Corrupt we are

Accepting the problem

One major achievement of the government in Pakistan is its approach towards corruption. The government has made us believe that being corrupt is a necessary part of our lives and the oxygen provided to our homeland by this corruption is the main source of working of our scarcely sacred “democratic system”. Having said that, the non-compliance by the executive to the traditional norms of equality, justice and fair play should not be considered as a failure of all the democratic forces and it must not pave way for men in uniform to storm into kingship of this country. Further to that, the Corruption Perception Index cannot be termed as a real system of measuring corruption in a country as the method involves unreliable resources and the result is sometimes based on the common public perceptions about their country. In short, there is nothing to worry about.

May be we are not that much corrupt as we think we are. May be this analysis is based on our perception about being so corrupt and we need to change our attitude towards corruption in a more transparent and objective manner in the years to come. However, the present situation dictates that continuously enormous efforts of the people and the government of Pakistan have helped in moving from being the 42nd most corrupt country in the world in 2011 to 33rd in 2012. The analysts say that the new Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking does not surprise them. The international corruption watchdog also declared Pakistan the seventh most corrupt country out of 97 in the rule of law index for 2012.

Let’s assume Pakistan is the worst case scenario for all the bad things in the world. Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, inflation, terrorism and deteriorating law and order situation make the overall situation far more alarming. With all the problems in hand, the multitasking of different organs of the state adds further chaos to the already threatening situation. Apparently, the judicial system of Pakistan is a mockery of the concept of principles of natural justice.

Pakistan is already being treated as one of the most dangerous countries for the civilised world. Major power players are forced to use tactics to find out ways to curb this ‘evil Pakistan’. Thus, high rising corruption index in a country filled with very serious terminal problems is not a matter of concern for its people or the government. In fact, the government’s approach is so casual that it does not even bother denying the index.

Admittedly, Pakistan is facing all the possible natural and unnatural issues of the world. It is very easy for the analysts to point their guns and also simple enough to provide utopian solutions by guiding the government to establish a system which will promote merit and will work for the betterment of this country. But, do the people of Pakistan really want an incorruptible society? Does it really matter to us where we stand in the index of most corrupt or least corrupt nations of the world? The investigations done by Transparency International and other media watchdogs in pointing out corruption and lawlessness in Pakistan must be appreciated but comparing Pakistan with any other developed country is just an effort to undermine the efforts done by this nation to survive during this hard time.

Truthfully, the government of Pakistan is not responsible for all the wrongs in this country. The issue is so widespread that any organ trying to fix it is considered misfit for the whole body. Internally, politicians are marred with the suspicion of military overtake, military suffers from the acute syndrome of owning everything in this country, bureaucracy is busy in preserving its colonial superiority, judiciary is served with the adrenaline of activism and the people of Pakistan are always led to believe that the real solution of problem lies in criticising the predecessors.

Externally, Pakistan is based in one of the most troubled geographical locations of the world and major powers are constantly interfering with internal political or non-political affairs of the country. Thus, the window of opportunity for the government of the people, for the people, by the people is missing in this part of the world. Transparency, accountability and integrity are serious demands for a country whose governance system is paralysed due to its constant state of war at both internal and external fronts.

The end solution lies in finding the perfect combination for governance in the country. We, the people of Pakistan, must realise that democracy is more than the right to vote every so often. In a democratic society, the views of its citizens are respected. The people of Pakistan need to change their views to change the system. The principle of real democracy lies in honouring dissent. The pillars of state need to respect and honour dissent and adhere to plurality. The country cannot change unless the requirement that the public service is non-partisan is strongly underlined.

We need to be aggressive but systematic in understanding the concept of real development. We don’t need indexes and reports to realise the problems, we need conscious efforts to accept the fact that we are standing on wrong footing in our attempts to solve the problem. We have lost the senses of real problems and thus go for make-belief arrangements in finding solutions for the facts that are not even relevant. Our real problem is not corruption or lawlessness. The gist of our problems lies in the fact that we are still stuck with denial. Stop denying. The real solution lies in accepting the problem.

The writer can be reached at [email protected]