While reading about the
organizational view of the state, I couldn’t help but compare it with the
current Pakistani State. For starters one of the five main features of a state
is that it is sovereign. The Pakistani state is anything but sovereign. A sovereign
state is one, which has exclusive power over its political, economic, military
and other affairs, but in Pakistan, American drones are free to bombard its
territory whenever they feel adequate. It is only in Pakistan that American
Navy seals can conduct an operation .8 miles away from the Pakistan Military
Academy without the fear of retaliation.
It is in Pakistan where
leaders of banned militant outfits like Lashker-e-Tayba and AL Sunnat wal
Jamaat are free to roam about and lead protest rallies. It is only in Pakistan
that an elite police commando can kill a sitting governor in broad daylight by
shooting him 27 times for criticizing a draconian blasphemy law and the state
is unable to appoint a prosecutor because it cannot guarantee his safety.
The Pakistani state has
failed to protect the life and liberty of its citizens and has been unable to
fulfill its constitutional duties. Article 25 A of the Pakistani constitution
promises free and compulsory education to children aged between five and sixteen
but the state has failed miserably to uphold this promise with 25 million
Pakistani children currently out of schools. The same is the case with the
health sector.
The
Pakistani state has lost its ‘monopoly over legitimate violence’. In today’s
Pakistan armed militias are running rampant without the fear of prosecution.
The court system is dysfunctional and the police is too incompetent to maintain
law and order. The military has the reins of the country’s security as well as
foreign policy and it seems that the democratic government is only responsible
for running the day-to-day administrative affairs of the country. To truly
understand the shift in the civil military dynamic we just need to see that the
three main capitals; Kabul, London and Washington are directly engaging with
the army chief rather than the Prime Minister. I don’t know whether the
Pakistani state has failed but I do know that it is failing.
Like
Dr. Ayesha Jalal said “the magnitude and range of problems besieging Pakistan
are so enormous that even the best efforts on the part of a competent elected
government may not be enough to steady the course,” but what else can we do
except hope.
2 comments:
It is true that Pakistan's situation is deteriorating with every passing day but we should not undermine the efforts that are being taken. We can't hope that all these efforts show the desired outcome in a night. Moreover, I believe that though Pakistan is facing so many troubles, it's people are now awakening. They are standing up to fight for their rights. For the first time in history, many women came out of their houses to vote. This change didn't happen all at once, it happened gradually.
Shehryar I'm going to push you to think deeper about this topic.
So while yes the state does not have full reach within its terroritory, governments are not as effective as we would like, and there are a litany of other problems, there are still many things that the state is doing that are quite good. For example, we have a motorway system that links several major cities together that allows for goods and people to travel with ease. We have airports, electricity (sometimes), natural resources, a powerful military, a growing economy, and we produce enough food to sustain our burgeoning population. Furthermore, a lot of the problems you identify are urban issues and it is important to remember that 2/3 of Pakistan is still rural. While I agree that Pakistan is not doing as well as we would like, it is improving. Let us hope that it will continue to do so now and into the future.
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