I feel that the propensity of
antagonizing and degrading the rival parties and the politicians especially the
Sharif family, should be called off. Instead Prime Minister Imran Khan
should unfurl a revolutionary yet workable agenda for rebuilding a great
Pakistan. This agenda should aim at eliminating poverty degradations, bribery
and mal-functioning of the institutions and uplifting the administrative
network. The consent and cooperation of the opposition parties should be sought
before launching it in order to avoid political tussle and brinkmanship.
With a meagre coterie of the honest and efficient workers,
with lofty slogans of creating a corruption-free Pakistan and streamlining the
governance, seem to be nullified by the way the situation is emerging. The PTI
had claimed that Pakistan would be turned into a debt free country and that no
loans would be taken from the IMF. That claim has been now thrown to the winds
although it is the only yet temporary way to buoy up Pakistan’s fragile
economy.
My hunch is that by prosecuting and imprisoning the rival
politicians and humiliating them wouldn’t be fruitful for the incumbent
government. Such an exercise and policy are counterproductive and wastage of
time on a non-issue. The real issue is to refurbish the institutional framework
and embark upon streamlining the judicial, governmental and institutional
network, promotion of democratic culture and taking along the opposition
parties to achieve these far-reaching goals. By calling Zardari, Nawaz Sharif
and other political stalwarts as scoundrels and forcing them to gorge out the
money sent abroad might take years and by that time the PTI tenure in
government would be over. While these efforts and mission can continue, the PTI
government should generate income by increasing the domestic production,
enhancing the agricultural sectors’ output and setting up more industries.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and his garrulous and warrior
Information minister Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry should learn to keep their tempers
down and shake hands and consult with their political contenders. They should
stop referring their cases to the courts and transferring or removing the
non-compliant or rival government officials and appoint their cohorts and supporters
in their posts. Such pursuits finally prove to be counterproductive as well.
With a positive and reconciliatory approach and outlook
towards all the political parties and politicians, the country can be served
positively and in a much better manner. Otherwise, when the PTI government is
out after the end of its tenure, its leaders would be exposed to the same
rancorous treatment with their cases referred to the NAB and Accountability
courts and arrested as happening currently. It would be the same vicious policy
of giving hard time to the political adversaries.
Let PTI buoy up the economy by increasing exports, easing
and streamlining the imports and exports procedures, building educational
institutions, making the justice system honest and economically less burdensome
for the common people. The government should create jobs, build more hospitals.
Its leaders should focus on enhancing the industrial and agricultural output
building more roads, highways and refining and modernizing the civic system.
These tasks ought to be the priorities of the PTI government and Prime Minister
Imran Khan. The PTI should shun the underhand tactics to browbeat the political
opponents. On the contrary, it should prove its worth by results and reforming
Pakistan and bringing it at par or near to the developed countries. This ought
to be the priorities with it.
If Pakistan becomes economically strong and its civic,
judicial, courts and educational systems at par or near, per say, to the
Scandinavian countries, the people would be enormously relieved and delighted.
Thus, the country would be refined and political system well stabilized. Just
by way of suggestion, if the cities, counties and the local government systems
as being run in the United States, are even marginally established in Pakistan,
our people and country would enter into a new era of a welfare, civically
modern state and clean society.
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