Pakistan: The

Politics of the
Misgoverned
Dr. Azhar Hassan Nadeem
2020
ABSTRACT
This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the state of political institutions, the
military establishment and political parties in Pakistan. It provides a nuanced
understanding of the practices of disenfranchisement by theocratic governments in
the country which has relegated the people to the margins of their society.
The volume provides an in-depth account of the political history of Pakistan
focusing not only on national politics and foreign policy but also on their
congruences with subnational systems of governance, the criminal justice system,
bureaucracy, the electoral system and the police. It discusses challenging issues
plaguing the country such as the continued dominance of the military, lagging
economic development, lack of accountability within political institutions,
sectarianism and terrorism. The author dissects and critically examines Pakistan's
hegemonic politics and underlines the need for a new social contract based on the
principles of inclusiveness and equality.
The volume offers fresh perspectives on the multifaceted problems in Pakistan's
politics. It will be of great interest to policy practitioners and to academics and
students of politics, law and governance, sociology, international relations,
comparative politics, Pakistan studies and South Asia studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction – structure and design
2. Pakistan’s predicament
3. Rule of law and superior judiciary – an overview
4. Criminal justice administration system
5. Political parties, army and politics
6. Local government
7. Civil society
8. Terrorism and the state response
9. Socio-economic scenario in Pakistan – a story of missed opportunities
10. Conclusion – a way forward
MAIN POINTS
• Social, Political and Economic scene left polluted due to Extractive
institutions.
• There are no Inclusive institutions
• Increase in opportunities in recent past but still Pakistan ranked in top ten
lawless countries of the world
• Superior Judiciary, Criminal Administration system, Political parties, civil &
military beurocracy, local government, and civil society failed to play their
role in determining citizen-state relations especially through 1999-2017
• Zia-ul-Haq, 1977, redefined Pakistan as a conservative, sectarian and
retrogressive country.
• Pakistan requires a complete overhaul of its social contract.
A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT AND
INSTITUTIONAL REINVIGORATION
• Regardless of philosophy envisaged in 1947, due to narrow-minded,
religion-based politics, minorities have been unable to own, protect
and be loyal to Pakistan.
• Firstly, Religious-based identity of Pakistan needs to be done away
with particularly after the separation of East Pakistan as a new
country named Bangladesh.
• The basis of our nation-state should be common residence of the
same geographical identity.
• A new narrative with equal contribution from all people on the land
of Pakistan, without discrimination, in economic, cultural, social and
political development will make a truly Inclusive society.
• Supremacy of Law and Constitution above all state institutions.
Executive, Judiciary & Military establishment remain within
constitution.
• Human and civil-rights, sovereignty of representative institutions,
civil-military, judiciary-executive relations will have to be corrected.
But leaders will not be immune from law.
• Pakistan will have to be run by civilians ordained by the constitution
and not by the garrison or theocracy.
• Religious based politics will be prohibited.
• Peaceful coexistence with all neighboring countries and economic
development of South-Asian region as well as Pakistan.
• Foreign Policy needs to be reviewed to make Pakistan a self-
respecting country in the comity of nations.
• A new National Criminal Justice Administration Policy.
• Constitutional protection given to bureaucrats under 1956
constitution removed by 1973 constitution needs to be restored.
EDUCATION-EMPHASIS ON
ERADICATION OF EXTREMISM AND
INTOLERANCE
• Education quality is different for the elite, the middle class people and poor
people.
• Education system needs to be remodeled as a source of cohesion,
development and growth.
• Same syllabus for all needs to be introduced.
• Unity, social justice, cooperation, and respect need to be promoted instead
of discrimination based on religion, culture and ethnic considerations.
• All the hate-based, twisted content included in syllabus by Zia-ul-Haq as an
exploitative religious agenda to continue his illegal rule needs to be
removed.
• Only then can Pakistan be a progressive, dynamic, prosperous society
oriented towards economic growth.
The new social contract should include major reforms to ensure
political neutrality of civil bureaucracy.
The constitutional protection given to bureaucrats under the 1956
constitution and withdrawn under the 1973 constitution needs to be
restored
Uniform syllabi in all educational institutions in Pakistan with emphasis
on skill based instruction with the value system transmitting and
building a socialization process oriented towards social justice,
cooperation, tolerance, critical thinking and respect for other.
Goldman Sachs reports submitted to policy makes in the US regarding
economic trends by 2030 includes the list of the NEXT ELEVEN
consisting of:
• Bangladesh
• Egypt
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• The Philippines
• South Korea
• Turkey
• Vietnam
Will collectively overtake the EU-27 in global power by 2030
 Pakistan will grow into a stable economy no longer
requiring foreign assistance and IMF support but the
condition is sustained good governance and tax
reforms that spur new industries, jobs and more
resources for modern education in Pakistan
 NON-FICTION:
RECONFIGURING
PAKISTAN
MASOOD H. KIZILBASH
Dawn.com
29th November, 2020
In his book Pakistan: At the Crosscurrent of History, Lawrence Ziring
meanders from elitist-controlled civilian rule to garrison rule over the
last 70 odd years and states the real cause of Pakistan’s woes:
“Jinnah’s vision had called for the establishment of a constitutional
order, but institution-making was impossible among rival regional
interests that were more inclined to protect their peculiar domain
than construct a viable state. Unable to reconcile their different
claims and sensing a loss of personal power, the politicians that
inherited Pakistan state favoured their own more limited purposes
and allowed the nation to grope for its own ill-defined destiny.”
As a result, the purpose of Pakistan, as defined by Mohammad Ali
Jinnah, has remained elusive to this day.
In Pakistan: The Politics of the Misgoverned, former Punjab Inspector
General of Police Azhar Hassan Nadeem, who experienced ill-
governance in the political economy of Pakistan during his chequered
career, sets out to revive the issue of how can Pakistan revert to the
original purpose of the state. He examines the events of the last seven
decades under a theoretical framework in nine chapters and, in the
10th, presents his recommendations for attaining the goal of the
sustainable development of Pakistan’s political economy.
The first casualty of our waywardness was witnessed in the relegation
of rule of law to arbitrary and discretionary powers vested in the
central authority. The offshoot was that the concept of separating
power among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary was
undermined. Instead of consistency in rulings, the judiciary delivered
contradictory judgements in several constitutional cases. This apart,
the Supreme Court granted legitimacy not only to the military regimes,
but also to the establishment of military courts.
Citing other examples of the miscarriage of justice — including that of
the special court constituted for Gen Pervez Musharraf’s trial for high
treason — the author laments that, “notwithstanding the claim that
the judiciary has been a catalyst in enforcing the rule of law and has
expanded democracy, it is obvious that the superior judiciary in
Pakistan had to judge the state mostly in the absence of a
‘representatively conceived constitution’.”
A former IG Police analyses the reasons for
ill-governance in the country and how to put
the state back on the road to Jinnah’s vision

The author is of the opinion that the lower judiciary is the fulcrum for
enforcing contracts of small producers, but it is overburdened. As a
result, the number of pending cases keeps rising, forcing litigants to
take recourse to their personal networks. In this connection, he cites
the observation in a petition to place a time limit for disposal of cases:
“I admit openly that I have been unable to put the house in order,
acknowledged Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, while heading a
four-judge bench that had taken up this petition. In order to give relief
in civil cases, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was put into
effect in February 2017, while granting constitutional cover to ‘jirga’
and ‘panchayat’ [tribal and village council] systems.”
The key factor that led to multiple weaknesses in
the governance apparatus is attributed to forsaking
the principles on which the edifice of the state was
to be raised.

Nadeem blames centralisation and authoritarianism on the post-

Independence, migrant-led government in Karachi, which made
elections dysfunctional out of a fear of loss of power. Civilian
governments were formed in the drawing rooms of the centralist
power-brokers, lacked the people’s mandate and were changed at will.
This gave Gen Ayub Khan the opportunity to abrogate the 1956
Constitution and assume power. History kept repeating itself, with the
army takeovers by Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Musharraf. The author
ascribes this to political parties losing sight of party-building, and
making compromises to stay in power.
Civil society organisations (CSOs), including non-governmental
organisations, play a major role in development, humanitarian relief,
awareness and advocacy, to stem the tide of violence and extremism.
However, CSOs in Pakistan are handicapped because of lack of training
in management, funding and communication skills, and so have failed
to play an effective role in the governance of state.
The new social contract, as proposed by
Nadeem, is built around six features.
 First, a new constitution should be written, stipulating
supremacy of law and the constitution over all other
institutions and thereby ensuring the executive, the judiciary
and the military establishment work within their
constitutional parameters, with each organ functioning as real
sovereign without interference from the other.
 Second, the country should be governed by the polity
ordained by the constitution and not by theocracy and the
garrison.
Third, judges should be appointed on merit through a federal
public commission and should be completely independent,
but made accountable under anti-corruption legislation
applicable across the board without exception.
Fourth, economic policy should be made people-friendly
rather than elitist-friendly.
Fifth, foreign policy should emphasise peaceful co-existence
with all South Asian neighbours and should not succumb to
pressures exercised by other countries — as happened when
Prime Minister Imran Khan backed out of attending the Kuala
Lumpur Summit in December 2019.
Finally, the criminal justice administration policy should be revamped
to achieve public confidence, greater effectiveness and efficiency in
police service, prosecution agencies, courts, prison and medico-legal
services.
Nadeem assiduously makes a case that all the organs of state, as well as
all institutions in the public and private sectors, have decayed to such
an extent that the army has assumed a preponderant ascendency over
all else. This opens up some questions. One, how will a collapse of the
state materialise to rewrite a new social contract? Two, who will
spearhead the new social contract when all state institutions are
dormant? The author seems to be silent on these questions.
 GOVERNANCE, COUNTER
TERRORISM AND POLICING IN
PAKISTAN – A CONVERSATION
WITH AZHAR NADEEM, INSPECTOR
GENERAL OF POLICE (RETIRED)
Hassan Abbas: What are the three biggest
governance challenges faced by Pakistan
today?
• Azhar Nadeem: The authoritarian mindset in conjunction with the
patronage system which has led to the emergence of extractive
institutions in Pakistan is the root of all problems. The second plague
Pakistan suffers from is the larger than life presence of the garrison
and theocracy in the corridors of power and influence.
• A direct consequence of these ills is the chaos in the education,
health and justice systems. In education, there is a disconnect
between the curriculum for the elite and the common man.
Healthcare is fraught by problems leading to complete depravation of
essential services in rural areas. The justice system is in shambles,
where the influential and the rich can go scot free.
Hassan Abbas: The civil-military tensions have remained a
permanent feature of Pakistan’s political landscape. It
appears that it is somewhat resolved for the time being
with the rise of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Do you believe a
permanent solution to civil-military rivalry for political
power has been achieved?
• Azhar Nadeem: The civil-military power struggle has been the main
problem of this country since its inception. Those who are under oath to
protect and preserve the constitution have been responsible for frequent
constitutional abrasions for the last 5 decades. Having PM Imran Khan at
the helm of affairs does not offer a permanent solution to the problem,
rather it exacerbates the situation where the military appears to be calling
the shots in all important affairs.
• From a constitutional perspective, the military should have no role in king
making. The permanent solution calls for a national debate to ensure that
all state institutions, including the military, stay within their constitutional
parameters. However, the civilian leadership should give serious
consideration to the proposals of the armed forces in defense matters.
Hassan Abbas: Based on your experience as a senior
law enforcement official in Pakistan, how do you
measure adherence to rule of law in the country,
especially in regards to performance of its criminal
justice system.
• Azhar Nadeem: One of the biggest misfortunes of Pakistan is the fact that
institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law have been the biggest
deviators themselves. The criminal justice system failed to perform its basic
function because successive governments have been eager to extend
patronage to their chosen few, making a mockery of merit and
competence. The measurement of the prevalence of rule of law can be
certified by answering the following questions.
• Is the government bound by law?
• Is everyone equal before the law?
• Is law and order sound in the country?
• Are the courts delivering justice in reasonable time?
• Are the rights of all, including minorities, being protected in letter and spirit?
• The answer to all these questions is no.
Hassan Abbas: What was the role of Pakistan’s police
forces in its counter terrorism campaigns? What reforms
are necessary for police to improve their reputation and
performance in crime fighting, as well as countering
extremism?
• Azhar Nadeem: The police have played a significant role in countering
terrorism in Pakistan, despite the fact that they are not given the credit due
to them. For example, the National Action Plan is military centric and does
not provide room for capacity building of the police. There has been a
tendency on the part of various governments to give police duties to
rangers, which is tantamount to giving a doctor’s functions to an engineer.
• First and foremost, the police must focus on building trust and legitimacy
through community policing and strong internal accountability. Secondly,
they must move towards greater efficiency through digital transformation
in all provinces and better scale their media projection and marketing to
win hearts and minds of the community.
Hassan Abbas: How do you view the
future of democracy in Pakistan?
• Azhar Nadeem: There is hope for democracy to flourish in Pakistan.
The current government has taken measures to increase internal
accountability across state institutions. The debate on national issues
gives hope for broader participation of people in state affairs. If free
and fair elections continue without any external manipulation for the
next 2 decades, all problems should be resolved.