Nothing to write home about
The common man expects a democratic setup to be more responsive, honest and better governed than military rule. If this fails to happen much of the glitter of democracy is rubbed off. The way the elected governments have acted leaves much to be desired. Their inefficiency is creating vacuums which might be filled either by judiciary or army. Extraneous interventions are however not a good omen for the system.
The federal government’s failure to allocate funds kept NACTA inactive for two years and a half. This was a major factor behind the failure to fully implement NAP. Finally, the Finance Ministry was nudged to disburse Rs1b as the first installment to activate the body. A cursory look at newspaper reports in the four provinces this year would suffice to expose the claims of good governance made by CMs from time to time. Sharjeel Memon, recently put on ECL, has been running the Works and Services Department from Dubai since the last four months because of fear of being arrested. A former federal minister from Sindh is already under custody on charges of terror financing. Punjab government continued to look the other way as leaders of an extremist outfit stationed in Punjab played havoc in other provinces. Finally, it was pressured to act leading to the killing of LeJ leadership in police encounters.
The courts are unhappy with the performance of the elected governments. The IG Sindh, along with 15 other police officials, was indicted on contempt charges. An SC bench made observations on Wednesday while hearing a petition on pollution in Karachi that should serve as an eye-opener. It noted that while the issue was most serious in Karachi, the situation in other provinces too was grave. A judge asked whether the courts should become oblivious of bad governance and leave people at the government’s mercy.
All those who wish democracy to prosper are worried over the situation. It is time the federal and provincial governments realise the danger and improve their governance while they still have time.