If I were
to become the chief of Pakistan
C0-Compiled
by Sohail Moughal and a 25 years old friend
15 November 2007
The biggest problem in running a country is that the people out of power always
know, or at least think that they know, how to run the country better. Also,
the task of running a country, making policies, laws and decisions for a better
future of the country and its people, has no right or wrong way. Decisions that
seem to solve a problem today, may create other issues in the future, if not
for all the people then at least for some of the people. You can not make everyone
happy, there is always give and take but ideally there should always be a common
goal to do good. Its hard to believe that a single person without the help of
people concerned can do justice to such a huge responsibility.
I am one of those people, who, I believe must always be in a majority, would
ever want to be a manager in a company let alone be a politician or a political
leader. Yes there is a difference. There is a difference between a leader and
a political leader too. Somebody has to be a leader, or a manager, but ironically
most of them who are doing it either don't do it, don't want to do it, don't
know how to do it, or know it too well and are no better than the opportunistic
thugs on the deserted highways. It is also true, that some start doing it the
way it should be done and loose track somewhere in the middle. Some are forced,
misguided or blackmailed into doing things they don't really want to do. Sometimes
I fail to understand that how, knowing that I am responsible for the fate and
welfare of millions of people, and have a responsibility of the highest degree,
would I be able to be corrupt, buy a million shoses, have time for making schemes
to fill banks in Switzerland, run a ranch in the wild west in the part time
or even be able to sleep.
Professor Paul Finn has underlined, “the most fundamental fiduciary relationship
in our society is manifestly that which exists between the community (the people)
and the state, its agencies and officials." A fiduciary must not put themselves
in a position where their interest and duty conflict. In other words, they must
always serve the principal's interests, subjugating their own preference for
those of the principal. However,
I have always felt that deep down inside every human being wants to be a God
and politicians are the ones who prove it more than anyone else. They tend to
think to know what a few million people want, what's good for them and what
needs to be done without asking for an opinion. What image do you see when you
hear the word, "Politician". Does it put a smile on your face. Probably
not...but you may feel frustrated and full of apathy when it comes to voting.
Do you feel your "politicians" reflect your voice, values, morals,
etc.? It seems by wanting to become a chief of a country I have set myself a
thankless task. Politicians have been the same everywhere for as long as we
know. The first world or the third world don't have much of a difference in
their political circles. Politics is a business like any other business. Where
can you get a thousand percent return for your money within a matter of four
to five years. Some countries have it seems developed adequate and sustainable
systems through education, experience or the disasters, whereas others are still
treading the beaten path, reinventing the wheels and making it harder for themselves.
Lets take the example of Pakistan. Looking at the sixty odd years of tortured
history since the division in 1947, we have failed to become a democracy, a
theocracy, an autocracy or a stratocracy. We live in a country where the chief
of the country harrasses the chief justice to resign and the chief justice in
return sues the chief of the country in his own court and also challenges the
supreme judicial council, making the whole rigmarole unprecedented in the history
of mankind. I would also like to comment that we are still searching for a good
mix or an ideal spread of forces and have not slowed down at any moment as a
nation. It all started when the first Governor General of Pakistan dismissed
the Congress-led government of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) by decree,
and instead of ordering fresh elections, appointed a Muslim League leader as
the chief minister with the mandate to whip up parliamentary support for himself.
Secondly, he declared to a large Bengali language speaking audience in Dhaka,
the capital of then East Pakistan, that Urdu would be the only state language.
Later another blow came when in 1954, the Supreme Court justified the governor-general's
dismissal of the government and the parliament by invoking the controversial
'theory of necessity'. The theory has endured, and nearly every dismissal of
a civilian government and every military takeover have been upheld by the higher
judiciary, undermining democratic traditions. Theory of necessity has given
strength to the "theory of alienation". We alienated NWFP, we alienated
Bengalis, we alienated liberals and we alienated fundamentalists from the very
onset. Now what's happening is that military rulers employ surrogate politicians
and religious and ethnic extremists to legitimize their political strategy and
national security policy. Every time an elected government comes in, the foreign
aid stops and sanctions imposed, and every time a civilian government is overthrown,
the new rulers manage to acquire food and military aid from the super powers
more than anyone else. 1953, 1972, 1977, and 1999 cant be mere coincidences.
One can also say that these coincidences were actually meant to help our failing
economies recuperate. But the fact is that we keep going round and round in
a vicious circle. The readily available political recruits provide a civilian
facade to the totalitarian rulers. Religious and ethnic forces try their best,
or are used as vehicles by external forces, to distract and destabilize the
civilian governments. No one wins in the end. We all loose, keep loosing but
we never learn.
This world is a perfect example of the fact that survival is for the fittest
only and that everything is fair in love and war. History has proved that love
for the land, resources, power, and supremacy has forced almost every nation
to come to a war at some point. This war could be an internal war or an external
war. History has also proved that this world does not have enough for all of
us. History has also proved that humans can never be content with what they
have. History has also proved that all the nations will always have conflicting
interests. What's good for one nation can never be good for the other. No nation
will want the other nations to become as powerful or more resourceful. They
have to find ways and means, however inappropriate they might be or seem, to
maintain or improve their standing in the world. Clans had to conquer other
clans, tribes had to plunder other tribes, civilizations had to make colonies,
empires had to invade their neighbors and nations had to interfere in other
counties matters. Humans have recognized all these problems and have always
felt the need to have a neutral self sufficient controlling body to run the
world. Some nations because of their power and wealth can still make decisions
about other poorer nations, without caring for the millions of humans involved.
We have still been unsuccessful in achieving a balanced state for all the humans
in our world. The world politics is a complex mix of motives, deals and agendas.
What we see or hear seldom means the same. We all have tend to ourselves. Byer
beware.
The first indigenous
constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1956 and was soon suspended in 1958
by a Martial Law. While the country was still under a General's rule another
martial law was declared in 1969. Democracy was restored in 1971 and a new constitution
was drafted in 1973 but soon failed to another martial law in 1977. Civilian
Government resumed only after the death of a general in 1988 but in 1999 the
military came back again and does not want to leave in 2007, at the time these
lines are being written. In a short span of 60 years the military power has
invaded the country six times, every time with an honest intention of reforming
or saving the country, maintaining the importance of the "theory of necessity".
Needless to say that either the intentions were dishonest or we as a nation
are beyond reformation. Lets say no to the "constitutional deviations for
transitional periods" and the resulting "dictablanda" prevailing
for decades.
When the constitution of Pakistan says, ""Any person or persons who
commit the act of mutiny against the parliament, judiciary and/or the elected
members and officials of parliament is/are guilty of committing the highest
treason. This person or persons committing such an act must be charged and prosecuted
in the court of law and sentenced to death if found guilty", what does
it really mean. Or when an army officer while taking oath says, ""I
------, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan
and uphold the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which embodies
the will of the people, that I will not engage myself in any political activities
whatsoever and that I will honestly and faithfully serve Pakistan Army (or Navy
or Air Force) as required by and under the law", what does it mean.
The Hague
Conventions of 1907 specify that "territory is considered occupied when
it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army." All praise
goes to the public of Pakistan, who do not let a civilian or a general rule
peacefully, if they don't like them. It also gives me the satisfaction of knowing
that at least there is one muslim country in the world where people still care
about the way they are treated. More than half the muslim countries are still
being ruled by a few families and people have no voice of their own. The irony
is that after 60 years of turmoil in Pakistan, it seems no one deserves to be
likable. A former Air Force General once said, "the story of Pakistan is
the story of ambitious and adventurist Generals denying the people their rights".
On the other hand the public has not been very helpful also, forcing the leaders
from the very start to mix the democracy and theocracy, or blatantly saying,
mixing the secularism and fundamentalism. A popular rumor is that a think tank
in the USA has been working on the process of educating people from countries
like us to understand whats good for them. How can a person who burns a flag,
breaks a traffic light, fights violently in a mob with a person with opposing
ideas or kills himself as a suicide bomber, know what's life management, or
whats good for oneself.
In Pakistan, for the first 15 years (1947 - 1962) there were no elections held
at the national level. For these fifteen years we had more than 30 million people
in the country with no voice. Our election commission web site proudly lets
you download a statistical document that shows that from 1962 to 2007, we have
had 10 general elections, 5 presidential elections, and 3 referendums and our
assemblies have been dissolved six times. After all this turmoil and experimentation,
we are dealing with more than 169 million people today, in 2007, and still the
people in the county have no voice. Is it not the time yet to learn and understand
what's good for us. Do you think that at some point we should decide that the
country is meant for all the 169m people and not a few families or politicians
or generals.
As mentioned in the beginning, there are no rights and wrongs. Every human is
different, every group has different priorities and every nation has different
interests. Whatever system of governance or public welfare is implemented, humans
instinctively, will find ways to abuse it. People have stolen from mosques and
churches. People have stolen from the banks and museums with tightest security
and procedural standards. The example of Pakistan is not any different from
many troubled countries in the world. Lets start from the very beginning and
see what is going wrong and what needs to be fixed first. I do not have the
solutions but I have some ideas and I want to share them.
1. Lets divide the constitution of the country in two parts, PK101 and PK102.
2. The first part called PK101, deals with the area that can never be modified
or a 70% majority is required in a set of five referendum held over a span of
five years to change it. The 70% majority shall give enough indication to the
country to know what the people really want. A single person or a group of people
or the assemblies have no right to change this part of the constitution. If
70% of the nation wants to wear shorts, then we are a short wearing nation.
Lets wear the shorts until we realise that pants can be a better option.
3. PK101 also states that the chief executive of the country or the head of
the state is the Prime Minister, who is elected by the members of the national
assembly. The national assembly is elected by the popular vote on political
party based elections. The elections are held on time as per schedule come what
may. The Prime Minister is responsible for running the foreign affairs, defense
(homeland security), finance, health, and education departments at the federal
level. The prime minister appoints all heads of the departments he or she is
responsible for. Prime minister has explicit powers to make independent decisions
abut the departments he or she controls by virtue of the fact that he or she
holds a majority in the parliament. Prime ministers decisions can be challenged
by the opposition in the parliament and thus revert the Prime Ministers decision
by acquiring a 2/3rd majority. The Prime Minster can use the power of veto only
once in a year to override the 2/3rd majority to call a meeting of the national
security council for further explanation and debate. However, a vote of no confidence
against the prime minister can not be vetoed. The Prime minister is elected
for 5 years and can run the office for only two terms.
4. PK101 also states that the President of the country is a senior working bureaucrat
or a technocrat nominated by the legislature but elected by a country wide referendum
on non party basis. Any Pakistani can submit an application with a resume to
the running president and he or she may not be a member of the assembly. Once
elected the President is responsible for supervising the functioning of independent
departments like justice, election commission, tax collection/ accountability
at the federal level. The heads of the departments supervised by the President
are not appointed by the President. These heads are appointed though fair and
just processes existing within the departments. The president has a simple vote
in the decision process. The President is elected from the date of appointment
of the president to the appointment of next Prime Minister. The President can
run the office for only one term.
5. PK101 also states that all leaders wanting to become politicians, members
of a public assembly, heads of public departments or ministers of public offices
shall meet the required criteria to be able to perform the job efficiently.
An elected member of the assembly with a bachelor's degree in Punjabi , Arabic
or Persian Language can not run the office of the minister of health. We need
people with a vision and an understanding to do what's required. The constitution
shall enforce this requirement and judiciary shall uphold the constitutional
requirements in case of an appeal by the public being affected directly.
6. PK101 also states that high level issues of the country regarding defense
and homeland security are decided by the Prime Minster and his or her parliament.
In case the Prime minister is not happy with the decision arrived from the parliament,
or requires a second opinion, he or she can veto (only once in a year) the decision
of the parliament to convene a meeting of the Security Council of Pakistan.
The security council constitutes of the Prime Minister, the President, the Chief
of Armed Forces, the President of the State bank of Pakistan, The Chief Justice
of Pakistan, The Election Commissioner of Pakistan, The Leader of the Opposition
in the National Assembly, and the four Chief Ministers of provinces. No one
has the power of vetoing a decision arrived through the ballot. If these eleven
people can not make a decision about the security of the country then we are
really in deep waters. If the matter requires a change in PK101, 5 public referendums
are required.
7. PK101 also states that the Military is a department in the country, under
the command of the Prime Minister, just like any other department like Finance
or Health. Military has to deal with the security of the country from external
threats on the directions of the Prime Minister or if to be decided by the security
council. Military is not an independent department like the election commission
or the judiciary. Ever heard of the Ministry of Environment or Cultural affairs
overthrowing the elected government in a coup de et at. Any interference or
indulgence of military in the internal affairs of the country shall also be
decided by the security council. Military is known all over the world for doing
things without a plan B. Not only in the third world, it happens with the militaries
of the first world too. Its just bad business, bad governance. They are just
not trained in diplomacy, they should never be trained as a matter of fact.
4. Lets count how many people we have in the country. The ministry of election
commission shall run this process. Sort out the registration process, the electoral
lists and identification documents. Let the Drivers license and the Passport
be the only identification documents maintained through sophisticated database
systems run by third party consultants. A system based on thumb prints, controlling
any duplication, can not be that hard to implement. The birth and domicile certificate
issues shall be sorted out through identification documents. Make sure that
a Pakistani is differentiated from a non-Pakistani. Lets not discriminate but
lets also not deprive the legal citizens from their rights. According to some
predictions, looking at our current population growth, we are going to be the
third largest population in the world by 2050.
5. Lets make the Election commission a truly independent department with checks
and balances within the commission and the election system. The constitution
should provide autonomy to the Election commission. The proceedings of the commission
shall be run by an independent policy making committee under zero influence
from outside and also from within the commission. The elections or referendums
should be a completely fool proof system just like the banks internet banking
and conducted under the supervision of a committee consisting of observers from
various countries.
6. Lets make the judiciary independent and decentralized with checks and balances
in the system. The constitution should provide complete autonomy to the judicial
system. The judiciary shall have its own policy making committee under zero
influence from outside the commission and also from within the commission. After
an election or a referendum has been conducted, the commission becomes dormant,
still staying autonomous, and doing homework for the next elections, processing
identification issues.
7. We are under a monstrous debt due to our large military spending, long wars
with India, huge imbalance between imports and exports, huge population to feed
and low low natural resources. We import 90% of our fuel to generate electricity.
Cost of power is very high and despite our moderately skilled low cost manpower,
it effects production of goods making us less and less competitive in the global
market. Because we spend 1/5th of our budget on defense, our so cio economic
programs suffer tremendously because of lack of funding. 50% of our expenditure
is spent on loan repayments. 25% of our revenue comes from new loans primarily
to make loan repayments. Looking at the size of our economy, one can see that,
out of 180 countries in the world, our GDP standing in the world is at 132 with
USD 800/ person as compared to the No. 1, Luxembourg with USD88000/ person.
Knowing all these figures, how can we not know what's good for us. Due to an
economy trapped in a cycle of debt, only 50% of our men are educated and only
25% women are educated, meaning the average literacy rate is around 37%. Low
literacy rates not only keep the eligible workforce to only 25% of the total
population but also limit attractions for foreign investors. Low literacy for
women also limits women from jobs creates even lesser incentive for women to
produce lesser babies. This boils down to the fact that 34% of the people live
below the poverty line. Bringing people out of poverty requires educating people.
Educating people needs money and because of lack of fiscal resources, foreign
investment is required to create fiscal resources to educate people. But foreign
investment wont come because of lack of educated people and educating people
needs fiscal resources. Our national website of the education directorate proudly
confesses that we spend only 2.2% of our national income on education as compared
to 3.4% spent by other countries with even lesser income. The question is, how
much more do we really need to stay at war, and neglect the needs of our population.
We should spend where prosperity of all the people is ensured. As long as the
military controls the country, the national income is never going to be spent
on socio economic barriers. Increasing the spending on education to 5% and making
education enrollment free for the first 14 years of formal education and taking
the burden of education off of the parents is what's required to be a part of
stern long term planning.
8. I shall also build a database of some highly educated people from the country
and inviting guest experts from other countries forming a think tank, 2 professionals
from every possible faculty, to suggest and help create new policies and measures
to bring the country on the path to prosperity. Prosperity of the masses is
the primary goal. The members of the think tank shall be devoted volunteers
with a salary equal to a member of the national assembly. The think tank is
headed by the minister of accountability department.
9. The media shall be free and controlled at the same time. All Mass media agencies
can explicitly either associate themselves with a certain group or cause or
claim that they are not biased. The accountability department publishes its
own newspaper and also scrutinizes the rest of the media after its published
and not before. Media is responsible to publish good tacit knowledge, news,
facts, views of people, ideas and analysis. Media shall not be allowed to focus
on unusual and sensational rather than restating wisdom. The main goal is to
educate the masses, not to misinform them or promote anxiety or fear. All mass
media agencies shall follow a formula of providing an equal distribution of
economic, social, cultural, and information capital, which would lead to a more
informed citizenry, as well as a more enlightened, representative political
discourse. As all national level decisions shall be done through the parliament,
the media is allowed to comment only when a bill is under discussion and not
after it has passed. Media shall honor the decisions of the national assembly.
Any discrepancies shall be processed by the accountability department. Media
shall telecast the proceedings of the national assembly, the proceedings of
the provincial assemblies but not the proceedings of the security council. Lets
not keep the public in the dark anymore. With this done, there shall be no room
for yellow journalism, false allegations, shallow claims and biased publicity.
10. The numbers of federal and provincial ministers running the government shall
be limited to as less as possible. There shall be federal ministries for "education",
"foreign affairs", "coordination, communication and information
(the think tank)", "homeland security", "tax and accountability",
"justice", "elections" and "finance" only. There
shall be provincial ministries for urban development, rural development, food,
resources, culture and tourism, commerce, internal affairs, environment, agriculture,
labor, information, communication, water and electricity, information, statistics,
sports and coordination etc etc.
12. The homeland security includes armed forces, security, intelligence and
provincial law enforcing forces. All national borders shall be sealed or managed
properly, allowing exit entry through controlled places only. Once the borders
are secured, there shall be no need to have pickets within the country. The
home land security assists the justice department in implementing the law without
any bias or favoritism.
11. The last one is going to be very difficult. I shall declare the country
to be a secular state, with all religions in majority or minority with a free
right to practice their religions as long as they don't forcefully influence
the people. All religious institutions shall be registered with the ministry
of education. Every religious institution shall be allowed to maintain its educational
institution status only if the ministry of education approves the syllabus and
the institution has proven resources to meet the demands of the syllabus, otherwise
the institution shall enroll students as part time only or enroll after the
students have acquired the national mandatory education.
12. Privatization, foreign investments and invitation from foreign investors
may be done thru the security council, think tank and "tax and accountability"
deptt.
5. The second part of the constitution called PK102, deals with the area that
can be modified by the assemblies when there is a need through a 2/3rd majority.
Any changes in the second part shall never negate the principles or purposes
set in the first part of the constitution.
I think this is just a beginning to say that lets allow the masses to set their
course and lets not allow foreign pressures or personal interests undermine
the national interest. I see there could be some problems in creating a harmonious
system of governance and creating checks and balances within the systems, but
this should be a good start for some one who is willing to strengthen the image
of pakistan. We have to learn from examples available in the form of the world
in front of us and most of all we have to talk to and listen to the people.
Conclusively, we should be happy that at least there is a muslim country in
the world where people actually have a voice. The country and its resources
are not owned by a few kings and princes and their families. People can mock
their leaders in public and come on the streets to show their dissatisfaction
over the way they are treated. Any process goes though changes all the time.
The developed world was not always the way it seems now. There is much more
to be done and written and shared.
Click for myRamblings on ONE-PPM
Comments
from friends
Dear Sohail:
You and your friend have given much thought to this matter...probably more than
many presidential candidates in the past. Thank you for sharing them with me.
You continue my education about Pakistan and its people in a way that gives
me ever increasing appreciation for them.
I like what you refer to as your "ramblings". My suggestion is that
you write another book about your travels and adventures in different parts
of the world and that you spice it with "ramblings".
With best wishes,
Matthew