Collective wisdom

During the present emergency, our Prime Minister Imran Khan and his aides have been making repeated announcements on television regarding the steps being taken to ease the lot of the worst affected citizens.

On March 25, the prime minister announced a Rs1.2 trillion ‘Relief Package’ which has two major components: an increase in budgetary allocation to Pakistan’ cash-transfer programme (presently called Ehsaas) and a re-adjustment of taxation laws regarding various sectors of the economy, including the construction sector.

Many of these measures are highly praise-worthy and should be supported by all – regardless of past political affiliations. We definitely support them. However, we would like to point out the unfortunate fact that throughout this period, no effort has been made by the government to take into confidence the institution which best represents the collective wisdom of our people: parliament.

A session of the House must be called at the earliest, through video-link, if necessary – a method which is being used in other jurisdictions of the world. Other precautionary measures which are already being used in Cabinet meetings and in the Supreme Court hearings could also be used.

The government should table for debate whatever bills it has drafted regarding the relief package. In addition, bills should be drafted to deal with other issues created by this crisis to which no attention has been given so far.

For instance, there is the pressing issue of ‘force majeure’. Many enterprises have suffered a complete shutdown of business during March, and are still enduring it. They are finding themselves unable to pay rents, debts, interest, salaries and taxes. We need to think about whether a legislative solution can be provided to strike a fair balance between the rights of landlords vis-a-vis tenants, lenders vis-a-vis borrowers, employers-vis-a-vis employees and utility companies vis-a-vis customers. Many parents are unable to pay their school fees. We need to find out whether we can find a legislative solution that helps both parents and educators.

By ignoring parliament in dealing with the issues at hand, the government is making a huge mistake, for the following reasons: first, there’s the constitutional compulsion. The constitutional position is that no matter what promises the government makes on TV, or approves in Cabinet, most of them can have no legal effect without appropriate legislation. For law-making, the government will eventually have to come to parliament. To make budgetary allocation, you need sanction from the National Assembly. To adjust taxes, you need a Money Bill. So, every day of delay in approaching the National Assembly with these bills is, in effect, a day lost. And we cannot afford to lose time.

Two, there is sound logic behind this constitutional rule which states that there can be no law-making except through parliament. Our constitution was meant to put an end to the days of law-making through fiat, and for a good reason. Parliament represents the collective wisdom of our society and collective wisdom is always better than one-man’s ideas, no matter how well-intentioned he may be. To give you an example of where we need collective wisdom, just take the situation at hand.

Yes, everyone agrees that the coronavirus is a serious threat to the lives and livelihood of our people. There can be no reasonable disagreement about that – at least between reasonable and conscientious citizens. But exactly which segments are more at risk is a question about which scientific conjectures can differ. Which form of an economic bailout is likely to create more prosperity? To answer these questions, policymakers need public briefings by doctors, demographers and economists. Otherwise, we may be making decisions about health and the economy based on totally incorrect factual premises.

Third, while everyone agrees that we must utilize all the instruments available at the disposal of our state and society to fight this menace, there can exist a difference of views about strategies to achieve this goal. There are, for instance, some who would favour a short, pitched, high-stakes battle against this virus with a complete lockdown coupled with heavy cash transfers. There are others who would support fighting a long drawn-out, sustained and sustainable battle – through creating awareness about hygiene and social distancing, increasing the capacity of our healthcare systems but without shutting down the economy for even one day. Proponents of both views have their reasons. We cannot be dismissive towards either. The best forum to decide such issues is parliament.

The foundational premise of constitutional democracy is that no one person or party, no matter how well-intentioned or well-informed, can ever be allowed to claim monopoly over the truth. The answer to society’s most complex worldly questions can only be arrived at through a process of contested, public reasoning. This is the raison d'etre of parliaments, courts and the media.

There is also the issue of national coordination. We are confronted with an enemy which doesn't distinguish between us on provincial lines. Yet, different provincial administrations have adopted radically different strategies. This is a recipe for disaster. The government should immediately concene the forum envisaged in our constitution for such inter-provincial coordination: the Senate.

Finally, there's the issue of reaching out to the grassroots. Instead of creating yet another parallel structure called the ‘Tiger Force’, we should resort to the institution envisaged within the four corners of the constitution: local governments. They can be reinstated.

Pakistan was founded on democratic values which are inspired by the republic ethos of Islam. Democratic values can redeem us in this hour of national crisis. However, we cannot save our people by abandoning the foundational values of this Republic and paralyzing its most important institutions.

Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha is a member of the National Assembly and former minister of state for parliamentary affairs. Umer Gilani is a lawyer.