Muhammad Usman
A state is essentially responsible for provision of food, security, justice, healthcare and education to its all subjects without any distinction, relent and lapse. For their effective deliverance, it ought to maintain the capacity with a state apparatus, capable of enforcing its writ. This also includes application of coercion if finds voluntarily submission wanting. The erosion of state capacity results into reduction in its capability to discharge aforementioned responsibilities, enshrined in social contract, based on mutual consent. In Pakistan, this is occurring since long. Resultantly, our state apparatus is decaying unrelentingly and falling increasingly in state of stupor. This is neither a sweeping statement nor an overstatement. Undoubtedly, a few recent occurrences could easily attest this fact.
In September, a lower court in Quetta, acquitted a former influential MPA, Majeed Achakzai in a case regarding killing of a traffic warden in broad day light at a busiest place in Quetta in a hit and run incident due to lack of evidence. To the contrary, once, accused himself admitted driving the vehicle when incident took place and expressed his willingness to settle the case with victim’s family in accordance with tribal traditions. Given environments, it requires no extra intelligence to determine how case got the180 degree swing. It started with slaughter of a man in uniform and ended with blatant slaughter of justice at very first tier. The state stood loser with corrosive blow on its body. Most recently, again a lower court in Karachi quashed a case of desecration of Mazar-e-Quaid against Captain Safdar (retired), Maryam Nawaz and others, involved in a sacrilegious act of raising slogans and creating hooliganism at Quaid’s Mausoleum. In this case, reason was absence of evidence on superficial grounds that plaintiff was not present at scene of incident. The evidence of whole world was not considered enough to bring the desecrators to book. This seemed a parody of justice and did exactly what a parody do, making the state a laughing stock. In between, state was also made to suffer trauma of a staged Police mutiny on the behest of Sindh government. This is an unthinkable proposition in a state, worth its name but happened here. More tragically, with no ensuing punitive action in sight against the characters of unlawful adventure. This speaks volume about how much fragility, has seeped into our state apparatus and inaction at state level.
A few days back, Hamza Shahbaz refused to travel in armoured vehicle to appear before an accountability court for apparently no reason other than reason of vanity. Understandably, court reacted sharply “will the suspect now decide when and how he appears before the court”. It is the failure of the state to be helpless in front of an accused, court further observed. Ironically, last laugh was of the accused. Now he would come in a bullet proof vehicle to appear before the court instead of armoured vehicle. Notwithstanding its toing and froing, state had to cut a sorry figure. Similarly, continued bail of Maryam Nawaz also betrays hollowness of the state. She was granted bail to look after his imprisoned ailing father. After a few days, he left the country for treatment abroad which later, turned out to be a total fraud and farce but she remains on bail even after lapse of more than one year. Being a convict, she is participating in politics without let and hindrance. Whole episode makes a perfect case study in anatomy of a state. How everyone in loop can be befooled/hypnotized and eventually, becomes atrophied for so long.
In order to carry out its roles, a state needs money so collection of revenue is a necessity, not the choice. Here, again we give in. The revenue collection is less of voluntary contribution and more of by coercion. Traditionally, our governments rely upon soft options. In return, inevitably, it had to place greater reliance on loans. Whenever, a government opts for hard option to prevent tax evasion and expand tax net, it fails in the face of intimidation or threat of blowback by business community. The government of Imran Khan also jumped into the arena to take the bull by horns but found no different fate. Now businesses are no more within the purview of NAB which otherwise is an ineffective anti-graft body. Except plea bargains, its record of accountability is abysmal. Potentially plea bargain promotes corruption than its eradication. Besides, it restrains the state to punish offenders appropriately from the range of penalties prescribed for. Consequently, over 20 years of NAB, corruption has soared in Pakistan manifold. It starves the country of its monetarily resource. Poor revenue collection, insupportable debt and unfettered corruption handcuff the state internally as well as externally. Pakistan is in such a morass.
On rule of law, a state subsists. Justice is the ligament which holds people together. Money is its lifeline. With presence of these, state thrives. Contrarily, these erode the state. On account of all these, our score is frighteningly dismal. Every button on national chessboard is red hot and needs to be dealt with urgently and rightly. Somehow, on name of pragmatism, a notion of playing safe has stuck in our minds lest we may rock the boat. In process, we have engulfed ourselves with swamps of almost all kinds. The pragmatism is meaningless if it is incapable of taking the country out of woods. We need enduring solution, not the quick fixes. Though it would involve a marathon but still in some areas, urgency is the key.
— The writer, a retired Lt Col, is freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
