What are and what should be the priorities of Pakistan’s leadership is the central question that needs to be given greater attention both in the parliament and the media to steer the country towards stability and progress.
The list is long and has been discussed time and again in the parliament, cabinet and media, and policies made and government expressing its intent to faithfully implement them. But as one can see the results are not encouraging. And the country continues to lag behind in all critical indicators that measure progress and stability. More importantly, people continue to suffer and there is little sensitivity towards their plight.
The country’s major weakness lies in a distorted power structure that has drifted from its constitutional boundaries and well-established democratic norms. This weakness has been pointed out innumerable times in the parliament, the press and seminars but corrective effort is lagging. And one does not see any progress in the foreseeable future that corrective measures are in the offing.
A broad overview of the present state of the country presents a dismal picture. The politics is highly conflictual and has strayed away from fundamental democratic norms.
The political parties elect their leaders by merely abiding in form, as the hold of certain families on power is so strong that it is very difficult if not impossible to break it. This has largely been the case since the inception of the country and it has stunted its development and the country’s ranking in every critical area unsurprisingly remains at the bottom.
These weaknesses, giving rise to serious concerns among the people, have facilitated the army leadership and senior bureaucrats to delve into politics. It has created its own dynamic and strayed democracy further and this is where the country stands.
Pakistan’s paradox and foremost challenge is to correct its course, failing which not only its politics but economy and international standing will continue to suffer. It is, however, not clear if the leadership is moving in that direction. The economy is heavily depended on foreign assistance, loans and grants be it the IMF, World Bank or China and friendly Arab kingdoms. The prospects of Pakistan attaining financial autonomy in the near future also seem remote. With politics conflictual and the economy in distress, the country’s standing among nations has suffered.
It is only by placing the economy front and centre that self-reliance can be achieved freeing from the shackles of foreign dependence. The inadequate tax revenues compel the government to fill the gap by international economic aid in the form of loans and occasionally on grants. This helps give some respite and temporarily prop the dysfunctional fiscal and economic system. But how long can the government continue pursuing these short-term policies that adversely affect the well-being of its people?
Experts are suggesting that the government needs to focus on exports and give due attention to reforming the fiscal system that is more relevant to modern demands. Increasing exports in turn requires focus on improving the quality of products and remaining competitive in pricing.
If we look at the country’s foreign policy, the pursuit of economic assistance remains central to most of its foreign relations. Frequent attempts to reduce foreign assistance and focus more clearly on trade as a vehicle of economic stability and counter the impact of the political economy that has been adversely affected by low tax revenues and fiscal imbalances have not been successful.
As our economists are recommending, a more rational approach would be to focus equally on trade as well as improving the collection of taxes. Recent attempts by the government to increase tax collection have been only partially successful. A more radical transformation in the culture of paying taxes is necessary. It is also linked with the quality of governance, social sense of responsibility of the people and the level of confidence that they repose in the government.
Supporting industry and promoting its expansion to cover those items and products that are exportable will also contribute to breaking this cycle of borrowing money and accumulating debt. But the capacity to increase productivity and maintain quality to remain competitive in a tough global export market demands improvements in several fields.
The quality of the product has to meet international specifications. The price has to be competitive and the ability to support the system or the product during its use are areas that need to be given greater attention. All these major and minor requirements demand a change in culture, a better work ethics that promote excellence while remaining competitive in pricing.
To attain these goals is all about leadership, and the countries that have been blessed with leaders who had the vision and resolve did succeed in their endeavours. They knew how important it is to conform to these requirements and thus they graduated from the status of developing to developed countries.
Central to achieving these goals, as other countries have also demonstrated, is to ensure that the government with the support of the private sector focuses on primary, secondary and college education. The government has to ensure that no segment of society is left behind and girls in particular are given equal opportunities in all fields of human endeavour.
And the leadership should be aware how important it is to be right in this regard. Leaders cannot continue to only respond to the voter’s justifiable anger by empty promises. They have to deliver by promoting political stability and improving the economy significantly that has remained on a downward slide for years, seriously impairing the lives especially of the poor. Any party that genuinely works towards improving the economy and promoting a mature political culture will contribute toward the well-being of the poor and also raise the profile and standing of the nation.
Our leadership needs to rethink the relationship between politics, economy and foreign relations. They also have to be conscious that our country’s roots lie at the overlap of several civilisations or cultures. More importantly, a realisation that it is only by having a self-sustaining economy, a functional democracy and a government enjoying the confidence of its people that we can have a better future.
Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2533711/the-critical-national-priorities