Danyal zahid
THE one commendable thing, worth mentioning and appreciating that Nawaz Sharif has done, since assuming office for the third stint, is to tackle the loadshedding issue with serious intent. The genie of loadshedding is now under control at least for the time being.
Apart from this, the country is in a state of ‘turmoil’. Rampant corruption, deteriorating law and order condition and the extreme threat of terrorism is eating into the very fabrics of our society. One more mess, which goes largely unnoticed, the N-league has enrolled itself into is the administrative mess.
Despite completing more than 4 years in power, the government has not made appointments to key diplomatic positions. London is an example. Only very recently, just before PM visit to the US, the PM realised the importance of appointing someone as an ambassador and handed over the position to the Foreign Secretary Jillani. The importance of these diplomatic posts cannot be stressed enough. During the last few months, these consulates were being run on temporary basis, implying that the work was stalled.
Even internally, the appointments of heads of key corporations are being delayed. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Pakistan Steel Mill, Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) and PIA are examples of some organisations that are running without a full time head. Appointments of various heads of key public corporations have been declared null and void by the judiciary because these appointments were politically biased and violated the principles of merit. These key institutions are vital for the health of our fragile economy and their smooth running will eradicate the menace of corruption and bad governance.
Punjab, the home province of the ruling party, is too following the federal government policy of indecision and inaction. Nasir Khosa, just prior to his retirement, was assigned the most ‘sensitive’ post of the entire bureaucracy, Principal Secretary to the PM. This was a glaring example of the government short-sightedness and hardly 2 months after his appointment, the incumbent Punjab Chief Secretary was picked up and transferred to the federal government to replace him. The transfer of two chief secretaries within two months shows the government intent. The entire province of Punjab falls under the administrative domain of the CS. Each chief secretary has his own vision and likes to bring in his own team. When there is such frequent change of personal at the top crown, all work is hampered and stability does not set in. The result is clear, bad governance and limits the effective functioning of the government.
True, the problem of terrorism and loadshedding is long term and cannot be solved immediately and without consent of all parties concerned. But one thing this government can do, to restore its credibility among the masses is to maintain stability in the administrative set up. Taking wise and quick timed decisions, the government can ensure problems of corruption and bad governance are kept at bay. The government owes this to the people of Pakistan.