Chief Minister Jam Kamal took oath on August 19, 2018. He is the third Jam of Lasbela to be the chief minister after his grandfather and father. In his maiden speech, he assured the people of Balochistan that he was there to accomplish things for the people and did not believe in lip service like previous chief ministers. As a non-partisan apprehensive citizen waiting for some viable change, I had to give him the benefit of doubt. However, in the next eight months, he was kind enough to burst the bubble, as things got worse with time. His government has failed at the most basic functions, such as cleaning the capital of Balochistan. Infections are proliferating because of sewage and filth on the streets. Motorbike riders laugh off the writ of the government when they use footpaths for their commute. The authority of government is further ridiculed by hawkers who seize most of the road space while traffic suffers congestion. When a government fails at such elementary levels, how could they achieve anything on bigger issues such as development and security?
According to the latest report by the United Nations Development Programme, Balochistan is the worst performing province in term of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main focus of these goals is the fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and gender equality. There are 21 targets and sadly, Balochistan has not achieved a single target. The government took on three targets but failed in its attempt.
The seventh National Finance Commission has increased the flow of finances from the central government to Balochistan from seven percent to nine percent. Despite this increase, the socio-economic indicators of the province are still to improve considerably.
The Public Sector Development Programme is envisaged a key component in improving socio-economic indicators. The current government has been unable to rationalise the PSDP even after getting repeated directions from the high court to plan it on guidelines provided by the planning commission. For the last two years, no new project has been initiated. The allocative efficiency of the provincial PSDP has remained quite low over the years. Ideally, the allocation should be based on a prioritisation exercise, keeping in view the challenges in the province. The second issue is the absence of proper evaluation and an impact assessment system. As the UNDP indicated, financial allocations are mostly done on the basis of what could be best described as an incremental approach: a certain fraction is added to the departments’ previous allocation every year without an investigation of the department needs and impact of previous allocations. The PSDP analysis between 2013-19 presents that emphasis on distribution has been mainly on social sectors, with education and communication being a continuous priority. Sluggishness in economic development in Balochistan can be ascribed to overlooking some of the most important departments that can contribute to economic productivity such as minerals and tourism.
For tourism and mining minerals, the province needs a peaceful environment. However, this government has failed miserably in maintaining law and order. Previously, the province had been hit by a number of attacks but the number of large-scale incidents had declined substantially since 2016. Now, they are gaining momentum since the new government took charge. It all began with an attack on inspector general of Frontier Corps in October 2018 when he narrowly escaped a deadly attack by gunmen on his convoy in Washuk. Two FC soldiers embraced martyrdom in the attack. Then in December, six security officials were martyred in an attack in Kech and 14 others were injured. Following that, in January 2019, four security personnel were martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists trying to storm the residential and administrative compound inside a Frontier Corps training centre in Loralai. In February, four personnel of the Frontier Corps were martyred in an attack in Panjgur. In the month of March, six personnel of the Balochistan Levies Force were martyred in a terrorist attack on a check-post in the Sanjavi. In April at least 20 people were killed and 48 injured in a blast in Quetta’s Hazarganji market. Then again in April, at least 14 passengers were picked out with the help of their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs), forcibly offloaded from their buses and then shot dead by unidentified assailants on the Makran highway in Ormara.
This clearly shows the incapacity of the current government in ensuring continued order. The governing elite in Balochistan is not keen to improve the sphere of security. The most important portfolio of Home and Tribal Affairs has always been given to immature and inexperienced politicians since 2003. The best these inexpert ministers have done is to blame external forces for their failure and have never taken steps to counter terrorism. However, playing the “external forces card” has not and will not salvage the situation. The essential principle of problem-solving is to acknowledge the fact that there is a problem. As long as the government of Balochistan does not realise their unskillfulness, it will be a zero-sum equation. The day of reckoning has to come for the political elite of Balochistan because we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. There are many factors contributing to the failure of this government and previous governments and they all converge to the core issue of bad governance.
The idea of governance is as old as human civilization. In simple terms, it is a framework for decision-making and how to implement (or not implement) those decisions. This process is manipulated by formal and informal actors that are involved in decision making. When we discuss governance in Pakistan our focus is mostly on the formal actors such as the government and military while we overlook informal factors such as influential landlords, religious leaders, financial institutions, business mafias and political parties. Coupled with these actors the role of media and international donors is fundamental. While in Balochistan these actors narrow down to ‘kitchen cabinets’ or informal advisors. In Balochistan, we cannot ignore the locally powerful families that have been taking turns for the position of chief minister and governor. They have occupied positions of power for almost 35years.
An effective administration depends on the socio-political structure of the society. However, if there is a clash between the political structure and social values, then governance is a disorderly responsibility. This volatility will result in erratic and risky behaviour by the rulers. In transitional societies like Balochistan, the political structure and social values must be consistent. On the contrary, we are trying (and failing) to create an effective democratic administration based on egalitarian norms and rational decision with the help of the political elite that has irrational, impulsive and despotic tendencies. This paradox is resulting in unsuccessful and unproductive governments in Balochistan.
Even the Machiavellian idea of the state recommends converting the coercive order into authority with the help of norms and values. The political elite in Balochistan is not willing to consolidate their governments based on democratic norms. They need to understand that the government operates in the society and the people operate within their societal context. The need of the hour is a gradual restructuring of the society based on prevalent social norms and values such as hard work, righteousness, transparency, accountability, responsibility, obligation, integrity, loyalty, magnanimity, and scholarship. The politicians of Balochistan need to do more than just creating new political parties or taking incremental regimes to change things. On the other hand, the people of Balochistan need to take a leap of faith and take a stand.
The author is an assistant professor at the University of Balochistan. He can be reached at Twitter @sonybaloch
According to the latest report by the United Nations Development Programme, Balochistan is the worst performing province in term of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main focus of these goals is the fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and gender equality. There are 21 targets and sadly, Balochistan has not achieved a single target. The government took on three targets but failed in its attempt.
The seventh National Finance Commission has increased the flow of finances from the central government to Balochistan from seven percent to nine percent. Despite this increase, the socio-economic indicators of the province are still to improve considerably.
The Public Sector Development Programme is envisaged a key component in improving socio-economic indicators. The current government has been unable to rationalise the PSDP even after getting repeated directions from the high court to plan it on guidelines provided by the planning commission. For the last two years, no new project has been initiated. The allocative efficiency of the provincial PSDP has remained quite low over the years. Ideally, the allocation should be based on a prioritisation exercise, keeping in view the challenges in the province. The second issue is the absence of proper evaluation and an impact assessment system. As the UNDP indicated, financial allocations are mostly done on the basis of what could be best described as an incremental approach: a certain fraction is added to the departments’ previous allocation every year without an investigation of the department needs and impact of previous allocations. The PSDP analysis between 2013-19 presents that emphasis on distribution has been mainly on social sectors, with education and communication being a continuous priority. Sluggishness in economic development in Balochistan can be ascribed to overlooking some of the most important departments that can contribute to economic productivity such as minerals and tourism.
For tourism and mining minerals, the province needs a peaceful environment. However, this government has failed miserably in maintaining law and order. Previously, the province had been hit by a number of attacks but the number of large-scale incidents had declined substantially since 2016. Now, they are gaining momentum since the new government took charge. It all began with an attack on inspector general of Frontier Corps in October 2018 when he narrowly escaped a deadly attack by gunmen on his convoy in Washuk. Two FC soldiers embraced martyrdom in the attack. Then in December, six security officials were martyred in an attack in Kech and 14 others were injured. Following that, in January 2019, four security personnel were martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists trying to storm the residential and administrative compound inside a Frontier Corps training centre in Loralai. In February, four personnel of the Frontier Corps were martyred in an attack in Panjgur. In the month of March, six personnel of the Balochistan Levies Force were martyred in a terrorist attack on a check-post in the Sanjavi. In April at least 20 people were killed and 48 injured in a blast in Quetta’s Hazarganji market. Then again in April, at least 14 passengers were picked out with the help of their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs), forcibly offloaded from their buses and then shot dead by unidentified assailants on the Makran highway in Ormara.
This clearly shows the incapacity of the current government in ensuring continued order. The governing elite in Balochistan is not keen to improve the sphere of security. The most important portfolio of Home and Tribal Affairs has always been given to immature and inexperienced politicians since 2003. The best these inexpert ministers have done is to blame external forces for their failure and have never taken steps to counter terrorism. However, playing the “external forces card” has not and will not salvage the situation. The essential principle of problem-solving is to acknowledge the fact that there is a problem. As long as the government of Balochistan does not realise their unskillfulness, it will be a zero-sum equation. The day of reckoning has to come for the political elite of Balochistan because we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. There are many factors contributing to the failure of this government and previous governments and they all converge to the core issue of bad governance.
The idea of governance is as old as human civilization. In simple terms, it is a framework for decision-making and how to implement (or not implement) those decisions. This process is manipulated by formal and informal actors that are involved in decision making. When we discuss governance in Pakistan our focus is mostly on the formal actors such as the government and military while we overlook informal factors such as influential landlords, religious leaders, financial institutions, business mafias and political parties. Coupled with these actors the role of media and international donors is fundamental. While in Balochistan these actors narrow down to ‘kitchen cabinets’ or informal advisors. In Balochistan, we cannot ignore the locally powerful families that have been taking turns for the position of chief minister and governor. They have occupied positions of power for almost 35years.
An effective administration depends on the socio-political structure of the society. However, if there is a clash between the political structure and social values, then governance is a disorderly responsibility. This volatility will result in erratic and risky behaviour by the rulers. In transitional societies like Balochistan, the political structure and social values must be consistent. On the contrary, we are trying (and failing) to create an effective democratic administration based on egalitarian norms and rational decision with the help of the political elite that has irrational, impulsive and despotic tendencies. This paradox is resulting in unsuccessful and unproductive governments in Balochistan.
Even the Machiavellian idea of the state recommends converting the coercive order into authority with the help of norms and values. The political elite in Balochistan is not willing to consolidate their governments based on democratic norms. They need to understand that the government operates in the society and the people operate within their societal context. The need of the hour is a gradual restructuring of the society based on prevalent social norms and values such as hard work, righteousness, transparency, accountability, responsibility, obligation, integrity, loyalty, magnanimity, and scholarship. The politicians of Balochistan need to do more than just creating new political parties or taking incremental regimes to change things. On the other hand, the people of Balochistan need to take a leap of faith and take a stand.
The author is an assistant professor at the University of Balochistan. He can be reached at Twitter @sonybaloch