To the best of my understanding, the US would prefer power-sharing between the PPP and the PMLN in Pakistan for the sake of continuity of the present civilian political setup and to ensure peace and stability at the same time; while the Pakistan military would prefer midterm elections to bring unity, cohesion and good governance in the country. Absolute power never suits Pakistan; it breeds corruption, maladministration and stalls progress and prosperity to the people at large, irrespective of whether it is the civilian government or the military rule.We need two-party system in Pakistan; one party in power and the other in opposition. The history tells us that military steps in whenever the party in power becomes unpopular with the people or with the military or with the US. There is no second choice. The party in power does not let the opposition play its role as a body to exercise checks and balances on the executive branch of the government and remain intact as a second choice. It is so unfortunate that every government in Pakistan, civilian or military, has invariably resorted to the same tactics aimed at taming the bureaucracy, judiciary, parliament, media and military. At this critical juncture, the long lasting solution lies in midterm elections under an interim multi-party national government with the support of the military and the independent election commission. It is only through fresh elections that the political parties/groups sitting outside the legislatures at the centre and the provinces can be inducted to bringabout national cohesion. Likewise, the representatives of smaller parties/groups in smaller provinces in particular can be given the opportunity to enter the legislatures with the support of the leading parties in the larger national interest. The general sense of deprivation in the smaller provinces especially in the rural areas can be minimized by the participation of the representatives of all parties/groups in the decision making of the federal and provincial governments.A truce and patchup between the PPP and the PMLN is not likely to work. That time has already passed. The leader of the PMLN, Mian Nawaz Sharif, is now heading a mass people's movement rather than a merely lawyers' movement. That difference needs to be understood by all that matter in the politics and power of Pakistan. At the moment, there is no check on the functioning of the government at the centre or the provinces. There is no will and no competence to address public issues. The whole country is beset with unbearably high inflation, widespread poverty, extremely poor law and order, economic stagnation or recession in the commercial and industrial sectors, absence of fair legal and social justice, political wranglings, sectarian, ethnic and religious divides of all sorts. Pakistan has today become a country where the values of its founding fathers are fading away to give way to greed, corruption, class conflict, religious intolerance, social and economic inequalities and non-participation of the people in the decision-making of the government at all levels. Even the political party in power does not engage its rank-and-file echelons in the decision-making process of the party and the government.As the Founder of the Pakistan's largest, most diversified and globally-searched Good Governance Forum, I call upon the US and its allies as well as the Pakistan military to help establish and strengthen the institutions i.e. parliament, judiciary and media to exercise checks and balances on the functioning of the executive. All the stakeholders have to act with absolute determination and indomitable will to put the country on its track as fast as possible.
Mumtaz A. Piracha
Founder & Moderator
Good Governance Forum
Karachi - Pakistan -- Good Governance Forum, founded by Mumtaz A. Piracha, is indexed on hundreds of search engines across the globe. It is the largest, most diversified and most global platform of its kind for the exchange of views, opinions and ideas of learned men and women from almost all walks of life. It is a non-political, non-ethnic and non-profit platform for exchange of views among the network members numbering 1000+. The actual number of our email readers runs into hundreds of thousands as our network members circulate emails of the forum in their social circles.It does not assume any liability whatsoever for the network members' views nor does it necessarily agreewith them. We respect privacy. Anybody can join in or opt out of the network any time by informing the forum via email.Anybody can post his/her comments by visiting the blogsite and clicking on the link COMMENTS on its home pageBlogsite: http://ggovernance.blogspot.comEmail: good.governance@gmail.com
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