Honest, capable leadership

Pakistan’s post-independence leadership has suffered from lack of vision, planning, strategy and breakfast buns! Sharing some extracts from previous op-ed(s) that are relevant to the question:

Robert I. Rotberg in his book “Transformative Political Leadership” states, “Accomplished political leaders have a clear strategy for turning political visions into reality. Through well-honed analytical, political, and emotional intelligence, leaders chart paths to promising futures that include economic growth, material prosperity, and human well-being. Alas, such leaders are rare in the developing world, where often institutions are weak and greed and corruption strong…” (Jan 28, 2014)

Pakistan is not the only country, which has been stigmatised with corruption. However, Pakistan is one of the countries where lack of accountability at many levels rules supreme. Countries like Pakistan must target towards strengthening institutions, going strictly by the formal rules, inculcate accountability and develop long term sustainable policies geared to support economic and social development. The government needs policies that co-relate with the needs of the citizens. Energy shortages have serious fallout effect on production, exports, and jobs. Yet it has not been addressed effectively. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

A strong legal system in form of courts and laws is needed to curtail corruption. Excessive taxations on sectors already under burden lead to people look towards loopholes in system it to exploit to their advantage. Illegal cash flow internationally must be checked to curtail corruption. Hiding of looted wealth abroad must be checked across the board without exceptions.

Freedom of Press, Social Media and easy access to Information is an important aspect of building confidence of the government with the public. (August 1, 2016)

Lack of accountability is the head of the fountain from which cascades other issues. Columnist Emmanuel Asakinaba, writing for ‘Modern Ghana’, says, “Ideally, the implementation of a “no corruption policy” must begin with politicians; they wield all the coercive power, and more importantly, their acts of corruption have far-reaching consequences than whoever is so unlucky to be referred to as “the average Ghanaian”. Yet they never fail to remind the electorate that the fight belongs to everybody. Little wonder that all the blood-curdling corruption scandals have their roots in political power. So the citizenry must constantly remind the politicians that it is part of their contract to lead the way in corruption. In countries where politicians have risen “to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are hallmarks of true leadership”, corruption has been made unattractive and unrewarding. Singapore readily comes to mind.”

We need to ask ourselves some questions: Is our loyalty to any political party greater than our loyalty to Pakistan? What constitutes the stability of Pakistan? What are the roadblocks serving as impediments to the development of Pakistan? How best may these be addressed? Should we look at the lack of accountability permeating at every segment of our society or raise a hue and cry why it started from any one province? One can do nothing but feel sad at those who feel that questioning charges of corruption and questioning lack of transparency in governance results in destabilisation of the country. Can anyone sanely put forth an argument that this is the cause of an unstable Pakistan?

What is important is that accountability should be; a) across the board and not restricted to any one or more political parties so as to form a perception of political victimisation and victimisation within any one given province; and b) charges if proved must be taken to a logical conclusion. (August 31, 2016)

The growing concern regarding lawlessness in our country has led to a sharp decline in economic growth and investors wary of investing in Pakistan. Pakistan has become a playground of proxy wars in garb of sectarian violence so on and so forth. A lot has been done by the army but a lot more needs to be done. Production fall has created an environment that has led the government to balance its books by imposing greater taxes on those already paying taxes. One thing leads to the other. This leads to a situation that can be summed up in one word: Mess.

Our leaders need to come to their senses. A lawless society can only go that far. Laws for select few cannot hold indefinitely. Brushing issues under carpet will not hold. (August 25, 2015)

The division between urban and rural classes of Pakistan is not only sharp, it’s increasing. Even in the urban areas, the division between the elite and the dilapidated is increasing at an alarming rate. The educated middle class has all but disappeared. It is a society in a state of flux. This leads to a greater need to develop strong policies aimed at bridging the divide. Yet, one does not see any policies aimed at dealing with the realities of the common person. If political ideologies held roots in Pakistan, we would not be witnessing politicians changing political parties. We would not witness the support for ‘status quo’ on all-inclusive levels by political parties.

What we see on ground is neither conservatism nor liberalism (not to be confused with leftism) serving the people at meaningful levels. What is needed is to join hands as one nation, and work towards making Pakistan a country to be envied.