There are several reasons behind shaky governance in Pakistan. The institutional tug of war is one of them. Unfortunately, seven decades have passed but Pakistan is always in doldrums over question of institutional independence. All three main pillars-executive, judiciary and legislative – square off with one another for dominance in affairs of states. Recurrent martial laws by power hungry generals have already pushed country to the wall. Military establishment still dominates security and foreign policy. Civilian leadership is unable to assume affairs completely. Patron client relations prevail here. Similarly, previous democratic regime fell prey to hyper extended state structure where chiefjustice dominated all policies. Presently, it is over developed state structure where military is ruling indirectly. Institutional conflagration has deprived Pakistan of ideal state structure and ultimately the good governance.
Moreover, financial malpractices of bigwigs have devoured the state. Corruption has eroded the country. Pakistan’s governance dilemma is the direct result of venality of those sitting at the helm of affairs. This has caused demise of meritocracy. It is undeniable fact that no nation can rise to the height of glory without prevalence of transparency and meritocracy. Some mega scams like ephedrine, OGRA, Haj and panama gate paint bleak picture of governance. Hence, unchecked corruption has mired the governance in Pakistan.
Besides this, weak political culture is also responsible for second rate governance. Political instability is a chronic issue of Pakistan. Pakistan has undergone traumatic past experiences. All those experiments plummeted democratic setup to naught. Voting behavior of people is not satisfactory. They care a fag to cast vote: Election Day is enjoyed as holiday. Resultantly, incompetent politicians are elected through massive rigging. This is why, inept political elite is unable to revamp governance in Pakistan.
What is more worrisome is the menace of terrorism and extremism. In past, flawed policies of leaders and dubious strategies of global power sparked off extremism in Pakistan. Consequently, terrorists were nourished in madrassas. Today, this is stigma in Pakistan. World accuses this state of harboring terrorism. World Terrorism Index 2015 ranks Pakistan on the 3rd rank after Iraq, and Afghanistan respectively. Terrorism has wreaked havoc in Pakistan. It has made governance too patchy to address immediately.
In the same manner, absence of “across the board” accountability has pushed governance towards shambles. Political big fishes and haughty officialdom are indulged into hazardous misappropriation. They pander their whims by trespassing state laws with brazen impunity. Ridiculously, they play this dirty game, unabashedly. Indeed, it is appalling that those who make laws are always on front line for tearing them into tatters. They are snakes in the grass. They have clipped the wings of accountability Bureau. This is why, World Competitiveness Index presents dark picture of Pakistan. Therefore, governance is too bad.
Furthermore, bureaucracy is called the backbone of any country. Pakistan can make this bone strong by introducing salutary reforms in it. Mere changing syllabus for competitive exam will not entail prolific results. There is dire need of reforms in arenas of promotions, training, salary and incentives of civil servants. Today, Pakistani bureaucracy is censured for its lethargic processes, red-tapism, favoritism and rampant corruption. Indeed, Pakistan cannot achieve good governance without changing attitude of its civil servants. Their recruitment process and training should be efficient to transform them into real servants of state.
In a nutshell, governance is a phenomenon which steers government and state in smooth manner. The sine qua non is that it should be good enough to pilot state towards progress. It is equally dangerous when it is tawdry. Pakistan’s case is appalling. Bad governance has become its chronic issue. There are several reasons behind shambolic governance. For instance, institutional vitriols, corruption, political instability, stagnant society, etc. have eaten governance like termite. Moreover, crisis of federation, national identity enigma, lack of accountability and absence of central leadership have also fanned flames in country. Bad governance is a grave bottleneck in holistic development of country. It has made days of denizens restless and nights sleepless. Ever-dwindling economy and dilapidated society is direct aftermath of bad governance. However, game is not over yet. Pakistan can come back on right path by taking some extra-ordinary steps in this sphere.
