GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN IN THE CHANGING CONTEMPORARY SCENARIO

What is Governance? It may be defined as the function of government to protect life and property of its citizens Ensure rule of law Gainfully exploit countrys assets and resources Initiate steps for the well being of its people To put in place state institutions for achieving these objectives However, in the contemporary global context governance is much more complex

The state organs available to this end are Legislature Executive Judiciary

Some important aspects of governance in Pakistan Pakistans Governance Experience since 1947 Federation – Provinces Interface Political – Bureaucratic Interface The Devolved System of Governance Accountability of Civil Servants Characteristics of Countrys Bureaucracy Governance in Pakistan in the changing contemporary scenario

Administrative setup Pakistan inherited in 1947 Perpetuation of colonial rule Exploitation of domestic resources for the British empire Provided peace and security to the citizens Ensured rule of law Brought stability and prosperity to the rural peasantry

Pakistans governance experience from 1947 to 1971 Colonial mode of governance continued till 1971 Hallmark of the period between 1947 to 1970: unquestioned ascendency of executive over legislature Ascendency of the Armed Forces and set back to parliamentary form of government

Next phase beginning in 1971 The pattern of governance underwent a radical change during Mr. Bhuttos rule from 1971 to 1977 Massive nationalization of industry, financial institutions, banking and insurance and state trading Land reforms Nationalization increased governments sphere of influence It also resulted in bloating the size of bureaucracy Induction of non-professional personnel in state owned enterprises Introduction of system of lateral entry

General Zias rule from and thereafter The fallout of Afghan war: Drugs, drug money and weapons Fundamentalism and sectarian violence Security problems in the wake of international terrorism Unprecedented subservience of state institutions to armed forces and their resultant decline Federal and provincial bureaucracies virtually marginalized in decision making and public policy during Musharraf rule

The Federation – Provinces Interface The Federal government dominated the provinces Appointment of Senior Bureaucrats from the federal cadres in the provinces Governors of the provinces appointed by the President in his discretion giving immense weightage to federation Provincial administrative autonomy compounded by frequent interruptions of constitutional rule The abolition of concurrent list in the wake of 18 th Amendment

Political – Bureaucratic Interface Soon after the creation of Pakistan, bureaucracy assumed unchallenged leadership in the country This was bound to happen in the absence of well trained cadres of the political parties Till 1956, the country was run under the government of India Act 1935 which placed a great reliance on the civil servants Bureaucracy gradually marginalized by military regimes

The Devolved System of Governance Implemented in 2001 through promulgation of local government ordinances (LGOs) and the Police Order 2002 in all the four provinces Devolution reforms provided a three-tier government system Many of the functions previously performed by provincial government department devolved to the district governments and Tehsil Municipal Administration An important assumption in the devolution plan was that it will bring decision making closer to grassroot communities Lack of qualified and trained human resource in the district and tehsil governments Prototype system of governance imposed on all the four provinces The scrapping of the system has created a political void

Accountability of Civil Servants Accountability of civil servants has a direct bearing on governance Various attempts in the past to purge the administration from corruption Quasi-legal Surgical Operation also tried National Accountability Bureau and NRO

Characteristics of Pakistans Bureaucracy An over-centralized organizational structure Lack of career security and demoralization An inappropriate skill mix Seriously eroded internal accountability and lack of accountability to the public Politicizing of Civil Service decision making Tension and inadequate cooperation between different compartmentalized civil service cadres Widespread corruption Increasing public sector wage cost

Governance in Pakistan in the changing contemporary scenario The problem of reconciling the demand for an Islamic polity with the equally compelling demand for the formation of a secular polity The problem of integrating competing regional demands Unequal levels of institutional and political development Weak Human Development Indicators coupled with inefficient delivery of public services Size of the bureaucracy has become bloated Bureaucracy not well-trained particularly in fiscal, monetary and security related matters Gradual deterioration of state institutions and collapse of social order Post 9/11 developments

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