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Introduction
• Equal Participation
• National Integration
• Institution Supremacy
• Independent Judiciary
• Constitutional Supremacy
• Rule Of Law
• Political Stability
• Free Media
• Socio-economic Development
• Institutional Imbalance
• Political Instability
• Lack Of Accountability
• Corruption
• Unemployment
• Illiteracy
• Overpopulation
Recommendations
• Accountability
• Free Media
Conclusion
ESSAY
As a vehicle is useless without the fuel likewise a country cannot be run in the absence of
protects the human rights, delivers the justice, maintains law an order and provides equal
opportunities to the masses. It delivers the fruits of progress and development to all and
sundry. It is required at all levels of society and state. In today’s globalized world good
governance helps to meet eh challenges of the world. It makes the system of the state
effective and efficient. People of the country enjoy equal rights under good governance.
Minorities live freely and exercise their religion. No one considers himself above law.
Everyone, no matter how influential he is, is accountable before law. Corruption is unheard
of in a country where good governance prevails. Not only government officials but also
common citizens are aware of their duties and play their role sincerely. In such cooperative
environment, economy boosts and investment increases leading to the prosperity of the
country. In this way good governance helps to reap the fruits of globalization.
Governance is defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a
country’s economic and social resources for development. Good governance means
• It ensures the participation of both men and women in every sector of life.
governance people always work with hand in hand for the betterment of the country.
• It creates the feelings of nationalism and integrates the units of the country.
• It ensures the supremacy of institutions. Every institution works within its borders of
limitation.
• Equal distribution of resources among the federating units of the country is made possible.
• It makes the country a welfare state which provides social securities to its masses.
Pakistan was born with a hole in its heart. The newly-born country inherited multiplicity of
problems. Problems like accession of the princely states, refugees and their accommodation
problem, canal water dispute, division of assets, issue of national language, and issue of
Pakhtoonistan became its fate. All these problems keep popping up their head again and
again in one form or the other. Most tragic of all was the death of Quaid-e-Azam. It further
added fuel to the fire. Since then, no other leader of Quaid’s calibre has risen to lead the
country like him. That’s why the lack of unity, shallowness of faith and dearth of discipline
has pushed the country into quagmire. Let’s analyse the condition of governance in
Pakistan.
Balance among the various institutions is the absolute requirement of good governance.
Unlikely, we are passing through the time of extreme institutional imbalance. The
institutions have almost abandoned their responsibility. They are lacking organization.
Successive military coups have weakened the political institutions. In addition to this, the
Poor relations between centre and the four provinces of the country are also depicting the
story of bad governance. Coordination between them is essential to run the machinery of
the state smoothly. On the country, the centre and provinces have always been at
loggerhead with each other. Disharmony over natural resources and other issues have kept
Pakistan under strain. The tragic fall of Dhaka was the result of such contentious relations.
That’s why; Pakistan has always been experiencing political instability. These conditions
have again and again provided army a rationale to topple the civilian government.
Army’s frequent interventions have never given democracy a fair chance to flourish in our
country. Our political leaders are also responsible for this predicament. They have always
tried to achieve their vested interests in the garb of politics. They have never respected the
norms of democracy. Judiciary has also been the victim of such political instability. That’s
why; our country has failed to develop healthy political institutions, a lasting democracy and
impartial judiciary.
achieving good governance. Delayed justice is due to poor governance. Justice delayed is
justice denied, which directly contributes to powerlessness of the poor. Incompetent judges
have also greatly hampered the timely administration of justice, hence made the judiciary
weak. When the grievances of the masses are not redressed, they resort to violent solutions
of their problems. This state of condition results in the deterioration of rule of law.
Owing to poor governance, the government is losing control over law and order situation.
When individuals put themselves ahead of institutions, they set a bad example. Suicide
attacks, target killing, robbery and other crimes have become norm of the day. And
Worsening conditions of public order have caused economic instability. Poor law and order
conditions have kept the investors away from our country. Economic mismanagement is
further aggravating the conditions. There is a great economic disparity. The rich are getting
richer and the poor are becoming poorer. Owing to fragile economy, FDI is shrinking on
account of terrorism and political instability. Another major problem is Pakistan’s huge debt
Slow economic growth coupled with government’s lavish spending is pushing Pakistan
deeper and deeper into debt trap. Each successive government-civilian or military-prefers to
have a gigantic administrative set-up. This is done to please the allied parties to prolong
borrowing more and more to meet government official’s princely and lavish lifestyle.
Moreover, tax system in Pakistan is also inefficient and unsatisfactory. Ratio of direct taxes
is more than indirect taxes. Tax evasion is common. The rich are reluctant to pay tax, while
the poor are paying tax even on the purchase of a match box.
Accountability which is the key note of good governance is lacking in our country. No one in
our country seems to consider himself accountable to law. Everyone whatever illegal he
does, thinks it as his right. It is a sort of deluge which is engulfing our country and giving
In the absence of accountability, corruption has become rampant in our society. It has
become so common that no one from clerical staff to high officials is free from this disease.
Transparency International (TI) has ranked Pakistan 34th most corrupt nation in the world.
Corruption hurts economy by raising transaction costs. It also depresses economic growth
by lowering public investment. Only a part of the amount of budget is spent on public
commodities is raising inflation and poverty. Poverty crushed people are being further
crushed with inflation. Purchasing power is decreasing day by day and people are unable to
make their both hands meet. Grain is getting beyond their reach. Along with it, unequal
distribution of cultivate land, unfair distribution of income and increasing population are also
Likewise, government’s inability to provide employment also depicts the picture of bad
causing brain drain. While the educated youth who cannot afford to go out of the country,
Poverty and unemployment are pushing our country into the swamp of illiteracy. Because of
poverty, the poor cannot afford to send their children to schools. And due to unemployment
many people think, “What is the benefit of that education which cannot provide any
respectable livelihood.” Furthermore, corruption is adding fuel to the fire. The education
fund in Pakistan is 2% of National budget, but these funds are never fairly utilized for
education purpose.
One of the most threatening problems which arise out of illiteracy is of overpopulation. In
addition to this, lack of family planning and implementation of population control policies are
almost touching 180 million mark. It is growing out to be the biggest threat to our survival
after terrorism.
Last but not least, the crises of water, energy and food are other disasters for Pakistan. All
these crises, no doubt, are the products of poor governance. Water shortage can be
resources efficiently. Water shortage has badly affected our agricultural sector and also
given birth to every crisis. Heavy dependence on hydel power and failure to utilize
renewable resources have given our country a nasty blow in terms of electricity production.
It has also crippled our industrial sector. Furthermore, food crisis is another gift of bad
governance. Feeding people is a national responsibility. Ministry of food is not doing its job.
People are dying to get a bag of flour and they have to stand in line for hours. Food
The present state of governance in our country tells a sorry tale. It is a fact that there are
many hurdles in running the country. But sincere leadership with proper management can
do wonders. It is never too late to act. What is needed is the proper implementation of
policies. Here are some suggestion to make the dream of good governance come true.
• There should be balance between all the institutions of the country. All institutions must
work within the boundary of their limit. It will ensure the proper functioning of the
governmental machinery.
• The centre and the federating units must develop good relation. All the thorny issues
between them be resolved with the sincerity of purpose. Grievances of the provinces be
• Equal distribution of natural resources be ensured. Provinces must be given right and due
• Justice is indispensible to good governance. Access to cheap and quick justice be made
possible for everyone. Dispensation of justice must be irrespective of class, creed and
religion.
• Economic policies be revised. They must be reformed to meet the demands of the poor
masses. Agricultural and industrial sectors must be revolutionized to attract investment and
• Cut-down of extra expenditure by down-sizing the administrative setup is the dire need of
the hour. It would be greatly helpful in reducing debt burden from our country.
enacted to improve accountability. It must be started from the top. Everyone, no matter
• Media be made free. Freedom of media is the real essence of good governance. Media is
called the fourth pillar of the state and is instrumental in ensuring good governance.
When all is said it can be concluded that the crisis, which is at the root of all other crises, is
energy crisis, water and food shortage are weakening our country at its roots. In this
gloomy scenario, good governance is the dire need of the hour. Though good governance
has always been a dream for our country yet this dream can be transformed onto reality.
Sincere and dedicated leadership can make this dream come true. But it cannot be achieved
in a wink of an eye. It requires a great toil and sacrifice. Our youth van play a very vital role
in this regard. Now, it is very easy to raise public opinion for good governance through the
use of electronic media. The meetings and rallies are also very important means to bring
the trend of good governance on the right track. The youth can be actively involved in
organizing such programmes. Let us hope that our leaders are smart enough to introduce
much needed reforms in the system. Otherwise the alternatives are far too grim to
contemplate.