Global Challenges In Governance Faced By Pakistan

Policymaking

Discuss about the Global Challenges in Governance Faced by Pakistan.

Pakistan is a republic situated in southern Asia. It is bordered to Afghanistan, Iran, China and India. The country has the sixth largest population around the world, with an estimate of about 192 Million. In the fiscal year of 2007 to 2008, it was estimated that 17.2% of Pakistanis live below poverty line (Iqbal, 2012). The figure has grown over the years.

A significant population comes with big challenges for the government, for instance, being a developing country, basic human needs such as adequate health care facilities is an issue. Analyzing the current environment Pakistan faces is interesting. The current government g faces challenges in security, governance, and economy. Externals pressures, delicate native administrative processes and ethnic reticence are habitually disregarded. Most problems arise not due to limited options, but due to an aspiration to sustain the status quo. Many governance challenges faced by the government are due to constitutional dysfunctionality, as do from keeping important divisions that offer an engrained remedial machinery inactive.

Policymaking in Pakistan is captive to emotionalism and insight that the country is not able to sustain itself without outside aid, and that there is no feasible alternative to the country’s inclusive associations.  The top main concern of any governing head of state in the country and any aspiring leader wishing to replace those in power, in the future, is to amass international acceptability. Public wellbeing is of no significance to them. Leaders, as well as those in waiting, have a spirit to gain from prevailing dysfunctions rather than fixing them (Hussain & Hussain, 2013). The country faces tremendous pressure from foreign states and instead of counteracting those via policy changes, subsequent governments prefer their continuity to defend their personal indispensability regarding regime.

Pakistan’s the economic growth is mired by monopolies and lack of an atmosphere for modest uniform playing ground. The potential in the nation’s energy area is captive to various influential interest groups, this frequently cross the genuine confines of pressure groups and turn like mafias.

The establishments tasked with good governance are also not performing to the level of being satisfactory. The principle of power is that one cannot break the law and get away with it. In Pakistan, such acuity does not hold ground owing to division in law implementing agencies. Radical appointees look towards their hiring figure for they serve until its desire. This together with corrupt dealings and incompetence has made a majority of law enforcing institutions unable to act by the ideologies of impartiality and fair play. The upper judiciary is praised only when the verdicts made are advantageous and is demonized when the judgments made are not favoring those in power (Mahmood, 2015). The key objective is to be able to maintain the capability to infringe the law with liberty.

Institutions of Good Governance

The challenges Pakistan faces are monumental, views of the public on foreign policy is ill-informed, and the resulting debate is passionate and hollow. The tendency is to make overgeneralized norms headed for realizing peace with the neighboring countries.

The uncertain economy of Pakistan is the motivation behind the countries dependency on external federations and institutions (Sohail, 2013). Though the external debt and its repercussions are under focus, excessive domestic borrowing escapes due to attention. Over the years, price increases have drifted around 14%. The unemployment rate is high in the country, and the growth in population is incompatible with the growth rate of the GDP. The energy crisis is critical. Despite the country’s ability to generate electricity, power is still unavailable due to rounded debt issues.

The Constitution has served the ruling regimes well, be they of noncombatant or military ancestries. To the citizens, the constitution has at all times been a revered file of state consensus.

The country’s constitution exhibited flexibility to tackle major crunches until the point when the nation had stretched to the point of no return. For instance, military intercessions were constantly able to evade the constitution, when essential for long spells (Imam, 2014). The judiciary has always been on the frontline to support and facilitate military interventions. After the ending of any military rule in the country, the judiciary is always again on the forefront, withdrawing its backing for the army and dooming the usurper. The court has similarly created space for private misfortunes (Norris & Bank., 2010). The law lords stood up against extra-judicial activities of President Pervez Musharraf towards the end of his days in office, by that time he had lost the support of the citizens. The actual test of the judiciary will come if another military intervention occurs in the future. Instead of respecting the country’s constitutional process, the powerful have always bent the laws. Amendments to the constitution have been easily engineered via coercion or bribes. This is done to benefit individuals and not the general public (jutt, 2014).

Key pointers of decent governance consist of accountability, transparency, efficient party-political dispensation, and awareness to public and partisan change, real involvement in the country’s policymaking, the rule of law and bold vision (Ismail, 2014). Regrettably, this does not happen in the case in Pakistan.

The fundamental components of good governance can only be realized if there is a robust statutory framework in the country. This comprises well epitomized independent institutions, self-governing judiciary, active civil society and mass media with freedom of expression. However, these essential composites of the administration don’t function effectively as a structure (Goran Hyden, 2003). Observing, investigating and judging functions of proper governance are subject to corrupt dealings and powerful influences.

Foreign Policy and Security

The civil activists in the country continue to push for accountability and at the same time creating awareness among the people hence playing a vital role in ensuring there is good governance in the country. The civil society has the main achievements which are monumental, however, after each accomplishment, the applicable arm of the government and non -state institutions fail to pick up from where the activists have gained progress. The authorities fail to consolidate the gains made by the civil society and transform these attainments into decent governance.

The media in Pakistan have not been able to reach many people both domestically and internationally. Though the press has done a tremendous job in creating cognizance amongst the citizens. The growth of the media industry in the country is not in any systematic order; its growth is rather unforeseen and unregulated. The media industry has not been capable of generating conversant dialogue on good governance. The media lack the knowledge to act in synchronization with other arms of the government. There is a necessity for a vibrant watchdog to bring back the media from the current position of sensationalists to contributors in the state rulemaking and the process create an atmosphere of reverence for good governing procedures.

The constitution should be reviewed to tackle the subject of integrally feeble governments. The voting process and the Political Parties Act should also be revised in a bid to ensure the government of the day is stable. The articles stated in the constitution should be fully implemented. This is the guiding code for viable transformation in the country (eremy Holland, 2012). The forming of energetic resident government plan which encourages grassroots and civic based self-governing establishments also need to be addressed by the government. The problem of governance should be looked through the prism of the law. To bring back good governance in the country, via ideologies of the Constitution, the people should be extra voiced through the mass media and also be enlightening the masses and initiation a drive to institute the sovereignty of the law.

The social condition and foreign policy are entangled (Mudacumura, 2014). No applicable amendment in foreign policy is promising unless your house is in order. For real change in foreign policy to be realized, there is a necessity to have similar changes in the country, some of these changes may only be successful after adjustments in the foreign policy is done. Hence, there is a prerequisite for a common tactic uniting both local and international guiding principle reforms. Pakistan should root its external policy on peace and accord, as voiced by the establishing father of the nation.

The economy of the state together with the energy sector necessitates real combined fundamental restructurings (Mohiuddin, 2007). There is a need to fix domestic borrowing by the administration. 

Conclusion

Frantic situations require that you can think out of the box. While the tests the country experiences are extraordinary, the answers are within reach of the state capacity. There is an obligation to embrace a joined multi-sectoral therapeutic approach.  Development in each acknowledged field will exude its constructive effects on other zones. While common sentiments are exceedingly tilting in the direction of supporting all-inclusive restructurings, the political goodwill is the essential tool to channelize the desire of the people. Once importance areas of governance, politics, and safety are dealt with, it would convert to a facilitating atmosphere for economic growth for Pakistan.

References

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