Pakistan has happily received $1.2 billion from the IMF after the Executive Board approved the EFF and RSF loan facility. Ironically, debt is rising to the level of a ‘debt trap’ and policymakers are least bothered about its future implications.
There is an urgent need for investment and economic growth to uplift Pakistan’s large population. The SIFC needs to refocus and reinforce its energies to make Pakistan an investment hub. Statesmanship demands that Pakistan be a strong state rather than a hard one on all fronts, including security, defence, economic, social and political.
A strong state is one whose institutions are strong owing to their organic strength. This organic strength derives from an inclusive system, duly approved by the country’s people. Inclusivity is basic to all strong states. Pakistan is a hard country. It needs to be strong. There is a need for retrospection, looking back at the situation and conditions in Pakistan. The executive is no doubt very strong, but the judiciary is passing through critical times.
Parliament also needs to regain its importance, as the executive is least bothered about its functioning and compliance on the ground. The media is again in shambles, as various laws, including Peca, are promulgated to deny it a free hand or the right to raise its voice of choice. That needs to be strengthened.
Pakistan is a country of about 250 million people, with almost 60 per cent vibrant youngsters in search of their choice of ruling elite. It has undergone various rigours since 1947, experiencing different constitutional arrangements, from parliamentary to presidential, and reverted to the parliamentary form of government in 1973 after the separation of Bangladesh. Pakistan is passing through critical times owing to the adventures of the ruling classes. The people of Pakistan are wondering today what’s happening in their country as it moves towards becoming a strong state.
The national security paradigm revolves around economic security. A country is strong if its economy is strong. It is beyond doubt that economic security ensures national security and makes defence impregnable. Pakistan is facing enormous economic challenges today that require immediate attention from policymakers. The government needs to revisit its economic policies and initiatives, as economic security fault lines may lead to default in the ultimate scheme of things and compel it to partially compromise on national security. A strong state cannot afford this.
We are facing enormous difficulties, with a clear lack of resources, overpopulation, widespread poverty, a heavy debt burden, no savings, an uncompetitive industry, abundant raw labour, a lack of technology and a political crisis. A strong state needs strong institutions that cater to the welfare of its people. All three pillars of the state are unequivocally equally important and are supposed to function in the best possible way to make the edifice of the state strong and great. The media is the fourth pillar of the state. The state is a broader concept and structure that needs to be strengthened by all its pillars to make it a great nation-state.
The security situation in the country is challenging. Terrorism has marred and destroyed the social fabric of society. The security situation does not allow anyone to invest in the country. This is why foreign direct investment has declined sharply, as security has become the number one issue in Pakistan. The security apparatus needs to be activated at the highest level, as it was after the gruesome APS incident a decade ago, to root out terrorism from the country.
Terrorism, in all its forms and designs, is abhorrent and needs to be crushed with full force. The state needs to be vigilant and terrorist groups must be wiped out from the soil to save the country from total collapse. State policy in this regard needs to be revisited for economic security.
The social contract in the form of the constitution ensures the proper functioning of all the institutions of the state. The rules of the game are delineated and defined in the constitution. In fact, the social contract is the main document that defines and refines relations between the state and its people. The state starts cracking if the social contract is violated. History tells us that all great empires, from the Roman Empire to modern states such as the US and China, have functioned in accordance with their constitutions.
The constitution may be in any form, but the most important thing is adherence to it. Those states that violate the constitution, in fact, become regressive and hard states that extract benefits for a few at the cost of the majority of stakeholders.
All the institutions of the state are important, especially parliament, which is one of the most significant institutions in setting the rules of the game through legislation and laws passed and enacted by it. It lays the foundation of the state, enjoying the status of a sovereign in the realm of affairs. The judiciary is also a vital institution protecting the rights of the people. Ideally, it should be very strong, as evidenced by powerful states like the US.
The executive is the most important institution, having at its disposal the machinery of government to handle almost all matters of the state. The armed forces are part of the executive branch and ensure the state’s security by defending its borders and frontiers. All institutions need to be strong, not merely hard, in their essence.
The most important aspect of any country is its economic and political system, which determines its strength or weakness. Let us focus on the economy first, as economic security has become synonymous with the state’s security nowadays. The state is a powerful concept in reality. It can take turns again and again to shape and reshape its composition and action. Leadership plays a big role in shaping the state. The state can be cruel, autocratic, monarchical, hard, soft, strong or democratic. It all depends on a country’s people and how they choose their leaders. Monarchy was once the dominant form in the modern state system. Then came the Magna Carta in 1215, when the king’s authority was challenged by parliament and democracy was born.
The most modern state is one that can provide economic security to its people, ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while defending its borders against external aggression. The rights of the people are the most sacred element in the scheme of the state. There is an urgent need in Pakistan to forge national unity at AI speed to grasp the risks involved in its future evolution.
Only a strong state can do this with earnest effort. Unity among the nation depends on the strength of its institutions, reinforced by a strong political and economic system. A strong political system ensures inclusive governance, in which all participate in the development process. Inclusivity rules the roost. A hard state, by contrast, is inherently exclusive.
The state and the government in Pakistan need visionary leadership capable of running the affairs of the state in a modern way. Statesmanship has become all the more important to steer clear of the hurdles on the path to peace, prosperity and stability. There is, in fact, a difference between a politician and a statesman.
Politicians often have a limited, petty way of thinking when it comes to managing the day-to-day affairs of the state. A statesman has a long-term vision for a bright future, putting the state on a high trajectory. The dream of a strong Pakistan can only be realised by following the social contract. Only strong institutions make a nation strong.
The writer is a former additional secretary and can be reached at: [email protected]
