Would Devolution Empower “We the People”?

Sitting tight in our air conditioned apartments and homes, we can only ask questions. Forget the government, expatriate Pakistanis have enough money and education to make a difference to the poor of Pakistan. If only we could get off our sorry arses, stop looking at each other, and take the initiative to do someting. Relying on the government hasn`t gotten Pakistan anywhere but down.

The devolution plan is nothing but an excuse to prolong jernaile Mutteraff and his gang of mutters rule. Don`t be fooled, see the writing on the wall.

Roohi A. Ditta

PROOF ONCE AGAIN OF PAKI TERRORISM:

Nepali cops intercept 35 kg of RDX meant for India: AFP

http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/sep/04nepal.htm

The police in Nepal have arrested three Pakistani nationals carrying 35 kg of the highly explosive RDX which was destined for India.

The three were heading for India via Nepal but were detained on Saturday night, police sources said.

``After a tip-off, the Kathmandu district police office arrested the three Pakistanis along with the explosives.``

The police received a tipoff that the three had brought the RDX into Nepal, and after an extensive search they were arrested at a hotel in Kathmandu along with the RDX.

``This is the biggest amount of RDX confiscated in Nepal so far by the police,`` the source further said.

The police discovered that the explosives were intended for terrorist attacks in India.

The last haul of RDX in Kathmandu, two years ago, totalled 19 kg, and was also found in a hotel in Kathmandu.

Dear Professor Bilal,

My 2 cents on your last question:

“Can Musharraf’s devolution plan realistically empower the people in each locality without a significant improvement in their overall quality of life?”

Without going into the intricacies of your question, let us look at some harsh realities.
Dictators, including Musharaf, are inherently weak leaders. Musharaf`s government is seen as a military dictatorship by most democratic nations. Any move to remove his government (no matter what the motives of the people behind such a move), will gain swift international support. You can well imagine his insecurities in that regard. On the other hand, signals coming from major international donor institutions like IMF and World Bank etc indicate that they are not happy with the pace and direction of economic reforms in Pakistan. Also, International investors have so far given his economic reforms a thumbs-down. In short, he has so far failed in his efforts to kick-start the economy through his economic reform plan. Who is responsible for its failure is not the issue, but the fact that it has failed. Economic revival was the most critical test on which depended his entire political career. The pie is getting smaller in size by the day.

Now, in the wake of his failure on the economic front:

Can he afford to empower people at the risk of upsetting the elite?

Scout:

I understand your frustration, and appreciate your concern.
However, before a society can embark on any political/economic/social reform, exchange of ideas leading to consensus of society in recognizing and then prioritising the areas where reforms are needed is of utmost importance.

How can you take practical steps to resolve a problem, if you are not even sure what really is the problem?

It`s another matter if you think that too much talk and not enough action on chowks (this one and all other chowks in every neighourhood in Pakistan) is the real source of all our problems :)

Bilal:

[......is dependent upon the revival of the economy, payment of existing debt, balancing the budget, and improving the climate for venture capital at both local and supralocal levels.....]

YOu display great acumen most of the time. Here in this quote you missed the most obvious point, or assumed that it need not be mentioned ---- `.... is dependent upon ...the survival of the state and ....`

And one final comment.

Any country can have the finest and fairest laws on the books. But if its citizens and adminstarators only pay a lip service those laws would go the way of the laws of the Book.

Pakistan needs to go through a period of real revolution. [You my friend understand all the implications behind that word.]

There is too much discord...too much inequity...too much unjustice...too many resources...too many people...too many plans...too many ideas...too little time.....

sadly,

t

Re: Scout reply #1

Your reply has two assumptions ( both wrong in my opinion)

1. Unlike expatriates the people living in Pakistan ( or India for that matter) do not have money /resources/education and that is why they cannot/do not help the poor.

2. As a group the expatriates somehow have different interests/priorities/moral values than people of the country they originated from.

Dear Bilal,

Good question, may be we should ask the experts of islamabad, they should be more reliable than any on the chowk, at least, they make a living out of forecasting what many believe to be the future, which none on the chowk can claim. From the nation of today

Palmists` glibbery looting people

RAWALPINDI (PPI) - People have expressed grave concern over loot and plunder spree by the palmists carrying on their business at footpaths alongside Murree Road and all busiest roads of City. These palmists lay traps craftly to ensnare their victims, who are from the oppressed and illiterate classes and marginalised section of society.

They are seen occupying foot paths alongside Murree Road by setting up small tents laying sheets with displaying the boards inscribed with the attractive and deceptive slogans like Your beloved to fall to your ....

Bilalji,

True to your style (after reading many of your posts) you have posed a lot of questions.

I did expect at least a set of possibilities that would give an insight to your thinking. Unless ofcourse you yourself are perturbed by the questions you have posed and answers are difficult to come by.

You have put particular attention to Indo-Pak

peace. From an Indian point of view, peace with pakistan is going to strengthen the social fabric of this country. Decline of Security threat, militancy and unrest is secondary. Hindu fundamentalists do accuse Indian muslims of sympathising and abetting pakistan in many of it`s sinister designs.

That some form of support for pakistan exists is well known. { I myself know of some muslims who are quite candid in their support to pakistan }

But with peace, Muslims will no longer have to feel the need to prove their patriotism in every confrontation with Pakistan.This game of accusations and counter accusations {between Hindi and Muslim fundamentalists} will be the first casualty.

Peace can only enhance India`s claim to be a truly secular country. Not ironically it is quite dependant on Pakistan.

Added bonus would be India`s standing amongst the Muslim nations, which would improve. Though it is comfortably placed now.

Just these few reasons are enough to create a Vibrant and Strong India.

Adding to the plethora of questions, I add one more.

But what is the acceptable cost of Peace?





Pullu

Thank you, Layman and Roohi!

Back to our regular business...

Prof Ahmad, you seem to have restated the basic sketch of the devolution plan. However, I wish that you had answered at least some of the questions that you have raised in your fourth paragraph! Issues such as differences (if any) b/n this and Ayub Khans plans are important or us to be aware of, since one of the things major detractors against this plan state is that it will repeat the `Basic Democracy` experiment. It goes without saying, of course, that the `proof of the pudding`, etc, but first off, is the recipe for the pudding any better than before, or is it just as undigestible?

It`s all nice in principle. Will it work? Is it against basic human nature?

But look at this logic. Human beings essentially are pack rats or groupies or whatever. They tend to move in groups and seek and get validation by participating in such affiliations, be it the local religious group or social club or whatever, we need to belong to something.

I don`t know the details of the plan, but by electing a bunch of nonaffiliated individuals with disparate and personal/private interests, you are but ensuring the success of the dominating authority--the junta.

Elected representatives work best when they work in tandem or unison. that is the beauty of democracy--agreeing to disagree and disagreeing with other agreements.

so what will happen when certain groupings or affiliations start to evolve/form? Will they be split up.

The bottom line is that when there are fewer voices, the discussions will be heard. When there are hundreds of voices, all one hears is din and confusion.

Let me pose few questions that I hope some one will attempt to address: What does the army know of democracy when it is essentially a rigid, authoritarian authority? What qualifies the army to know what and how a true democracy is? And going by their past attempts to reengineer the process, why and how will this attempt succeed?

Don`t mistake me: the existing system did not work. But that was not the fault of democracy. Democracy needs time and nurturing. Unfortunately, it was also undermined by the very authority attempting to rewrite it under the cloak of reform.

Sometimes, it has to begin with a good consititution--one that one can build on over time, not pull down at every given opportunity. As much as my fellow Indians will start crowing about the virtues of our wonderful democracy, it has a lot of flaws, some very ugly. It has a lot of flawed institutions and individuals. They`ve attempted to reengineer the constitution many times. It takes a few honest people to stand up to the machinations, time after time. People with spine. That is what Pakistan needs. Go back to your original consititution and try to live in its spirit. You`ve lost that focus.

The bottom line: it`s probably part in good faith, but it strikes me as a cynical, self-serving situation--one that will ease the way for the CE to eventually be granted the mantle of presidency.

Bilal, you must be commended once again for attempting to foster a genuine discussion. i hope this does not get hijacked into the usual we are better than you and you stink/smell diatribes.

Re: Layman #3,

A sincere request. It`s bad enough that insinuations in on-topic responses take the discussion away from the main topic to India-Pak mud-slinging. In such a situation, you are explicitly trying to steer the discussion in that direction. I think every writer on Chowk deserves more respect than that, and more so (IMHO) Mr. Bilal Ahmad.

please refrain from cut and paste postings from newspapers.. and don`t start that India v Pakistan thing either..

Re: Bilal Ahmad

Your article has raised some very important points.

The whole intent of the plan is to empower the people by breaking up the concentrated monopoly of power in Pakistan. That is the plan`s basic flaw. By devolving power into a multipolar based political system, the idea of which seems to have been borrowed from the American system, it wants to impower the grassroot level of political participation in Pakistan.

If the premise, of the plan being based on the American model, is true then it pre-supposes that this plan, in order to work, will need the cooperation and compromise, a requirement of the American grid-lock system, to work. Sadly, given our timocratic political philosophy, cooperation and compromises in the Pakistan polity are two rare twins! It will create conflict, and given our confrontational, venal approach towards politics, it will not encourage an amicable solution to the problems!

Another element hammering in its death nail is education. Pakistani people, the target of this empowerment, are not educated enough to understand the grid-lock favors compromise nature of this plan and will see it as another manifestion of the self interested groups marginalizing the common person for their own egocentric aims!

This plan has serious flaws and the biggest of them is the bureaucracy itself. Who will implement it? The Army? Who will defend Pakistan`s borders? The bureaucrats! :)

Ciao!

Dear Chowkwallas:

In my article, I have tried to provide only a rudimentary sketch of the issue of devolution vis a vis Pakistan. I will ``try`` to address various issues and steer the course of discussion discursively. Intuition and introspection may also help.

If interested in specific details of the plan, please go to the NRB site (address provided in the article).

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

The local democracy idea - union council, panchayat, what have you has a serious flaw in our feudal cultures. It establishes the paramountcy of the majority at the local level. And you know what that leads to.

Mithuna/fairdinkum

Well said!!

Layman, please cut the crap.