Governance for the people

Successive governments in Pakistan have rarely paid attention to human development indicators. The development model that the political elite follows favours a tiny section of the super-rich.

However, it is encouraging to see the resolve of Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah to serve the people and improve these indicators.

Maryam Nawaz has approved a five-year health plan in Punjab and ordered authorities to set up an authentic database of Punjab’s population. She has also tasked the relevant department to ensure that state-run hospitals are equipped with adequate facilities.

CM Murad Ali Shah seems determined to provide pure drinking water to the residents of Sindh, which has one of the highest numbers of hepatitis B and C patients. Several waterborne diseases are also common in the second most populous province of Pakistan.

Water-borne diseases not only affect Sindh but also pose a health threat to people living across the country. It is unfortunate that, previously, not enough attention was paid to preventive care; instead, governments indulged in a shopping spree, purchasing capital-intensive machinery for health units, which might be instrumental in dealing with some diseases but did nothing to prevent them.

It is estimated that 80 per cent of the population in 24 major cities in Pakistan does not have access to pure drinking water. If it is provided, it could greatly reduce the burden on hospitals and health units. Islamabad is a good example. Since many people in the city have access to pure drinking water, the country’s capital witnesses fewer water-borne diseases.

However, water is not the only issue. It seems Pakistanis have to pay for everything. A significant number of people in urban areas send their children to private schools, spending a portion of their earnings on it. Even the extremely poor living in the slums of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad are compelled to admit their children in schools built on 120- or 200-square yard spaces. They not only have to pay a monthly fee but are also bound to buy more than 16 text books and notebooks per child. These English-medium schools in working-class neighbourhoods also organize different activities for which they charge parents.

Many parents find it hard to pay monthly fees, and such activities put an additional burden on them. Despite spending their precious resources on education, they still have to send their children to tuition centres where they again pay a hefty amount to ensure their children’s success in examinations.

Successive governments have failed to provide quality education at state-run schools. Governments in Punjab and Sindh launched projects through different education foundations to improve the standard of such schools but ended up benefiting certain non-governmental organizations that were more interested in making money than improving the standard.

Thousands of schools in Sindh are lying nonfunctional while many others across the country lack proper boundary walls, furniture and toilet facilities. Therefore, it is important that besides these two chief ministers, other provincial chief executives also prepare a proper timeframe to improve the conditions of government schools.

Police performance in several federating units is also disappointing. In many areas of Sindh, the government does not seem to have any writ. These areas have been occupied by bandits and robbers who have turned these zones into no-go areas, not only for common people but also for law-enforcement agencies.

Karachi seems to have become the national hub of crimes where mobile snatching, mugging, robberies and theft seem to have been normalized. One would hardly find any citizen of the metropolis who has not been robbed at least once in his/her lifetime. Cops in the city are unable to catch criminals who are caught on CCTV cameras – in many instances, their faces are quite visible. Despite spending billions of rupees on the Safe City project, the police miserably failed in taking advantage of this technology.

The situation is not rosy in Punjab either where parts of South Punjab have a significant presence of law violators. Like some districts of Sindh, a few areas of Punjab are also infested with organized bands of criminals who have defeated law-enforcement agencies in several operations that were meant to eliminate them. The two chief ministers might have to work together as these anti-social elements are concentrated in the border areas of Sindh and Punjab.

Elimination of crimes in these areas might enable citizens to travel without any fear of being abducted besides promoting business activities which could create employment opportunities.

Activities of extremist religious outfits across the country are also a matter of great concern especially in Punjab where extremist elements target minorities and their fellow Muslims almost every month. These extremists also level false charges of blasphemy against members of minorities and their fellow Muslims.

The most recent incident in Lahore indicates that these elements enjoy a strange sense of impunity, but the quick action of the police also creates hopes that they could be held responsible for their obnoxious actions. The bravery of ASP Sheharbano Naqvi has been appreciated by the military, the Punjab government and politicians, which indicates that all have the resolve to deal with these elements who bring nothing but shame to the country.

Some human rights groups suggest that there should be strict punishments for those who level false allegations of blasphemy. Murad Ali Shah and Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s parties enjoy a majority in parliament. These two chief ministers should make efforts for such a law by urging their parties to spring into action on this issue.

We have reasons to believe that if the state has the willingness, it can easily control these elements. When TLP leader Pir Afzal Qadri openly challenged the writ of the state a few years ago, the state sprang into action within no time. As a result, not only did he apologize for his incendiary remarks but he also gave up politics altogether. Last year, when a religious group wanted to dictate the terms for Pakistan’s foreign relations, it was sent a strong message by the powers that be and within no time it understood its limits.

So, the state does have the power to rein in such outfits if it wants. The National Action Plan (NAP) has also mentioned ways to deal with such groups. So, the Punjab government will have to pay special attention to this menace of religious extremism and could deal with it by implementing the plan in letter and spirit.

The government needs to make it clear that in case of any violation of any law, no religious group is authorized to surround the house of the accused. If somebody has violated a law or has been accused of violating a law, it is the police that needs to arrest and probe and the judiciary to punish them.

It is hoped that all chief ministers will not only invest their energies in improving health, education, sanitation, and law and order but also ensure that the battle against religious intolerance is waged with full strength.

The writer is a freelance journalist who can be reached at: egalitarianism444@gmail.com