The Political System
In the year 1957, as far back as that, I was posted as Deputy Commissioner Bhawalpur. The Minister from there was an outstanding achiever, performer, brilliant with ideas. He established a zoo where all the small trees and shrubs were trimmed and pruned to give the shape and figure of animals. He got a beautiful stadium built, perfectly maintained, with asparagus and coleus plant lending color and beauty all time vegetation in the weather there. He got established Sadiq Public School on the model of Aitcheson College. Even the first principal came from Aitcheson College. He established a paramedical college there, the first of its type. He was in the process of getting constructed a Poor House, magnificent to look at, and to provide legal support to it by Vagrancy Ordinance. I asked him how could he grow such beautiful roses in a place like Bahawalpur. He told me that he had got the gardener of the Presidency, Abdul Ghani, and in five years he had transformed the place. In Bahawalpur land was in abundance to dole out to those who performed well. So a whole cricket team was raised. Possessed of such qualities, where ever there was a small public gathering as at Railway Station where we waited to see him off, he would proudly describe his capability to rig an election and named all those who were in the habit of doing so and all of them acknowledged his superiority in doing it. I was amazed at such utterances and could not find any reason for it.
Then followed a spate of remarkable statements coming from established political leaders. Chief Minister of a province stating publicly on TV internationally shown that the “degrees is degree”, it does not matter genuine or false. Another, after showing on TV his marked ballot which was in breach of secrecy, he stated that it was a small matter why the people are making a fuss of it. Surprising, another chief minister stated after he had admitted the gold necklace was with him for ten years though given by a foreign dignitary for the assistance of flood-affected people of the area, nothing more was required to be said or done. Does it all mean that our future political leadership is to come from those who blatantly transgress values of Islam, who do not believe in the sanctity of the constitution, show the rougher side of their values whomsoever they consider a voter. The answer to this attitude I found recently in a book published about Indian Politics, nothing to do with Pakistan or its affairs.
Wall Street Journal dated 25th January 2017—book review: Why Crime Pays by Milan Vaishnav, a political scientist at the Carnegie Endowment believes that when the state fails to provide equitable access to housing, justice, jobs and public services—as India regularly does—Criminals acquire unique advantage as politicians. They can flaunt their rough edges as proof that they will fight for their constituents-that they alone can help the downtrodden navigate a broken system. And because most of them actually do have experience subverting the system in one way or the other they can deliver. Once in office, they get wells dug. They resolve disputes with bureaucrats and the Police. They take good care of widows and jobless. And, sometimes, they become spectacularly rich in the process.”
Service Structure
The Indian Civil Service, the Civil Service of Pakistan, the District Management group had the reputation of being the steel framework of British Administrative set up. Pakistan tried to live up to it as best as possible (please refer to Quaid-e-Azam extensive guideline reproduced in my paper. The rot started as pointed out by MAK Chaudhry in his book “Of all those years” (page 50) “In October 1958, when preparing for the general elections promised then, the army struck and imposed a countrywide martial law with General Ayub Khan declaring himself president. Marked Politicians and bureaucrats were picked up, detained, removed from Service, or sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, without due process of law.”
The pattern was set and much more followed
Action was taken under such exceptional powers against 3,549 Public Servants (page 293 Braibanti Research on Bureaucracy of Pakistan ) Martial Law 1969: Action was taken against 303 Class I gazetted officers who were suspended from service to face the charges of corruption, misuse of power; Post Martial Law: on 12th of March 1972 for the third time during the 12 years preceding, it was found necessary to retire compulsorily 1866 public Servants on the strength of a notification issued under MLR114. Then followed another punitive action against 138 officers in 1976
Political Parties: Political Parties coming into power started throwing out of service hundreds of civil servants, some dead, some alive but not in service, without cause shown, without reason given, just as the CEO’s of the past present and the future, doing with the judges of the superior Courts. The top man in the country with Establishment Secretary by his side proclaiming that with this Man alive and by my side I will destroy the Civil Service of Pakistan and he accomplished it. The Eradication of Corruption Commission called the Establishment Secretary who declined to appear on account of his ill health. Can any governance structure survive such a brutal handling continued for years without let or hindrance with no prospect of a change?
Another Aspect of our Governance: One of the frankest book written in Pakistan (So far coming to my notice) is Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord which mentions how her father who was then Governor of State Bank of Pakistan was asked to transfer all the cash from East Pakistan to West. He refused. He was severely dealt with thereafter. The concluding part of the event finds mention in the following words in the book written by MAK Chaudhry, an Army Officer of the war, taken into Police Service, served everywhere, taken as a POW and remained as such in India for over a year. His book is “Of All Those Years” published 2006. Page 66 “Back in East Pakistan, the martial law continued to wreak havoc. A senior commander took away all the cash from the State Bank of Pakistan in Chittagong on the pretext that it would be safer at his residence, which was well guarded. He stashed away all the money in Karachi. During the Bhutto regime, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and posted to Karachi to enjoy his loot. He went a step further, appropriated from a local businessman, first his wife, and then his palatial house in Karachi, all under threat of repercussions under martial law”
Page64. “During a wave of bank robberies in Dhaka the police arrested a culprit red-handed with his booty after he had looted a bank and killed a guard in the process. His vehicle turned out to an army with fake number plates. Money and a first class air ticket to Karachi were recovered from his person. It transpired that he was a soldier and orderly of a Brigadier. The army took him away from the police on the pretext of trying him under military law (although murder and rape are the two offenses that, under the law, can only be tried by a civil court). The brigadier had a nervous breakdown and had to be evacuated to West Pakistan.”
Horrifying misgovernance. These four cases I have found reported in the press and shown on the TV at times Their accuracy is not my responsibility but disclosure of correct and full facts is that of the Department. (1) An ex-Air Force Chief of the country expired this month. His writ petition which is a constitutional petition supposed to receive priority attention is pending attention for the last 25 years, not reflected in any report or study. (2) Within the precincts of High Court Building, a pensioner committed suicide on account of delay in the disposal of his case.No explanation. No details. No facts disclosed. (3) On acquittal being announced in appeal by the highest court, it was found that the man had already died pending appeal. (4) Immediately on retirement, a Chief Justice applied for a bulletproof government-maintained car. Without admitting the petition the relief was granted as an interim measure. The government had to spend over fifty lac only on its maintenance.
I stop here. Instances are spread all over. When I tell people about it their consoling reply is Dooms Day is imminent, all clear signs of it. We all have sound sleep thereafter.
Part 1 Present State of Bureaucracy
Part 2 Accountability Supervision and Reports
Part 3 Jurisdiction – Chaotic Usurpation
Experiences of a Lifetime 