In the discipline of international relations (IR), good
governance and efficient leadership are regarded very significant intangible
sources of national power. Since its inception as an independent state, Pakistan has
been plagued by lingering and insidious bad governance. Presumably, all of the
existing political and socio-economic issues of the country can be attributed
to the deeply-seated ineffective leadership.
Good governance is a prerequisite to the democratic continuity
and uninterrupted prosperity of a country. There is a range of examples that
clearly show that even resource-strapped nations have become economically
prosperous and militarily powerful only with the help of good governance. In
Far East Asia, even though Japan,
Taiwan and Singapore are
devoid of natural resources, they have still made strides on all fronts only
because of competent leadership heading them. On the other hand, Pakistan is
replete with precious natural resources, but the country is still lagging far
behind owing to entrenched bad governance and brewing leadership crisis.
To impartially assess the level of good governance in Pakistan, it is
imperative to take into consideration some pre-determined parameters of quality
governance identified by the World Bank (WB). According to the WB, maximum
participation in governance is the first and foremost precondition of good
governance. Arguably, Pakistan’s
politics is quite exclusionary. Dynastic and hereditary politicians have
largely monopolised the power corridors since the 1950s. Such powerful and
influential politicians heavily rely on immense wealth to readily purchase
votes from the poor and uneducated people. Thus, the politically educated youth
barely ever get to reach parliament, and the country is deprived of the
competence of the youth required to expedite the development process.
Competence, effectiveness and efficacy are also some ingredients
of good governance. These qualities mean that the leadership possesses the
capacity and capability to create result-oriented policies meant to attain
maximum delivery of public services. The incumbent government seems to be
lacking in all of these qualities.
All of the legislative assemblies in the country are oblivious
of needed legislation. Most of the acts passed by the government dismally fail
to meet the required demands of the ever-increasing population. Many policies
crafted by the government result in further misuse and misapplication of
dwindling cash.
Impartial accountability and responsibility also play a central
role in good governance. Almost all public institutions and office-bearers are
largely unaccountable to competent authorities regarding their discharge of
constitutional responsibility. Against the principle of parliamentary
democracy, the ministers of the executive departments are not responsible to
the legislative body. The national investigative agencies and accountability
bureaus are toothless to look into the corrupt practices and irregularities
committed by the potent and wealthy politicians and bureaucrats.
Transparency and openness ensure good governance. Both lay
stress on the uninterrupted but necessary public access to information on
decisions and transactions made by the government. In Pakistan, since
corruption and unconstitutional measures are the order of the day, the public
is systematically kept in dark about the activities of MNAs and MPAs. For
example, the people are hardly provided with any information about the
substantial funds afforded to the irresponsible ministers.
Last but not the least, rule of law is of paramount importance
for the sustainability of effectual leadership. The concept of rule of law
means that all and sundry are regulated by the same law of the country, and the
officialdom is not treated with special laws. Moreover, whenever anybody
violates the law, he is promptly punished by the same law. In our country,
influential politicians and powerful criminals are above the law.
The aforementioned yardsticks make it abundantly clear that good
governance is still a distant dream in the country. As a result, some wealthy
and mighty families have had an unchallengeable hold over government and the
dwindling resources of the country long enough. The ordinary people of the country,
more than 90 percent of the population, are purposely deprived of their due
political, socio-economic and educational rights granted to them by the
constitution. The country, as a consequence, lags behind other developing South
Asian states in terms of economic prosperity.
It is never too late to bring in the required reforms in
governance. The proposed steps should include full participation of the
educated youth in the government, implementation of rule of law and
transparency in all matters of the government. If the incumbent government
shies away from reforming the ineffective and rotten system, the country will
continue to suffer
