One can convincingly assert that competent and sincere politicians assisted by honest law-enforcing institutions, followed by a vigilant and objective media are the pivotal prerequisites for any nation-state aspiring to prosper.

Legislating forums manned by adept lawmakers for formulating judicious laws; judiciary for sagaciously interpreting the promulgated laws and delivering justice to all and sundry on equal terms; police, the enforcing arm of the state, ensuring swift and even-handed implementation of the rules and regulations, are indispensable components of a functioning civilized nation.

On top of it, free, independent media acting as a neutral watchdog, impartially exposing, analysing and scrutinizing the deeds/intentions of rulers; highlighting social, economical and cultural accomplishments as well as pointing out shortcomings and failures, generates, as a result, public pressure strong enough to create those unwritten checks and balances which are necessary to keep societies on the right track. A harmonious corporation of these four segments composes communal configuration and social infrastructure that holds societies together.

Politicians and police, the prime custodians of power, are defenders/setters of social norms. Although all shareholders of public power have more or less lost respect, politicians and police are those who have come to symbolize ignominy and incompetence in our society. Regrettably, what to talk about enthusing admirable role models, they, due to a number of factors, stand at a point today where public confidence in them is at its lowest ebb.

By applying a whiff of generalization, one can credibly aver, that in Pakistan both politicians and policemen are rotten to the core. And the tragic reality is that all corruption in the society stems from the lack of integrity and malfunctioning of just these two crucial groups.

A comprehensive academic analysis of the political and social morass is far beyond the scope of this piece. The aim of the undertaking, nonetheless, is to highlight few basic in-built but preventable, anomalies of our political system, primarily in fiscal aspect. And, without embarking upon an intricate legal debate, tender some easy-to-implement proposals to improve the sordid state of affairs, at least to a degree. I have been careful that the suggested moves would neither entail any overwhelming constitutional overhaul nor risk any parliamentary standoff. For the sake of clarity and space, I would confine myself only to politicians here.

The devastating affects of corruption cannot be overstated. However, there is a general tendency to overlook certain fundamental reasons while discussing pecuniary cheating and proposing methods to mitigate it. Please note, eliminating this curse all together is not possible due to human imperfections. Greed and selfishness, to some extent, are human frailties hard to eradicate.

In fact, it can be contended that after personal moral lapses, the single most important reason for the menace of swindling at least among police and politicians in Pakistan must be a more or less an impossible equation with duties/expectations on one side and legal monetary returns on the other. It doesn’t take a neurosurgeon to comprehend the unavoidable results of this inconsistency. Corrupts do not deserve any sympathy and they must be dealt with severely. But, before that, society must provide them minimum possible means to live/perform honestly.

Another germane cause for the political corruption is huge disparity between the cost to get elected and the fair fiscal gains as elected representatives afterwards. For example, is it rational to expect that a person investing/spending millions of rupees to win a slot in a legislative body will not try to get that invested amount back by one way or the other, especially in an atmosphere of uncertainty like ours where he can be kicked out at any time – through extra-constitutional means?

Corporate salaries are not comparable to what public office holders collect anywhere in the world. A MD of a medium size company in the US is far better paid than the president at the White House. Nevertheless, financial rewards of the politicians are very much compatible to other government employees. For example a corps commander is not better off than a serving attorney general or a federal minister over there. A three star general is not conferred with more perquisites than the vice-chancellor of a leading public university and so forth.

In Pakistan, it is truly amazing to observe that none of the successive governments had tried to obliterate the discrepancies between magnitude of duty and rightful monetary returns for politicians and the police. They either failed to realize the gravity of the issue or for some unknown reasons opted to overlook it thus far. Therefore, the hue and cry being raised at the demands [and now granted increment through executive diktat] of the incumbent legislators regarding their salaries is bit off the mark. To be fair, our politicians may have countless shortcomings but they cannot be faulted on this account. Honourable parliamentarians do deserve a considerable hike in their honoraria. Projecting politics and politicians (collectively) as a synonymous to filth serves no purpose and should be evaded. Otherwise it will keep on repelling competent and honest people away from it.

Observe. To attract the best possible brains, men/women of principle to police and politics, the two sectors of foremost importance, a society has to firstly create conducive conditions and secondly offer a respectable social status to them. After all, our graceful survival in all regards depends on their performance. Now look around and decide yourself, is it achievable for an upright person in Pakistan to join politics or opt for shielding fellow countrymen (during peace time) and keep his/her integrity intact?

Politics should neither be considered a hobby of a rich man nor a charity work. It is a profession where a person is elected rather than selected/nominated for a job. Quite justifiably, there wouldn’t be many less privileged people ready to undertake long-term public assignments without being economically remunerated. So, it is imperative that at least elected representatives with fulltime political duties, right from lower tier to the national level, have reasonable salaries paid by the state (before he/she steals it) to live on.

Representative democracy means participation of and by all social groups. In our case, at present, all authority rests with few elitist clusters, too isolated, too affluent to have an idea of hardships being faced by the destitute majority. To lessen this vast gap that separates the ruling and the ruled we have to take ordinary people to the corridors of the power. Put it simply, Nawabzadas, Bhuttos, Legharis, Sharifs, marring our political landscape, need to be eased out. Otherwise there are slim chances for having a viable democratic system and consequently a common man finding any solace to his problems any soon. Obviously, few honourable souls would be able or willing to join if not decently compensated and affably valued for their partaking.

A demanding, alert and participating electorate is a corner stone of any sustainable democratic order. The official turnout of the voters of about 35 % at best for last several elections clearly demonstrates the apathy of the people towards politics. Making vote casting an obligatory duty for all eligible or a condition of minimum 50 % voters’ turnout for the validity of elections results could help engaging electorate. It would hopefully incite people’s interest/awareness in political affairs by apprising them of the power of ballot. That would not only enhance the legitimacy of the rulers but could also trigger citizens’ active engagement in decision-making process.

In the same way, annual disbursement of state-funds to political parties for their administrative overheads, proportional to the votes they succeeded in bagging in the last election would definitely reduce the “necessity” of corruption along with catalysing the formation of a strong democratic structure.

Spheres and duties of all organs of the state must be clearly re-defined making any peripheral meddling impossible. For strengthening democratic traditions and probably most importantly to introduce institutional discipline in the society there must be a clear cut set of regulations and an unambiguous code of conduct for politicians as well as all other state functionaries. No deviation/violation in this regard should be tolerated. While giving elected representatives complete political and policy-making freedom on one hand, the official machinery should have complete operational and institutional sovereignty. The very same goes for security agencies: they have absolutely no right to manipulate (or should I term it hamper) political evolution and must be kept at bay.

MPs should be constitutionally barred to interfere in the development and civic programs of local governments – the main money-minting channel. Role of the politicians at the national level is to devise guidelines and to ensure its implementation not the management of road making and/or postings/transfers of government officials in their respective constituencies. Allocating constitutional coverage to local bodies elections through an amicable settling of the LFO impasse, making it a permanent/regular feature can serve as a fertile breeding ground for producing new politicians, diluting power concentration and dampening down political in-breeding.

Raising salaries and fulfilling minimum working requirements alone will definitely not turn monsters into angels overnight but it will hopefully make it possible for some of them to lead a honourable life. After succouring their genuine grieves a stringent mechanism should be devised to monitor their performance, to keep track of their assets and living standards. Any violation of law from their side after that should be punished in harshest conceivable manner.

Yes, it is expensive, might be very expensive to pay every elected member and to take care of every official need of the police force. But there is NO other way out. And especially when certain reforms had the potential to yield hundred times greater dividends than the amount invested, it is worth a try.

I am pretty doubtful that power holders are so exceptionally honest anywhere in the world. It is only effective systematic checks and particularly free electronic media that don’t allow them have their inning peacefully. There is nothing more effective than a truly free TV and openness. Especially in a country like ours with bare 35 % literacy rate and a limited penetration of newspapers, the impact of news reports produced by independent TV channels, can do miracles. Imagine a scenario, where an investigating journalist grills a minister LIVE at prime time TV.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to one single premise: a culture where implementation of the statute book is across the board in letter and spirit, without any discrimination. Tailor-made loopholes, selective enforcement and not to mention judicial apartheid where some are more equal than others is destined to fail. The imminent inevitable meltdown of the incumbent set-up is also due to a tragic fact that not even LFO is being enforced even-handedly. Minus total sincerity and honesty of purpose – nothing works.