Unified national charter advocated for socioeconomic development

Islamabad:Experts in a meeting here on Friday said Pakistan could achieve socioeconomic development through a unified national charter focusing on economic stability, constitutional adherence, and robust law enforcement.

They called for comprehensive, long-term governance reforms for all sectors to build a more capable and accountable government and said a strong commitment to transparency and a unified effort to project a positive image, both domestically and internationally, were also required to that transformation.

These experts gathered at the annual meeting of the National Advisory Council of the Institute of Policy Studies here that was chaired by IPS chairman Khalid Rahman. The panellists included former water and power Mirza Hamid Hasan, former member (governance) at the Planning Commission Dr Syed Tahir Hijazi, former federal secretary Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, former chief of Islamabad police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam, Westbury Group of Companies chairman Vice Admiral (r) Iftikhar Ahmed Rao and director Bashir Jan Mohammad, deputy team lead (Institutional Reform Studies) at the World Bank's Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project Naufil Shahrukh, and former head of paediatrics department at the Federal Government Services Hospital Dr Naveed Butt.

The panellists insisted that corruption, administrative inefficiency, and political polarisation hamper the country's progress, so a comprehensive, long-term transformation process, which incorporated governance reforms across all sectors, was required as the way forward. They also called for truth and reconciliation efforts as a means to overcome internal divisions and foster national unity.