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Opinion
Dear prime minister
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Capital suggestion
Sir, democracy is not under any sort of threat and neither is your government. Your government is secure and so is democracy. Yes, your style of governance is under attack and the real origin of that attack is Pakistani voters. The only power that can bring down the PML-N government is the PML-N. No more mistakes, please.
Sir, you are our democratically elected prime minister. A mere 17 months ago, the PML-N bagged a total of 14.8 million votes; 7.2 million more votes than polled by the PTI. To be certain, a victory with a wholesome margin of 7.2 million votes is not rigged, cannot be rigged.
Sir, your idea of setting up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for ministries and their ministers is a superb idea. Your idea of importing the Citizens Feedback Model (CFM) from Punjab is also a superb idea.
Sir, there are four ailments that have in the past eroded the legitimacy of elected civilian governments. The ailments are: a high incidence of civilian corruption, gross misgovernance, electoral fraud and extreme civil unrest. These four ailments provide opportunities – openings for the military to intervene (in 1977, the turnout was said to be 63 percent of which Zulfikar Bhutto claimed a 60 percent share for the PPP). No more mistakes, please.
Sir, the army high command will protect two kinds of interests: what the army perceives as national interests and the military’s institutional interests. The military’s institutional interests fall under six broad categories: military’s institutional autonomy, internal unity, internal discipline, access to resources, prestige and military’s foreign policy narratives. A strong army means a strong Pakistan.
Sir, the only existential threat to Pakistan is from India (all non-state threats are by definition non-existential threats). Our trade policy with India has to be a subset of our national security strategy (and not the other way round).
Sir, Pakistan’s political reality is changing – changing fast. To begin with, voters have begun to demand their political rights. Next, voters are beginning to vote or reject on the basis of performance, not slogans. Next, voters must be asked as to how they want their taxes to be spent. The metro bus may not be the answer.
Sir, political capital is about three things: trust of voters, goodwill of voters and influence over other political and non-political actors. You had accumulated tons of political capital as a consequence of the 2013 election. In my humble opinion, you have wasted almost all of your political capital fighting inconsequential battles.
Sir, this country is going nowhere without deep-rooted electoral and economic reforms. To be certain, the principal prerequisite to reforms is a political leader with tons of political capital.
Sir, having lost almost all of your political capital you now have three options. One, transform your style of governance (in order to accumulate political capital). Two, limp, lurch, bumble and stumble towards 2018. Three, call early elections.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
Dear prime minister
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Capital suggestion
Sir, democracy is not under any sort of threat and neither is your government. Your government is secure and so is democracy. Yes, your style of governance is under attack and the real origin of that attack is Pakistani voters. The only power that can bring down the PML-N government is the PML-N. No more mistakes, please.
Sir, you are our democratically elected prime minister. A mere 17 months ago, the PML-N bagged a total of 14.8 million votes; 7.2 million more votes than polled by the PTI. To be certain, a victory with a wholesome margin of 7.2 million votes is not rigged, cannot be rigged.
Sir, your idea of setting up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for ministries and their ministers is a superb idea. Your idea of importing the Citizens Feedback Model (CFM) from Punjab is also a superb idea.
Sir, there are four ailments that have in the past eroded the legitimacy of elected civilian governments. The ailments are: a high incidence of civilian corruption, gross misgovernance, electoral fraud and extreme civil unrest. These four ailments provide opportunities – openings for the military to intervene (in 1977, the turnout was said to be 63 percent of which Zulfikar Bhutto claimed a 60 percent share for the PPP). No more mistakes, please.
Sir, the army high command will protect two kinds of interests: what the army perceives as national interests and the military’s institutional interests. The military’s institutional interests fall under six broad categories: military’s institutional autonomy, internal unity, internal discipline, access to resources, prestige and military’s foreign policy narratives. A strong army means a strong Pakistan.
Sir, the only existential threat to Pakistan is from India (all non-state threats are by definition non-existential threats). Our trade policy with India has to be a subset of our national security strategy (and not the other way round).
Sir, Pakistan’s political reality is changing – changing fast. To begin with, voters have begun to demand their political rights. Next, voters are beginning to vote or reject on the basis of performance, not slogans. Next, voters must be asked as to how they want their taxes to be spent. The metro bus may not be the answer.
Sir, political capital is about three things: trust of voters, goodwill of voters and influence over other political and non-political actors. You had accumulated tons of political capital as a consequence of the 2013 election. In my humble opinion, you have wasted almost all of your political capital fighting inconsequential battles.
Sir, this country is going nowhere without deep-rooted electoral and economic reforms. To be certain, the principal prerequisite to reforms is a political leader with tons of political capital.
Sir, having lost almost all of your political capital you now have three options. One, transform your style of governance (in order to accumulate political capital). Two, limp, lurch, bumble and stumble towards 2018. Three, call early elections.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
