NOW in its 70th year, Pakistan is alive and, by some measure, even kicking. But it is not kicking to its potential. And it is not likely to given the innumerable challenges that it faces.

The biggest road block Pakistan faces is its own structure which is unwieldy and unresponsive to its needs. Unless redesigned, it shall continue to just live and not rise to its potential, meaning there would be continued social and economic imbalances and sense of alienation and continued resentment amongst the masses. Put together, these make for a huge powder keg that must be defused by removing the imbalances and their causes. That calls for a complete overhaul of the present structure. Tinkering alone will not do.

Why should we restructure? Because even after 70 years, the present structure has not delivered for it is not in tune with our needs and aspirations. For starters, we must have smaller provinces. The Punjab factor continues to put undue strain on the current structure. It was this factor that provided the fodder for the separation of East Pakistan. Postponing the National Assembly session in Dhaka was just the last straw.

Do we not see the Punjab factor in play again? Pakistan needs more than just muscle from Punjab. From that province must also flow understanding and accommodation. Pakistan needs a sense of camaraderie among its regions and people. That sense is near absent today. It is a gap which must be plugged soonest. How? Create more provinces.

Political restructuring of the state would be incomplete without an empowered elected local government.

On Aug 14, 1947, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP were made part of the new state of Pakistan. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Northern Areas were also included in Pakistan. Except for the NWFP, all other provinces and regions were made part of Pakistan not because they chose so but because of an arrangement for independence arrived at between what is now India and Pakistan and the then British Empire. It needs to be highlighted because of the exaggerated emphasis on provincial autonomy. Provinces, as they stand today, did not make Pakistan. They came as a package to the state of Pakistan which has every right to repackage it in the larger interest of the country. Is India not doing so to this day?

The natural repackaging would be to revert to the Bahawalpur state as a separate administrative unit as it was until 1955. Revert to the two administrative units in Balochistan (the Balochistan States Union and the Chief Commissioner’s Province with Kalat and Quetta as their respective headquarters) as they were until 1955. Convert Fata into a province. Let Karachi remain in Sindh but perhaps give it an elected Lt-governor with a truly empowered elected local government. That done, there will be less resistance to creating more provinces.

Based on my experience of the last over 40 years, an important component of the restructuring of Pakistan is the need to revisit our parliamentary model of democracy. It is not ordained from above. It is manmade, crafted by our own people with good intentions. After nearly five decades, we see that the first-past-the-post system has not worked. Blame the military interventions for our political failures but the fact remains that the feudal and now the money-propelled electoral system have robbed Pakistani politics of the essence of democracy. We thus need to move to a system of proportional representation to bring the common man into our parliament and our assemblies and truly democratise governance. That will instil in people a sense of participation in the affairs of the state and help create a stronger federation.

We need to have a democratic system of our own. Ever wondered why it is that the initial years of every military rule have been generally successful and then failed? Because in the initial years of his rule, every military ruler’s emphasis was on good governance. A few years later, with political survival becoming his dominant concern, he became compromised. We thus need to consider a system where we have a directly elected chief executive of the country and in the provinces on a one-man one-vote system. Only a directly elected chief executive — call him president if you will — checked and balanced by strong parliamentary oversight through empowered standing committees, can deliver good governance.

The political restructuring of the state would be incomplete without an administratively and financially empowered elected local government. The Musharraf-crafted system provides a framework that can be made more responsive to the needs of the people, for the state of Pakistan was secured not for its privileged few only.

Concurrent with the political restructuring, Pakistan needs a revamped criminal justice system, assisted and supported by a three-tier policing system — federal, provincial and city. Unless criminal justice is redesigned to provide inexpensive, quick and visible justice to the aggrieved and the aggressed against, through a clean and effective judicial system, there will be no social justice. Crime and corruption will continue unchecked leading to rising frustration and distrust and a declining faith in the state.

We have lost much time already. Given the general disinterest of the parliamentarians in such crucially important national issues, the superior judiciary will have to coax, advise or direct the executive, suo motu or via constitutional petitions, to revisit our criminal laws and criminal justice system and effectively empower the local governments.

This is the time for a new beginning. A leader will have to transform himself into a statesman and work to give Pakistan the break it needs badly. His third term in office, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could be the one if he chooses to. The question is: will he?

The writer is a former federal secretary.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2016