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As Pakistan makes the transition from military rule to civilian rule, the newly elected coalition government finds itself with a full range of necessary reforms, from new economic policies to various changes in the legislative body and the constitution itself. Failure to carry out these measures, says the author, would have repercussions on the global War on Terror.

(From Islamabad) THE NEW PPP-PMLN COLLATION GOVERNMENT is faced with tremendous challenges and meeting them is a daunting task, to say the least.

Given Pakistan’s bitter history, there is tremendous goodwill for the new civilian government. The people wish to see it succeed on all vital fronts. It is crucial that the government take bold decisions as this window of opportunity will be fast in closing on it. Thus, the new government must ensure the following points.

JUSTICE, ECONOMIC POLICY, ELECTRIC POWER AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

1. The higher judiciary should be restored immediately. Earlier, President Musharraf dismantled the higher judiciary. The restoration of the judiciary is fundamental to the concept of rule of law and cannot be compromised. “A comprehensive good governance policy framework that pushes authority downwards to the district-level should be developed” This may entail an amendment of the constitution of Pakistan.

2. A reasonable economic policy should be developed that emphasizes control of record inflation, sustained economic growth, and job creation.

3. The production of more electric power for the country must become a very high priority.

4. Direct money transfers should be made to the poorest of the poor who have been ravaged by inflation and unemployment factors.

“The problem is that Pakistan has always been ruled in a highly centralized manner” 5. A comprehensive good governance policy framework that pushes authority downwards to the district-level should be developed. The subsidiarity principle should be adopted as a guideline for all administrative restructuring. The principle states that the most effective governance happens when governance decisions are made at the lowest level, where they can be duly executed.

The problem with Pakistan is that it has always been ruled in a highly centralized manner. This needs to be reversed now. The issue of provincial autonomy needs to be tackled now and not later.

PUNJAB, PRESIDENCY, AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

6. The federation needs to be strengthened by portioning Punjab, the biggest province.

“The president’s authority must be curtailed through amendment of the constitution”

Punjab dominates Pakistan like Russia dominated the erstwhile Soviet Union. This spells disaster for the federation in the long run. Punjab is too big. It must be split into two parts, North and South Punjab.

Remember there is nothing sacred about the present federal setup which was inherited from the British Raj 60 years back. India has grown from the initial ten provinces to twenty eight. Pakistan must also create a fifth province immediately. This will create the much-needed balance in the federation. “There should also be some reserved seats for women and minorities in the National Assembly” The constitution needs to be amended to achieve this objective.

7. The president’s authority must be curtailed through amendment of the constitution. The presidency should also be downsized immediately. The large secretariat is now unnecessary.

8. The National Assembly should have 342 seats and be elected on the basis of direct elections based on adult franchise. There should also be some reserved seats for women and minorities. These reserved seats would be abolished after a reasonable time period, say 20 years, and all seats would be put up for direct elections.

SENATE, GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, CIVIL SERVICE REFORM AND NAB

9. The Senate of Pakistan should 100 seats and be elected on the basis of PR-STV, according to party lists. No one could be elected to the Senate without nomination from a political party. This needs to be changed. In the future, all senators should be directly elected on the basis of adult franchise from each district. This would increase the present strength by six seats.

“The NAB is being closed down. Good riddance. However, something must replace the NAB as a corruption watch dog agency. The high levels of corruption in Pakistan must be reduced through systematic efforts”

10. Immediate austerity measures must be administered in all the government departments. Unnecessary expenditures and waste must be curtailed, as the country faces a swelled budget deficit situation.

11. A comprehensive civil service reform strategy needs to be created that would restructure the entire government machinery. There are previous reports that have examined these issues thoroughly, and these measures need to be implemented in great earnest.

12. The National Accountability Bureau, the state’s primary anti-corruption agency, had been politicized quite unnecessarily. The NAB was established in 1999 by Musharraf. It had a good beginning but soon turned into an instrument of political intimidation, and repression of the regime’s opponents. The NAB is being closed down. Good riddance. However, something must replace the NAB as a corruption watch dog agency. The high levels of corruption in Pakistan must be reduced through systematic efforts.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, FATA AND ROUNDTABLE OF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES

13. The role of the ISSI, which is Pakistan’s premier military intelligence service, should be removed from politics completely.

“Given the insurgency situation in the area, a comprehensive reform strategy taking into consideration the desires of the populace is a must to solve the problem”

The military has no role in Pakistan’s politics and therefore should not be allowed any institutionalized mechanism for undue interference.

14. A comprehensive reform strategy needs to be formed with regards to FATA (tribal homeland near the Afghanistan border). The entire area needs to be further integrated into the NWFP province. Eventually, FATA should be merged into the NWFP or made into a separate province all together. Economic activity to produce jobs should be a very high government priority.

Given the insurgency situation in the area, a comprehensive reform strategy taking into consideration the desires of the populace is a must to solve the problem. It is not intractable and can be solved provided there is a strong political will to take action.

15. A Roundtable of all political parties, big and small, to create a comprehensive constitutional amendment consensus to carry out the above measures must be called immediately.

PAKISTAN’S GLOBAL IMPORTANCE

The PPP-PMLN government does not have the capacity to undertake the above measures and therefore friendly governments must lend a helping hand immediately.

Pakistan is making a historic transformation from a military government to a civilian one. It cannot be allowed to fail. The repercussions of failure would be felt worldwide.

Given the support of Islamic radicalism in Pakistan, the reform measures outlined above need to be undertaken immediately. A secure, stable, and reasonably prosperous Pakistan is a key element in the current Global War on Terror. Let this be understood clearly by all. All countries are now stake holders in the region’s conflict. A new era of cooperation could herald a peace in Pakistan which would, in turn, be conducive to global peace.

As mentioned several times before, Pakistan is too important to be allowed to fail. It is a nuclear power and a leader of the Islamic world. Therefore, it should be assisted in making this historic transformation to civilian rule. A failure to do so will spell disaster for the world. The time to act is now.