Crisis of Governance: The Realities and Remedies

In the recent months, people enchanting the slogans of Naya Pakistan have started showing severe concerns about the working of the government they supported. The storm of criticism faced by PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) government in the center and Punjab is critically impacting the output of these governments. The current government has been censured every now and then for not delivering up to the demands of a common man. But the major fact ignored both by the media and public is, that the present government has taken the seat in August 2018 and it has not brought the Pandora box of problems with it rather inherited it. The problems currently faced by Pakistan are basically the leftovers of the previous government. From economy to politics and from industry to agriculture, every public sector was in a miserable condition during the tenure of former government. The present PTI government is trying its level best to clean the mess first.

All the stakeholders must embrace the fact that with an empty treasury, trade problem and FATF issue, the current government needs sometime to stabilize the economy of Pakistan.

 

When the PTI government made it to the parliament, the foreign debt was around $97.095 billion, the trade deficit stood at $33bn dollar, the issue of balance of payment was also there. All these problems were the threat to the economic growth and prosperity. When PM Imran Khan took oath the public treasury had negative record which further fueled the fire of economic woes. On the same hand, the grey listing of Pakistan by FATF (Financial Action Task Force) for the allegation of money laundering in June 2018 also became the burden on the young shoulders of PTI government. Additionally, the accelerating value of dollar as compared to the Pakistani rupee further disturbed the economic indicators which affected the overall economic growth. All these economic glitches are the gift of the former government. All the stakeholders must embrace the fact that with an empty treasury, trade problem and FATF issue, the current government needs sometime to stabilize the economy of Pakistan. Instead of censuring, the government must be supported so that it may excel in governance and bring socio-economic stability. 

 

 

The insult to injury has been added by the mudslinging by media which further hampered the efficiency of new government. The Prime Minister Imran Khan has been said to be a selected prime minister since day one. Moreover, those who couldn’t make it to the treasury benches even accused establishment of supporting Imran Khan. However, the actual reality is that, public opted PTI for it has long suffered at the hands of political goons and looters of PMLN and PPP. 

 

Similarly, the propaganda setting by the unprejudiced media has further worsened the situation. The anti-establishment narrative, the rise of PTM and the censuring of PTI government have resulted from the prejudicial constructivist role of media. Instead of being a watch dog and playing a neutral role, media has played a highly prejudicial role. It’s the responsibility for media to act in a responsible and neutral way for its positive and healthy criticism builds a nation, while its negative role may disrupts nation building. 

 

 

Not only this but the Indian belligerent approach posed and still poses a challenge for the government. The political and strategic scenario after post-Pulwama attack was a test for the government, which it passed with the shining colors. Amidst, bellicosity of the eastern neighbor, the border management with the western neighbors also appears as the matter of grave concern. The government is enduring pressure both at the external and internal front. 

 

At this critical juncture, media must play a positive role to help government bring stability to both; political and economic arena. The general public and media must refrain from blaming government for the problems nourished and fed by the previous government. The current government shall be given the proper time to steer the nation in a right direction. Futhermore, the treasury and opposition, both must act in a responsible way to make the state prosperous. In addition to this, the accountability process must be enhanced and all and sundry must be taken into accountability net. 

 

At the external front, Pakistan shall advocate her case in FATF (Financial Action Task Force) for she’s the country suffered most owing to the spate of terrorism and has sacrificed a lot to fight the evil of militancy. From fighting a war against terrorism to facilitating Afghan Peace Process, Pakistan has gone an extra mile for the sake of peace. International players should value her efforts for the cause of peace in the region. 

 

 

As far as the diplomatic relations are concerned, Pakistan must continue following the de-hyphenation approach. It’s time to change the too much reliance on China attitude introduced by the previous government. The potential of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) must be exploited at its fullest. Pakistan has welcomed all the regional and international investors to invest in CPEC. On the same hand, the relations with Russia, China, The United States, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran should be built on the principles of national interests only.

 

Conclusively, the PTI government has been wrongly blamed for the issues pre-existed even before the eve of oath taking. It’s high time for both media and general public to realize the actual situation and to admit the fact that government must be given its due time to clean the mess created by former government or else the typhoon of political instability may cause a gruesome damage to the national peace and prosperity.