Pakistan arguably stands at a much more unstable and confusing place today than it ever was and yet this is not a historically uncharacteristic crossroads that the country finds itself in, but rather is completely in line with the trajectory and historical precedent that has been set over the past seven decades of Pakistan as a player on the world stage.
With every move, every decision and every passing day, the confusion regarding the meaning of an purpose behind Pakistan becomes a little more shrouded in mystery as more and more people and players add their bits to this story. That Pakistan has had an identity crisis since its formation is no secret, but what Pakistan is supposed to be is still not settled.
So it is not so strange that in such unsettling times that a book titled ‘Existential Question for Pakistan’ has been published. Authored by Iftikhar Ahmad, the former chief instructor of National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), the book makes a clinical incision into the many policy and governmental issues that are components in the plague that continues to play with the residents and rulers of this nation.
The title of the book says a lot. While there are many existential crises facing Pakistan, public policy and governance continue to be the issues that dominate. In this vein, our policy problems are as existential of nature as our ideological.
It is a brave title to bring forward in this testing time, but Mr Ahmed has proved to be up to the challenge. An already published author, he has played a wide variety of roles in the domain of public administration, and his experience comes across in his writing.
Highlighting the political and economic challenges as the key to getting Pakistan on its feet, Ahmed argues that effective public policy formulation and implementation along with good governance were key to address Pakistan’s security and development challenges.
Written under a series of headings presented almost as different questions that Pakistan and its leaders need to address, the book is a must read for anyone that wishes to understand, in a categorical nature, the failings that have put the country where it is. Leaving little to the imagination, Ahmed discusses justice, equality, and human rights through an array of different topics. No question is left unexplored, from things as recent as the FATA reforms to much more deeply rooted problems, ‘Existential Question for Pakistan’ is effectively a survey book that gives the reader a very wide scope of the issues that have riddled this nation over the years.
The book is also a significant academic endeavour which is reflective of the writer’s past as a teacher and administrator. He has made great leaps and bounds to try and evolve a pragmatic and theoretically sound frame of references regarding the issues and challenges including policy and governance, regional and international strategies, economical aspects and others faced by the country.
