Eight Good People

[VCheng]

I would prefer that you continue to attempt constitutional idealism. That the conflicts continue and the military is defeated permanently. That is a one time fix, but one which will fix you for good.

The recent appointment of General Janjua as NSA is somewhat along the line of the approach suggested by the OP. The approach has some merit to it, as the article argues.

 

[Winchester]

All Pakistan needs is eight good people (four civilian, three military), one each responsible for the Finance, Interior, Commerce, Social Services, Foreign, Defense and Energy ministries, led by a Prime Minister

We have had competent professionals being imported from abroad through out the 90's to serve in care taker cabinets...even Musharraf when he first launched the coup had extremely competent people in his cabinet but got no results.

This is I believe a narrow line of thinking and am surprised that this came from you....

We have common people in this country who have this messiah complex that if Pakistan can have just one good leader all our problems will be solved......you pushed the figure to 8 but the thought process is the same.

This trickle down will not work in this country of 200 million with each region having its own complexities.

 

[VCheng]

We have had competent professionals being imported from abroad through out the 90's to serve in care taker cabinets...even Musharraf when he first launched the coup had extremely competent people in his cabinet but got no results.

This is I believe a narrow line of thinking and am surprised that this came from you....

We have common people in this country who have this messiah complex that if Pakistan can have just one good leader all our problems will be solved......you pushed the figure to 8 but the thought process is the same.

This trickle down will not work in this country of 200 million with each region having its own complexities.

The main point is the proper legal cover to a hybrid system that works for Pakistan. The core group can each create their own teams for the respective areas of responsibility.

 

[Winchester]

The main point is the proper legal cover to a hybrid system that works for Pakistan.

This will be a stop-gap measure instead of a permanent solution.

No amount of legal cover will change that......from Ayub to Musharraf every intervention had a legal cover.

Pakistan has problems....lets face it we will continue to have problems for the foreseeable future....our ability to deal with those problems needs to come from the society itself and is not forced upon if we are to be successful.

Now I know that will take a lot of time but I don't see anything wrong with that....we must go through that process !

The core group can each create their own teams for the respective areas of responsibility.

So good I guess we now need more than 8.

 

[VCheng]

This will be a stop-gap measure instead of a permanent solution.

No amount of legal cover will change that......from Ayub to Musharraf every intervention had a legal cover.

Pakistan has problems....lets face it we will continue to have problems for the foreseeable future....our ability to deal with those problems needs to come from the society itself and is not forced upon if we are to be successful.

Now I know that will take a lot of time but I don't see anything wrong with that....we must go through that process !




So good I guess we now need more than 8.

What is clear is that trying to impose a system that meets definitions created elsewhere is not going to work for Pakistan. Pakistan has to create a system that works best for its own needs, given the situation as its exists in the country today. Both totally civilian governments and totally military rule have been shown not to work multiple times. While you are correct that Pakistan must undergo a process of reform, what hopes do you have in the present system to actually deliver positive results? It would be insanity to keep trying the same failed concepts again and again.

 

[Winchester]

what hopes do you have in the present system to actually deliver positive results? It would be insanity to keep trying the same failed concepts again and again.

The current system from 2007 has delivered to some extent....

We had non-performing govts of PPP in center and ANP in KPK removed.

In Balochistan it is only through this system that the nationalists have a say in the affairs of the govt. and the temperature has gone down significantly as compared to the brute force used previously.

The pace has been frustrating especially when you look at Sindh but the fact is there is no other way.

The Indians had a dead economy till 1990 but they persisted with the system and from within the system the demand to liberalize the economy arose.

Pakistan has to go through the same process I am afraid, give it two decades to mature fully atleast.

What we need urgently though is a solid LG system.

 

[VCheng]

Interesting comment:

High Noon at half past Noon - The Express Tribune

"Today Pakistan’s new political dynamics have thrown up a manageable battlefield for the main contestants.

Here’s how: foreign policy and national security are almost off the political table. India, Afghanistan, China and America are being handled by the other Sharif. So are most internal security issues revolving around the war against terrorists and their off-shoots. Noon can take pride in being the window-dressing, but it need not worry too much — the voters know who’s the real boss on this front.

To Noon then comes the responsibility for energy, inflation, health, education and possibly institutional reform that has a direct bearing on the lives of citizens."

 

[VCheng]

It is interesting to see that the present de facto arrangement is working out quite similarly to what was suggested in the OP, but the lack of the proper legal backing reduces the system to illegitimacy, which is a pity since the uniquely Pakistani system appears to be working rather well in practice.

 

[iPhone]

actually what you're suggesting may have already happened in the recent times during Mr. Musharraf. A very competent, well spoken General who knew how to lead. Placed himself/military in charge of the foreign affairs and did quiet the job, too initially. Brought the civilians in the loop also and placed them in charge of the domestic/social affairs. But In the end, he mucked it all up in his pursuit for absolute dominance.

So, no I dont think you're proposed system would work because it's a temporary fix, if that.