Qamar Rafiq
THE first responsibility of states under international human rights law is “respect” which requires that States avoid interfering with the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights including also civil and political rights. The second obligation “protect” requires that States prevent violations of such rights by third parties. And the third obligation “fulfil” requires that States take appropriate legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial and other measures towards the full realization of such rights. Governments are remembered for their leaders and the course they set for their country, but we must be brutally honest about our failures before we point a finger on someone else. The accounts of power transition in Pakistan unleash the serial incompetence of strong dictators and civilian governments which have failed to deliver their foremost duty of respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of their people. From grave energy crisis to clean water, poor healthcare to an outdated education system, from growing poverty to mass corruption each Government has tragically failed to deliver. Every failure shapes our life if we pick to learn, however, in the political circus yet we see our leaders throwing dirt on each other rather than man up to show us the way forward.
Scapegoating and boasts from the mouthpieces of our political elites and rulers have eternally dogged us over the questions of a dysfunctional corrupt system, fractured economy and failed egalitarianism in Pakistan. Strikingly our leadership lacks the audacity to own the piece of their responsibility but preferred to carp from the side-lines. Like me, your tears may have melted spontaneously at the serial incompetence of the custodians of our democracy and leaders we elect for good. If you have missed noticing let me summarize for you. According to UNICEF, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school. The unemployment rate in Pakistan is expected to reach 5.50 percent by the end of 2020, according to Trading Economics global macro models. In the long-term, the unemployment rate is projected to trend around 6.00 percent in 2021. Furthermore, Pakistan is among dozens of nations where corruption has worsened significantly over the past years, according to Transparency International.
As a result of our sequential fiasco to re-engineer the norms of civil governance or public policy to address the inadequacies of the system, today Pakistan is one of the top five countries which require improved access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Over 17 million people still have no choice but to drink contaminated water, and more than two in five people do not have a decent toilet. It is distressingly clear in every political tenure, we have faced unscheduled load shedding, mass unemployment and a steep rise in the prices of daily essentials which continue to hit hard poor and middle class. The game of cat and mouse between power struggle and public necessity is a story which has defined our country for decades. As a result, Pakistan nullified to advance a vigorous political culture, a lasting democracy, a plural society or a thriving economy. The lords of hybrid-regime have not only failed miserably to change the economic fortune of the country but also have been unsuccessful to deliver a strong social welfare system to people.
The flashpoints of the serial incompetence of various regimes and their players is only a tale of blunders which has erased the sense of national unity. Our flint-hearted politicians fundamentally have not only crossed the Rubicon in treks of their power struggles but also pigeonhole the national issues. In other words, the whipping decisions of rulers and political leaders have been unsuccessful to spin the wheels of both economy and public policy which has left the public at the dead-end-street in the limbo of confusion and frustration. The antagonistic mind-sets of major power players and significant differences between mainstream political parties have disintegrated us to reboot Pakistan’s foreign policy, making it more ethically driven and focused on the questions of justice, human rights and rule of law. Turbo-charged with sectarian violence, anaemic rule of law and hefty reliance on foreign debts we cannot compete in the world by allowing outrageous racial inequalities to destroy our dreams, our hopes and our future.
On-knife-edge, the wilful blindness of our rulers over the hate material in textbooks and cases of forced conversion/marriages of underage girls belonging to the religious minorities have sourced the faultiness of ethical decline and religious intolerance. Perhaps, this also hints at the calamitous handling of the governments to reinforce much-needed legislation to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence. These are distressing truths of Pakistan with scant evidence to testify we are our own worst enemy. In the face of these unprecedented shocks, human rights activists, lawyers and journalists who speak out against human right abuses or corrupt power lords are no stranger to grave risks of physical harm or intimidation. Paper promises and a plethora of lies to build a new Pakistan and spin the wheels of economy have wrinkled in the first two years of the PTI Government. It is a collapsing proof, the hoarders and profiteers who are key players of the present Government have betrayed the PTI manifesto which was purely based on the product of justice. In conclusion, the serial incompetence of previous Governments is not an accident. Painfully, lessons have not been learned, repeating patterns of errors has blighted the public trust. The demise of our social ethics under the debris of political dirt has revealed over the time the public goods of prosperity or progression are nothing but a fairy tale. Heart-breaking!
—The writer is freelance columnist based in UK.
