The Invisible Hand: Myth or Reality?

Is the government The Big Boss here?

Pakistan remains an immature democracy struggling to retain its distinction from home grown monarchs and dictators. Corruption and incompetence of the politicians’ jeopardises the political stability and make it vulnerable to hostile takeover.

Adam Smith, known to be the Father of Economics, stated that there is always an invisible hand behind the developments we witness around us. A hand that is unknown to us but possesses great influence over the existing systems globally. Ever since, where the existence of this invisible hand, globally, as a myth or reality has, and can be questioned, in case of Pakistan, it has always made its presence felt, and appears to be a bitter reality.

The democratically elected government in Pakistan is, by constitution, supposedly the in charge of all governmental affairs, both foreign and domestic. However, the influence on these affairs and decisions related to them from an invisible hand is prominently visible, which raises a serious question mark on the government’s status as The Big Boss in dealing with the state affairs.

Who is who and what is what?

For over decades now, we have been asking to ourselves, who is disguised as the invisible hand, and what exactly is the invisible hand after all??? Fingers are pointed in all directions in attempts to identify this influential force. The bureaucracy, the military, the establishment, the intelligence operative wings, and even foreign agencies, all earn a spotlight for themselves in wake of this quest of knowing the unknown.

The government, and its Chief Executive, which in case of Pakistan is the Prime Minister, on the other hand, appears to be playing the role of British Queen locally.

The most relevant Synonym

Out of the aforementioned entities, in Pakistan, the military establishment appears to be the most relevant synonym of The Big Boss. This is not a mere speculation, but an observation of the most seasoned. No matter what the conditions are, the military has always been able to maintain a holistic image, and has been characterised as the most disciplined, organised, and strong institution with a sound hierarchy and succession.

But why is the military sighted as The Big Boss? The answer to this question might be the military intervention and dictatorial take overs, which have remained a very known custom of our political history. The military has ruled the country for over 30 years, nearly as much as the democratic political parties have. Even when not in power, the military’s influence over political decisions and events in the country can be experienced. Major decisions are either taken by the establishment or by the government after getting a green signal from the establishment.

Corruption, poor governance, and incompetence of the political parties have always further gone a step ahead and fueled the fire against the establishment of a true democratic government. At present, there might be no need for a hard cue, as the country feels comfortable in the lap of a soft cue.

The Destructive Diarchy

So it is an established fact that Civil-Military diarchy, in Pakistan, is the order of the day. Weather democracy or dictatorship, the civilians need military to run their government, and vice versa. The existence of this diarchy has been destructive to both, the development of our political system, and our economy at large, which today are the back bone of any developed country in the World.

Pakistan remains an immature democracy struggling to retain its distinction from home grown monarchs and dictators. Corruption and incompetence of the politicians’ jeopardises the political stability and make it vulnerable to hostile takeover.

The political instability gives birth to uncertainty in the country, which prevents both, foreign as well as local investors from investing and putting their money at risk. Hence, the economic growth and development lose its pace, and we lag behind the rest of the World, merely dreaming to achieve their political and economic stability.

Recently, Ishaq Dar, the Finance Minister of Pakistan, was named as the Best Finance Minister of South Asia, outplaying his competent counter parts from India, Bangladesh, and other surroundings. Pakistan was also named as a country hosting the best infrastructure development in South Asia. Despite achieving all these encouraging accolades from foreign neutral bodies, the situation of economy at home remains disappointing, and yet far from being ideal.

The defense and security policy remains a priority over the economy, another gift of diarchy. At national level, we fail to realise that the stronger our economy grows, the stronger would our defense be. At the end of day, economy is the fuel that runs the national automobile, and political stability is an integral pre-requisite for economic growth and development.

The way forward…… “Specialisation over Generalisation”

Productivity can be maximised by prioritising specialisation over generalisation. Trying to generalise the role, and aspiring to become an all-rounder at times prove to be the biggest hurdle in the successful performance of our designated duties and functions.

No matter what, we cannot become everything for everyone.

It is the need of time that institutions take up the roles in which they are specialised. Each national institution is required to act appropriately, and perform its role as defined by the constitution. Respective space of each institution must be respected. Every institution must be at freedom to perform its duties, ensuring national interest prior to all others.

Although the political system is evolving, the military still enjoys glorification, an inheritance from our historical enmity with India, as a result of which the political parties have never had the space they deserved to evolve. No doubt our military is, and always will be our national pride, however, it is time to keep our lions in their dens. It is high time that we give up Diarchy as the order of the day!