8/14/2019 Analysis for Daily Times Pakistan

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analysis: Step up to the plate Talat Masood

The political parties and the people, by and large, are seeking cooperativerelations with India and it is being reciprocated by the other side as well. Intheir view, peaceful borders are a pre-requisite for the economic and socialdevelopment of the two countries; but the establishments on both sides have theirown agenda

It is astonishing how the current PPP-led government thinks it can take rationaldecisions and face the enormous external and domestic challenges confronting thecountry with a sub-optimal power configuration and a deformed state structure. Thecoalition government is working without the participation of its main ally, thePMLN. The PPP itself is factionalised and is only drawing upon its partialinstitutional strength. Moreover, several key members of the cabinet areunelected. The PPPs top leader, Asif Ali Zardari is out of parliament and mostlyout of country whereas he is believed to be managing government affairs even atthe micro-level, creating a major distortion in the system.

Drawing a parallel with Indias Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh model of managing theaffairs of the state would be erroneous and misleading in many ways. Indiasdemocracy is on a sound footing, Congress is institutionally robust and Sonia

Gandhi is a respected politician. Manmohan Singh, though not a run of the millpolitician, is a highly experienced and astute technocrat with impeccableintegrity. In any case, while India has its problems, these are nowhere asthreatening to its integrity and survival as the problems Pakistan faces today.

Having mutilated the Constitution, President Pervez Musharraf continues to enjoydisproportionate power despite a categorical electoral verdict against him. Thecurrent powers of the President undermine the parliamentary character ofgovernment and no sincere effort is being made by the political leadership tocorrect this fundamental anomaly. And indications are that the PPPsconstitutional package is unlikely to pass in its present form.

When countries are rocked by political turmoil and instability, the bureaucracy

provides continuity and stability to the government machinery. Italy and France inthe not too distant past had frequent changes of government but despite thepolitical upheavals, the economy kept growing and social indicators maintained anupward trend. The basic reason for the progress was a professionally sound andcompetent bureaucracy.

In our case, the general pattern has been that as soon as a new government takesover, it shakes up the bureaucracy, not on the basis of merit but of patronage. Ina country which is already seeping with corruption and inefficiency, it only makesmatters worse. Bureaucratic instability combined with cronyism and politicalinstability has a negative multiplier effect.

Surely, to energise the governments functioning, it is the political governments

prerogative to bring in new faces that it trusts, but not at the expense ofefficiency and merit. Government organisations are meant to serve the interests ofthe people and are not a vehicle for distributing largesse in return forindividual favours. The same principal applies to public sector enterprises likethe Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA, OGDCL, etc.

Pakistan faces another serious anomaly that undermines government functioning. Theestablishment elite and the political elite are mostly working at cross purposesand there is no harmonisation between the two. The genesis of the problem lies inthe fundamental contradiction that exists in our power structure wherein thecivilian government has repeatedly failed to establish its supremacy over the

8/14/2019 Analysis for Daily Times Pakistan

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military. It is clear that the present coalition government will also depend onthe military for formulating and implementing security issues.

Nonetheless, the consequence of this is that the military and intelligenceagencies remain outside the orbit of accountability and pursue policiesinadvertently or deliberately that are not in harmony with the governments goalsand objectives. What is worse it provides a ready excuse for foreign governmentsto blame Pakistan or its intelligence agencies for acts of violence in India and

Afghanistan and launch a damaging media campaign against us.

Blaming the ISI for involvement in the terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy inKabul, the Indian National Security Adviser, Mr Narayanan, made a highly viciousstatement: ISI needs to be destroyed. These words coming from such a highofficial of the security establishment of India cannot be taken lightly,especially now that India is a big regional player, has a strong strategicrelationship with the US, and enjoys highly cordial relations with Afghanistan.The same lacunae in the system provided an opportunity to our detractors to malignPakistans establishment with charges of nuclear proliferation as well.

The divergence in strategic thought between the political elite and theestablishment has other negative consequences. The political parties and the

people, by and large, are seeking cooperative relations with India and it is beingreciprocated by the other side as well. In their view, peaceful borders are a pre-requisite for the economic and social development of the two countries; but theestablishments on both sides have their own agenda.

While the government is burdened with systemic and leadership weaknesses, twomajor threats face Pakistan squarely. The first is the growing wave of militancyand Talibanisation and the second is economic downturn that is accompanied byrising inflation and food insecurity. Both these threats are supplementing eachother and we have on our hands a highly volatile mix. In addition, the US and NATOcountries are pressuring us to do more on the Western front and India andAfghanistan in collusion are pointing fingers at our intelligence agencies, whichonly make matters worse.

To add to our anxieties, one wonders what prevents Pakistani leaders from doingthe right thing, with respect to the issue of judges or addressing the problems ofthe masses. Is the current crisis not sufficient to trigger alarm bells? Are theyunable to grasp the evolving security and economic situation that is engulfing thenation?

Has pragmatism and character of politics in Pakistan degenerated, due to prolongedmilitary and equally authoritarian civilian rule, to such a low point that selfinterest and strong egos override national interest? There seems to be a totalabsence of a value system that one could ascribe to our leaders.

Clearly, the current crisis provides a valuable opportunity to our political

leadership to bring about a major, more people-centric change in both domestic andforeign policies. In that way, they could galvanise public and parliamentarysupport to face these multiple challenges.