Whats Wrong with ISPR Press release emphasizing "BETTER GOVERNANCE" from Political Leadership

[VCheng]

What 'dharna soft coup drama and present threat'? The Dharna was entirely Nawaz Sharif's own doing, out of his usual obstinate, since all he had to do was agree to an independent commission to investigate rigging allegations, and instead he dragged out and allowed a minor issue to become a major one.

The current statement is nothing more than an essential and necessary reminder that the Elected government is doing very little to implement the part of the NAP that falls under its purview, and essentially resting on the short-medium term peace won by the Army through battle. The only thing the elected government has to do is actually implement policy changes and reforms documented by multiple commissions under the PMLN and PPP government. The Army statement is out of exacerbation at the continued refusal of the elected government to implement something that's sitting right in front of it, that the public overwhelmingly supports, that the Army supports - what the hell else do these POS elected leaders need in terms of support to move their arses into action and fix the country?

This is no longer a 'failure engineered by the Army', this is a potential failure snatched from the jaws of victory by the elected leadership, a leadership that has the blueprints for victory sitting in its lap and the entire country - the public, media and military - pushing it to implement said blueprint, and yet it is doing little to nothing.

We can agree to disagree on this one, Sir. There will no convincing each other to change the respective positions here.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

We can agree to disagree on this one, Sir. There will no convincing each other to change the respective positions here.

No, there is no gray area here anymore, not when it comes to the poor implementation of the NAP

The proposed policy changes and reforms have broad political support, widespread public support, media support and strong military support - the elected government has absolutely no excuse for its failure to implement the NAP across the board.

 

[VCheng]

No, there is no gray area here anymore, not when it comes to the poor implementation of the NAP

The proposed policy changes and reforms have broad political support, widespread public support, media support and strong military support - the elected government has absolutely no excuse for its failure to implement the NAP across the board.

As I said before Sir, let us agree to disagree on this one.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

As I said before Sir, let us agree to disagree on this one.

I really am curious why you're so insistent on disagreeing, since the entire premise of your argument is that the military doesn't let the government do anything - here we have the military essentially begging the government to implement recommendations already prepared by various task forces, recommendations that have political, public and media backing. So what on earth is your defence for this utterly irresponsible behavior by our political leadership?

If outright military, public and media support for policies and reforms essential to national security is still not enough, then what on earth will ever be enough?

 

[VCheng]

I really am curious why you're so insistent on disagreeing, since the entire premise of your argument is that the military doesn't let the government do anything - here we have the military essentially begging the government to implement recommendations already prepared by various task forces, recommendations that have political, public and media backing. So what on earth is your defence for this utterly irresponsible behavior by our political leadership?

If outright military, public and media support for policies and reforms essential to national security is still not enough, then what on earth will ever be enough?

Sir, the present situation is rooted several decades in the past. What the military has destroyed so efficiently cannot be resurrected at will. It will take a few decades of hard work to rebuild everything that was destroyed.

 

[Path-Finder]

Sir, the present situation is rooted several decades in the past. What the military has destroyed so efficiently cannot be resurrected at will. It will take a few decades of hard work to rebuild everything that was destroyed.

You residing in US or Pakistan?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Sir, the present situation is rooted several decades in the past. What the military has destroyed so efficiently cannot be resurrected at will. It will take a few decades of hard work to rebuild everything that was destroyed.

In other words we need to essentially let the current crop of politicians die out or vote them out, because the only thing preventing action on the part of the elected government right now are the people 'elected' to make that decision. Outside of those 'people' the circumstances are completely in favor of an implementation of the reforms in question.

 

[VCheng]

In other words we need to essentially let the current crop of politicians die out or vote them out, because the only thing preventing action on the part of the elected government right now are the people 'elected' to make that decision. Outside of those 'people' the circumstances are completely in favor of an implementation of the reforms in question.

It will take at least several cycles of uninterrupted elections to begin to improve this situation, if there is no meddling. It just might happen.

 

[Path-Finder]

In other words we need to essentially let the current crop of politicians die out or vote them out, because the only thing preventing action on the part of the elected government right now are the people 'elected' to make that decision. Outside of those 'people' the circumstances are completely in favor of an implementation of the reforms in question.

Sorry to butt in but could you help me understand what this character is on about?

 

[SamantK]

I really am curious why you're so insistent on disagreeing, since the entire premise of your argument is that the military doesn't let the government do anything - here we have the military essentially begging the government to implement recommendations already prepared by various task forces, recommendations that have political, public and media backing. So what on earth is your defence for this utterly irresponsible behavior by our political leadership?

If outright military, public and media support for policies and reforms essential to national security is still not enough, then what on earth will ever be enough?

Military is not mandated to provide support for policies and reforms, right?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

It will take at least several cycles of uninterrupted elections to begin to improve this situation, if there is no meddling. It just might happen.

The only variables that can change (favorably) are the elected faces. There is nothing else preventing Pakistan's elected leadership from implementing NAP proposals.

If there is something else that 'several cycles of uninterrupted elections' will change when it comes to implementing something like the NAP, I'd like to see you explain what exactly it is.

Military is not mandated to provide support for policies and reforms, right?

The point is not whether the military should provide support, but that every major power player and entity (including the military) whose support is necessary, or could be considered necessary, is in favor of implementing NAP reforms, and yet the elected leadership is dithering.

So what's stopping the elected leadership from implementing NAP reforms, basking in the media glory of accomplishing something major, winning public support and making a major dent in the influence of the Army as a consequence?

 

[VCheng]

The only variables that can change (favorably) are the elected faces. There is nothing else preventing Pakistan's elected leadership from implementing NAP proposals.

If there is something else that 'several cycles of uninterrupted elections' will change when it comes to implementing something like the NAP, I'd like to see you explain what exactly it is.

Sir, good governance is a much wider construct compared to just the NAP. As I said before, an effective civilian government will take time to develop, after what has been done to destroy it in the past. A few decades of regular elections is only a start.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Sorry to butt in but could you help me understand what this character is on about?

His overall point is a valid one, that Pakistan needs several cycles of uninterrupted elections before the parliamentary system of government refines itself and works out many of its major kinks.

Where we differ is his insistence upon not holding the currently elected representatives of the people accountable for their failures, and the only way to not hold the elected politicians accountable for failures in government is to blame the military.

His reluctance to blame the elected government, and focus all ire on the military, could be out of the fear that any criticism of the politicians at this point in time (we are only in the middle of the second continuous elected government) might create openings for the Army to intervene unconstitutionally, especially because the Army enjoys such high approval ratings right now.

I disagree with this approach.

In my view there needs to be a strong public stance taken that no matter what, a military coup is unacceptable, and vocal public discussions should take place on policies perceived to be pushed by the military, so at the least the public is informed of, and scrutinizes, policies advanced in the name of our elected representatives. That said, the elected representatives need to also be scrutinized and criticized for their failures, rather than be given a pass for 'several cycles of uninterrupted elections'.

 

[Viper0011.]

Sir, good governance is a much wider construct compared to just the NAP. As I said before, an effective civilian government will take time to develop, after what has been done to destroy it in the past. A few decades of regular elections is only a start.

Excellent post. What has never been allowed to be setup in Pakistan's 70 years of life, (a full working system, with good governance), will require sometime. The system is currently being established. The intensity, terrorism, and many wrong things have been rooted out in a short amount of time. So expecting a working system overnight is a crazy idea, when all this is new to the country. There is too much from the past that's getting cleaned up right now.

As the good governance gets established, the main core issue for Pakistan is to continue making economic progress. That should the mother of all efforts, outside of the terrorism elimination operations. A successful and growing Pakistan entirely depends on a growing economy.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Sir, good governance is a much wider construct compared to just the NAP. As I said before, an effective civilian government will take time to develop, after what has been done to destroy it in the past. A few decades of regular elections is only a start.

I'm not contesting that, which is why I've taken pains to limit my focus on implementation of the NAP, which is essentially the focus of the Army's statement that forms the subject of this thread.

I've chosen to focus on the NAP because it represents policies and reforms that have been under discussion since the PPP government was in power, reiterated with slight variations by multiple commissions under both PPP and PMLN governments. The media and public have been discussing, reading and hearing about these proposals for years now, and some of them, like Madrassa registration and reform, may never have a better environment for implementation as we have now, given the scars from Peshawar School Attach and other atrocities by the TTP.