IPS-National Academic Council Stresses Improvement in Governance and Fostering of Nation-building

ISLAMABAD: Expressing grave concerns over the ongoing governance crisis despite the change in government, senior policy practitioners, academicians and experts underscored morality, rule of law and meritocracy as key areas to focus upon if the nation is to move forward productively and progressively. They also urged for indigenous solutions for economic revival.

Speaking at the annual meeting of IPS-National Academic Council – an assembly of eminent intellectuals, scholars, academicians and experts from across Pakistan brought together by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad to deliberate upon matters of national significance annually – all the key opinion leaders were unanimous in their views asking the government to improve its governance, devise consistent and long-term policies over matters of national significance, and adopt self-reliant homegrown remedies to come out of the current economic crisis.

The session, chaired by Khalid Rahman, executive president & director general of IPS, was first addressed by the Institute’s founding chairman Professor Khurshid Ahmad via an audio link. The participants included Shamshad Ahmad Khan, former federal secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador (retd) Rustam Shah Mohmand, Saeed Ahmad Qureshi, fomer deputy chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan, Masud Daher, former federal secretary, Fasih Uddin, former chief economist of Pakistan, Mirza Hamid Hasan, former secretary, Water and Power, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, president, Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Pakistan, Muhammad Qasim Bughio, ex-chairman, Pakistan Academy of Letters, Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, former federal secretary, Cabinet Division, Air Cdr (r) Khalid Iqbal, and Dr Syed M. Anwer, eminent jurist and member Islamic Ideology Council.

Professor Khurshid Ahmad, in his inaugural speech, expressed concerns over the continued economic crisis in the country and urged the incumbent government to devise medium and long-term policies aimed at attaining self-reliance. He said that Pakistan is faced with pressing economic and security crises and all stakeholders – including the government, opposition, and media – need to change their behavior and work in accordance in order to overcome these challenges.

Speaking of policymaking in Pakistan, Qureshi opined there was neither any research-backed informed decision-making being done in the country, nor were there any mechanisms to evaluate the benefits or impacts of the policies that were made. There existed dual disconnects – first between the research and policymaking processes, and then between the devised policies and their implementation – which need to be addressed.

Shamshad A Khan voiced similar concerns emphasizing on the of rule of law in the country while underscoring the need of justice without discrimination, meritocracy and accountability for all. Khan was also critical of growing disparity and mistrust among the federating units of the country urging the government and policymakers to take serious measures to facilitate and foster nation-building.

Iqbal echoed Qureshi and Khan in his opinions stating that Pakistan was already an over-legislated country and the problem with it actually laid in the implementation of the rule of law. He said that the country did not need devising more laws for most things but to implement in letter and spirit the rules and regulations that were already in place.

Fasih Uddin advised policymaking circles to work on policy formulation and evaluation for strengthening of political, domestic and institutional systems in the country by means of capacity building and infusion of inter-government harmony.

Mohmand lamented that Pakistan was taking giant leaps backwards due to the weaknesses and incapacity of its institutions whereas Dr Anwer put forth the idea of capacitating politicians and government office holders by facilitating their interactions with seasoned practitioners from the relevant fields.

The focus of Daher’s speech was on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education maintaining that acquiring of technological capacity and relevant expertise have become essential to achieve growth and progress in any field in the modern times.

There was considerable emphasis laid on climate change as well, potentially terming it the biggest looming threat for Pakistan as it will have direct affect over the country’s agrarian economy which relies heavily on its rivers generating from the Himalayan and Karakorum glaciers.

Hasan spoke on the need of taking immediate research-oriented measures to mitigate the impact of climate change highlighting the phenomenon’s possible impact on food and water security in the country.

Akif too pointed at environmental risks to the country and warned against the environmental costs of building large dams. He called for adopting non-dam solutions by making use of the wetlands in the country. He also shared that there were at least ten sites already identified in Pakistan that were suitable for storing billions of gallons of water reservoirs due to their natural depression. Similarly, he also downplayed the need of dams for electricity generation maintaining that there were several other options available now for the purpose offering much cheaper and efficient solutions.