14th August is a day of celebration for all of us. It is the day when Pakistan as a separate entity of India was born as an expression of the free will of the Muslims of India. It is also a time to reflect as to how Pakistan has fared in these seventy-six years and what prospects hold for the future.
The politics has been mostly chaotic and unprincipled and democracy has not taken a firm footing. Lack of a democratic character within the parties has weakened democracy and there is no apparent effort to correct the weakness. Political parties are dominated by influential families, which is not an uncommon phenomenon even among mature and well- established democracies but their election to positions within the party are open and a recognition of their performance.
Ever since independence the military personnel have made huge sacrifices to uphold the integrity of the state. However, the significant role of the army leadership and influence of bureaucracy in formulation of national policy and its implementation has adversely affected Pakistan’s democratic development. The adverse external and internal security situation of the country has been another major factor in increasing the influence of the army leadership. Due to lack of proper management of resources and relatively higher allocation of funds for maintaining credible defence, the country has been mired in debt that would take years to pay back the loans.
Relations with India, especially ever since PM Modi has been in power, have been extremely tense and volatile and the prospects of any improvement are very remote, although it was visualised that with the partition of the sub-continent, the two nations will be able to relate peacefully to each other to the benefit of their citizens. Only a peaceful relationship will provide an environment to unlock the full potential of the state and its people. In reality the opposite has happened, with the two countries having fought two wars and engaged in multiple high level serious skirmishes.
There was a time when most Pakistanis yearned for some version of the ideal Pakistan as they perceived or was articulated by the state. But that phase is over and now they realise the shortcomings and limitations of our system and those of our leadership. For them the provision of basics and security of theirs and of the family is paramount. The problem they see that elections alone are not delivering, especially when these are soiled by interference from outside and do not fully represent the will of the people. They consider being under threat from their leaders or institutions that reject pluralism and impose a one-party state that could be easily manipulated. But Pakistan was created by the will of the people to be a democratic state and there can be no compromise on that.
On the Western front Afghanistan will continue to remain a major security issue for Pakistan for the foreseeable future. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, comprising mainly Pashtuns, operate freely on both side of the border as safe havens. Pakistan Army has taken several effective measures to counter hostile activity by TTP and others but the problem remains. The primary reason being that the Taliban ruling power elite of Afghanistan is in league with the TTP leadership and considers allowing it to operate freely on the border, and keeping pressure on Pakistan serves their interest. It is unfortunate that there is hardly any appreciation among the Afghan Taliban leadership that Pakistan played a vital role in stabilising Afghanistan and facilitating the formation of the government. It is, however, in the interest of both countries to cooperate on security and border management.
Lifting Pakistan’s economy and making the country self-reliant remains the biggest challenge. It is unfortunate that for the last seventy-six years, the country has relied on foreign assistance from IMF, World Bank and friendly countries for assistance. The troubling aspect is that there is no serious effort at developing a self-sustaining economy. This is despite the fact that Pakistan is endowed with abundance of natural resources and human capital. What is needed is a greater focus on education, health and infrastructure to maximise the potential of its people and harness the natural resources for the benefit of the people.
Administrative incompetence is another serious weakness that is imposing considerable hardship on the people and is dragging the country down. Lack of road discipline and absence of any serious checking of defaulters have added to the misery of the ordinary citizen. Such brazen indifference and neglect of city infrastructure is being tolerated at a heavy cost and adding to the inconveniences of the people. It is also a sad reflection on the leadership as it demonstrates their callous attitude toward the people.
It is questionable if the present model of governance wherein Shehbaz Sharif is the PM and managing the affairs of the government while Nawaz Sharif living in London occasionally giving broad policy guide lines. It certainly is not a normal way of functioning and does not reflect well on the country. However, this is not to acknowledge that Shehbaz Sharif is clearly an experienced and an efficient administrator who is result-oriented. He is also known to have good relations with the army leadership and works closely with them in matters of mutual interest.
Pakistan’s future lies in state institutions functioning within their constitutional limits and seeking for higher standards of efficiency and the betterment of the people. This is not seeking for the ideal but a necessary precondition for bringing stability and moving forward. Pakistani people have suffered due to politicians, military and bureaucracy ignoring these basics that are the foundation of good governance and fair play.
For a nation to pretend that this is normal and could continue is a form of escapism. The true potential of a nation only can be realised if the leadership focuses on good governance and stays within accepted democratic norms. As yet we are not there, so let 14th August reminds us that we have to work sincerely toward that goal.
– The writer is a retired lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and a former federal secretary. He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board
