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You are hereEconomic Planning: Government Needs To Take A Back Seat (FreePakistan Newsletter # 125)

Economic Planning: Government Needs To Take A Back Seat (FreePakistan Newsletter # 125)

05 May 2011

 

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Again and again, just when you think you've reached maximum possible cynicism about politics, you discover that, actually, you haven't been cynical enough. It's almost always worse than you think.
[Gene Healy, “Time for the U.S. to Get Out of NATO” (April 26, 2011)]
Free Pakistan, a monthly newsletter, exists for the promotion of limited government, rule of law, protection of property rights, market economy, individual freedom, and private initiative. Its vision is a free and prosperous Pakistan; for only such a Pakistan can contribute positively to the creation of a free and prosperous world.
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[The writer holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and is the Chief Economist of the Planning Commission. This article first appeared in the Express Tribune on April 4, 11, and 18, 2011.]
“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Paul Romer
Part I
Pakistan’s Planning Commission has started a dialogue with citizens — it is about the so-called New Development Framework, which focuses on economic growth. I have put “growth” in bold characters because it is a term that we hear all the time without really understanding its meaning.
Since conversations founder on misunderstandings about terms, let us be clear first of all what economic growth is not. It is not about the value of Pakistan’s GDP increasing by five per cent, as it did last year. Surprised? Well that is not your fault because most people think of growth as how an economy increases in size. But what is important is the quality of life. A proxy of the standard of living is how an economy increases in size relative to its population. A nation realises real growth when the value of its output grows faster than its population. The formal term is per capita growth. A nation becomes more prosperous over time when it experiences high per capita growth.
Per capita growth is difficult to achieve when we look at the long time horizon (for example, over the past 200 years). Statistics on growth began to be recorded and compiled for the first time at the end of the eighteenth century in Western Europe. Before that economies as a whole had grown but the welfare of common folk had not changed. Every increase in national wealth led people to breed to the point where the increase was exhausted. Thomas Malthus, an English thinker of the nineteenth century believed that while a country’s wealth might grow, individuals would be trapped in poverty because its population would grow at a faster rate than the value of the economy. He would have been puzzled how a few years after his writings, European economies managed to increase not just their overall wealth but that of each individual. This is the situation which we also face in Pakistan.
Yet we do not need to feel our way around in the dark as did thinkers in Malthus’ time because the ingredients of growth are starting to become clear. One of the ingredients is innovation. But talk about the need to spread innovation is mostly economic twaddle. It is the stale rhetoric found in Western countries policy discussions during the 70s and 80s. The sad approach to innovation led to endless and spectacular policy failures in the heyday of industrial policy, the 1970s and 1980s, when the spirit of John Galbraith possessed even the sanest of economists. What economists have now realized is that it is not up to government to decide what innovation is. The work on Thomas Kuhn on the nature of scientific revolutions also taught us that there is no prescription for intellectual progress nor is there any bright line leading from discovery to implementation.
These are questions that are best addressed by Armen Alchian’s view of innovation and entrepreneurship as evolutionary processes. Those who survived were not necessarily the brightest, but simply those who by some quirk passed through the filters of market demand to produce something no great thinker had been able to divine. We in the government must not divine or judge what innovation is or entails. We must remain mute because in essence we are dumb on such issues. Our wisdom is in knowing how limited we are. In the recognition of our limitation we can discover a path to success and that is to stand back from markets and simply create the circumstances for their growth. What innovation is ultimately is a question that markets answer. The upshot of all of this is that we do not need to encourage innovation by targeting R&D. To say we must encourage innovation through active support of R&D is just a formal apology for instituting a structure of giving money to rent-seekers. Let us learn from the West and avoid their disasters in this field.
Innovation and economic growth are organic and spontaneous processes which occur when people take resources and arrange them into more valuable products and services, according to Paul Romer, a well known growth economist. He has a useful metaphor: production in the kitchen. To create delicious foods, we mix inexpensive ingredients according to a recipe. Economic growth comes from innovating fantastic recipes, not just from more cooking. We underestimate the potential for finding new recipes and ideas — we at the Planning Commission believe the possibilities are infinite.
So how exactly do we set up this economic kitchen (which we call markets) in which we can cook recipes no one imagined? In the recent past, development experts thought the answer lay in government command. Those in high ministries would choose industries producing goods with “high value-added” and would champion them at the expense of other industries and dole production rights, with special protection, to the rich and powerful. Well, things did not quite turn out as hoped and expected. By protecting certain industries government became subservient, pouring never-ending subsidies and funds into catastrophic ventures. The lesson was clear. The government is not good at choosing winners. What it is good at is in setting enabling conditions and environment out of which winners can emerge.
Part II
Finding the conditions that allowed winners to emerge was the intellectual programme of Adam Smith and later thinkers such as Friedrich Von Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ronald Coase, Gary Becker, Robert E Lucas, all Nobel prize winners in economics and recently Paul Romer and other economic growth theorists. Their message was and is that government does not have the information about what people want and what they are capable of. Without such information it makes no sense for government to design and orchestrate what people should consume and produce. Instead government should allow people to experiment and discover the answer themselves in the setting of a market based system, which is more flexible than the command system. In Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand, the market system establishes efficient prices, which play the dual role of guiding the economy to most efficient production and allocation of goods and services, based on free interactions between buyers and sellers.
If everything works right, the sorts of calculations individuals make in their own self interest will actually also be in the collective interest or at least not against it. What is at issue here is a sort of social calculus. Individuals calculate what is good for them. When we cumulate the result of these calculations is everyone better off or are we in stasis, or worse, going backwards? You might think of the economy as a sort of computer with algorithms which solve the problems of coordinating people. The algorithms guide the self equilibrating exchanges which ensure that a balance exists between what people put into the system and what they get out. Without this balance the individual elements of the system will move away and the system loses its coherence.
So what would be the elements of the economic computer algorithm of the sort we need in Pakistan? I think the answer lies in the observation that Pakistan has abundant human capital but little physical or financial capital. We invest in creating children because investments in physical capital are so risky. We do not protect property in Pakistan with the same resolution that brought Western countries out of their mire and propelled them into their industrial revolutions. Instead we resemble Imperial China where the only sort of capital one could be sure of holding on to was learning. The Chinese became a nation of sophisticated intellectuals traipsing on a substratum of shady entrepreneurs never certain of when the next expropriation would come, and continuously engaging in rent-seeking activities. That sort of society can last a long time provided no external threats present themselves. Well, we know that we do not benefit from such luxury. We must protect capital, too — both physical and intellectual capital. We must bring it under the rule of law and transparent governance with swift adjudication.
Property under the protection of law is the purest manifestation of what economists call the principle of Pareto-efficiency. There are always questions about the best use of such property. One way of resolving a difference of opinion is to let one party buy out another’s ownership of property which the buyer thinks is not being efficiently used. The purchase is Pareto efficient in the sense that it makes no one worse off and may make both better off. This is why economists revere private property under the protection of rule of law. And it is why we must concentrate on protecting property, including intellectual property, in Pakistan. There is no priority more urgent for our economic development.
Part III
In the concluding part, we take a look at what the government needs to do, so that it can play the role demanded of it.
Such is the philosophy behind the pronouncements you hear which call for government to provide a secure, credible, non-obstructing, and non-confiscatory business environment to attract investment, more trade, and transfer of knowledge and best practices from developed nations. This is why, in the New Development Approach, proposed by Pakistan’s Planning Commission, the role of the state is to facilitate the market system by protecting liberties, enforcing property and contract rights, policing, providing infrastructure, a monetary system, etc. and perhaps providing a subtle coordination role.
Can our government play a positive role as a coordinator, facilitator and a fair umpire to make such an economic “computer program” run? It is my conviction that when a government starts talking seriously about protecting property rights it is a truly important turning point and defining moment in the fortunes of the nation. This is what happened in Chile in the early 1970’s. Chile is in a way almost a mirror for our own. Chile has alternated between military and civil rule. The objective of the military and later of elected politicians was first and foremost to secure property rights. For what is a society without secure property but an assemblage of people at conflict and war with each other? Here is what the English philosopher Hobbes had to say on the matter of absence of property rights, “In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man: solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Under the New Development Approach (NDA), the current planning system has to be gradually dismantled and replaced with a market based society. This is a revolution in the way we think of organising our society. It means taking power out of government hands and allowing Pakistani citizens (who are more knowledgeable about their own interests, environments and conditions than the bureaucrats, politicians and policy-makers) and to make their own decisions about their future.
Sustained growth is a process of continual transformation. Economic progress that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution would not have been possible if people and nations had not undergone wrenching changes. Economies that do not transform themselves fall off the golden path of economic growth, which generates prosperity and alleviates poverty. Our challenge is to wean ourselves away from the central planning mentality that has affected us since the 1940’s when Stalinist five year plans seemed the best way to go for developing economies. There are no plans government can make. The only thing government can do is set the conditions, hopefully set them right. The rest is up to us, the citizens, acting individually and collectively through communities. And for us, the citizens, to accept that after all that has been exchanged in public debate over the last 50 years, it all starts with a revolution in thought and then with thousands of independent experimentations.[Courtesy The Express Tribune]
 
Letters to FreePakistan
IF THE WORLD BANK IS TO REFORM, THEN WHAT REFORMS?
[David Shaman, Author of The World Bank Unveiled: Inside the Revolutionary Struggle for Transparency]
Previously, I offered thoughts on drivers of reform for the Bank. External pressure has compelled the Bank to review what reforms it should implement. In the last few years, many development think tanks and NGOs have focused their attention on: Open and transparent selection of future Bank presidents; increasing the voting weight of developing countries on the Bank’s operating boards; realigning the representation, composition and responsibilities of its Board of Directors; and, increasing access to Board proceedings and materials and Bank project documents. All have merit. They will make the Bank’s decision making more representative of its membership.
In recent years, a number of academics have analyzed how the Bank reacts to reform efforts. Research on the implementation of the Strategic Compact of 1997 (a series of reforms launched by former president James Wolfensohn) was conducted. The academics came to a universal conclusion: The bureaucracy of the Bank internalized the new reforms to converge with its existing norms. Translation: The Bank adapted the reforms to fit into its existing status quo. This is important research. Indeed, the Bank’s history has been to use commissions, panels and reports to mute or escape criticism of its internal governance. When compelled to change, reforms enacted mirror existing practices or contain loopholes that allow internal players to bypass full accountability.
As noted above, these types of reforms are important steps in changing the way the Bank does business. They seek to restructure the high-level relationship between the Bank and its stakeholders and shareholders. I also believe they are not enough. Perhaps because of my own experiences within the organization, I think a different series of reforms designed to alter the institution’s cultural norms are in order. Changing how people internalize incentives will change how they behave and ultimately how the Bank performs. To address internal structural inefficiencies that impede the institution’s ability to implement its poverty reduction mission, Bank stakeholders and shareholders should consider the following:
1. Accountability mechanisms within the Bank are flawed because there is an inherent conflict of interest when the Bank is both judge and jury. Therefore, establish an evaluation unit of its lending activities that is completely independent and unconnected with the Bank. Evaluations should also place more emphasis on the project sustainability phase as opposed to the project approval phase. This will dilute the “approval culture” of the institution and increase managerial accountability.
2. Moreover, reform the Bank’s Conflict Resolution System so that decisions are in the hands of independent arbitrators. These decisions would be binding and arbitrators would have the latitude to impose sufficient monetary penalties for successful plaintiffs. Currently, the Bank’s management has jurisdiction over CRS decisions which undermines the confidence staff have with its objectivity. Making CRS independent of the Bank’s management would weaken the institution’s culture of fiefdoms, increase managerial accountability and give staff tangible protections from managerial abuses.
3. Revise the managerial selection process to emphasize leadership and entrepreneurial skills rather than relying primarily on academic or technocratic excellence. The Bank recruits and promotes technocrats and academics with few proven managerial skills. Internal and external Bank surveys have found its managerial cadre well educated but overly technical, excessively arrogant and highly bureaucratic. The institution needs a more holistic approach to finding managers or promoting staff to managerial positions that places greater emphasis on leadership and entrepreneurial skills. This would revitalize the institution’s personnel that more than two decades of staff surveys indicates is mired in fear and complacency.
4. Create a seat on the Board for a civil society representative. This would increase civil society’s inclusion and participation in the Bank’s lending activities and development policies, reduce and de-politicize NGO criticisms of the Bank and increase civil society accountability for Bank decisions.
5. Reconfigure the World Bank Institute (WRI), the pedagogical arm of the institution, so it moves away from its current model that imposes institutional viewpoints of development theory and practice upon borrowing country officials and toward a model of open-learning that not only tolerates but fosters contradictory views. Former Bank economist David Ellerman’s research notes development agencies such as the Bank have traditionally served as library storehouses dispensing knowledge nuggets. Instead, he suggests the Bank should serve as a knowledge broker offering a variety of experiences and allowing recipients to decide which nuggets of knowledge fit. Ellerman believes that in the current information revolution the library storehouse model, the one on which WBI is based, will lose influence over time. So do I.
6. Reestablish a transparent and uncensored broadcasting medium that provides access to all development practitioners and creates a platform of debate and discussion on development ideas, theories and practices. The previous initiative called B-SPAN was essentially de-funded by powerful opponents because it ran counter to the institution’s culture of hoarding information and releasing perfect information. B-SPAN used the Internet to broadcast uncensored (and therefore imperfect information) of Bank policy dialogues to global audiences.
PURGING THE SYSTEM
[Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd), Rawalpindi]
During the 4th Annual General Meeting of the Thinkers Forum of Pakistan (www.thinkersforumpakistan.org), while discussing the present sad state of governance in the country the forum arrived at the conclusion that unless the system is changed mere change of faces won’t do any good to the country. There is no chance for anyone from the middle or lower middle classes to be elected in any election as long as the moneyed class – whether from amongst the feudals or the industrialists exited. It is only they who would be returned to the power again and again and they will only take care of themselves rather than that of the masses. Hence it was imperative to get rid of the feudal system for bringing in any worthwhile change in the country.
Mr. Akram Zaki – ex Foreign Secretary – opined that to expect the legislators to enact a bill to deprive themselves of their land holdings is asking for the impossible. Any other course of action would be undemocratic. According to him that left only one option and that is a sou moto action by the Chief Justice of Pakistan. On taking over the reigns of the government from the East India Company the British Raj took away all jagirs from the Subedars, Ta’aluqdars, Punj and Haft Hazaris etc. of the time. Why can’t the present Supreme Court reinstate and restore all jagirs bestowed by the British upon the feudals and jagirdars back to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan with effect from and as on 14 August 1947? That will end the feudal system in the country and with it a big scourge that doesn’t let the true democracy take its roots in Pakistan. Is there any legal lacunae preventing doing so?
RE: PAKISTAN'S RENT-SEEKING MISSILES [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 124]
[Asif Haroon]
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to go through the contents of newsletter.
PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE
[Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd), Rawalpindi]
During the proceedings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the Presidential Reference the Honourable Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhri observed that, “There must be some specific questions in terms of Article 186 so that the court can answer them.” Soon after the proceedings the Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah was heard saying on a TV channel that the court should not get involve in the “technicalities” of the reference and instead the hearing of the arguments should commence which the people wanted. Somehow, I was reminded of another Honourable Chief Minister who had sometime back remarked that, “A degree was a degree whether fake or genuine.” How simple and innocent are our leaders?!!
RE: PAKISTAN'S RENT-SEEKING MISSILES [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 124]
[Syed Masud ul Hassan]
Every one making 'derh eent ki masjid' will lead us to nowhere.
WHERE IS CIVIL SOCIETY & MEDIA?
[Engr Yawar Abbas]
Parachinar is facing 04 years continous inhuman Siege & Econmomic Blocade imposed jointly by taliban millitants and estibleshment.....People are slughtered by taliban and children are dying due to lack of medicines.... Where are the World & Pakistani Civil Society????????Human Rights Organizations and Civil Society?????We hope that U vl cover this HUMANTARIAN CRISIS
ISSUE OF PARACHINAR ROAD`S FORCED CLOSURE MUST BE RAISED
[Pakistan <alialipk14@yahoo.com>]
Why Pakistan Media along with International media ignoring Parchinar issue, 0.5 million population area is seiged by Taliban forces since last 4 years and the govt of pakistan and other super powers fighting against terrorism and Taliban specifically have never taken a single positive step to save 0.5 population against Talban's brutality.
People of Parchinar are lacking basic facilities such as food, medicine and shelter. This is unique part of Pakistan which dont have access to other parts of Pakistan. Whoever tried to pass the blocked road, were kidnapped , killed , body turned into parts and burned.
USA and allies, Pakistan forces, goverment are fighting against terorism but never take action against Taliban's open presence there. rulers, politicians, human rights activits and above all Media never raised this issue. All of above has raised voice against terrorism but kept silent on this brutality in Parachinar. It is requested to raise voice for the sake of humanity for these innocent peoples.

 
RE-VISITING THE CASE
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Now the that the PPP Government has very rightly decided to go ahead with Re-Visiting of Z.A. Bhutto judicial murder case, it will be all the more important to also do the same for the Murder of Mir. Murtaza Bhutto. All Bhutto’s deserve a fair trial. [Pakistan Observer]
WARNING BY MALIK
[Dr Abbas Saleem Khan, Malakand]
Warning by the interior minister, reagarding match fixing to the Pakistani cricket team is worth admiring and appreciating. He submitted right statement at proper time. Such statements show the interest of interior ministry how much it is against the wrong things. I want to draw the kind attention of honourable interior minister towards the already fixed match of Raymond Davis, Pakistan Vs US. I expect a firm action by the interior minister in this regard, if he is not a man of words only but deeds as well. [The Frontier Post]
DEFENCE BUDGET IN DOLLARS
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Defence Ministry has demanded of the Government to make budget allocation for armed forces in the next fiscal year in US dollars rather than in Pak rupees. A very genuine demand considering the Inflation trends prevalent in the country. However it is further suggested that the Salary of the Government officials may also be paid in dollars on the same logic. By the way, what’s the harm in doing away with the Pak rupee for good and adopt US Dollars as our official currency for most of our acts are in total sync with the dictates of uncle SAM. [Pakistan Observer]
THE CASE OF 'RAIWIND DAVIS'
[M S Hasan, Karachi]
One was quite amused to hear Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, during a press conference the other day, accusing the federal government for engineering the acquittal and manipulating quick exit of the alleged killer of two Pakistanis, Raymond Davis to the US. The junior Mian Sahib, like his elder brother and mentor, have a great and canny sense of timing to scoot to a foreign location, to escape and avoid a difficult situation, rather than facing and confronting it, like men of grit. On the crucial day when Raymond Davis was to be tried in a specially constituted court at the Kot Lakhpat jail and later to be released, the Sharif brothers had conveniently decided to be out of the country, in a seemingly, innocuous effort to absolve themselves of any part of theirs in the sordid Davis release affair.
During the above press conference, Shahbaz Sharif, with a poker face, took great pains to absolve himself and the Punjab government of any knowledge, wrongdoing or involvement in the Davis release affair, expressing complete ignorance over the issue as to who engineered the acquittal of Davis and planned his escape. Shahbaz Sharif, to demonstrate untenable veracity of his contention, offered to resign if anyone proved his or his government's involvement in the Davis release saga.
The following day, a well-known journalist, Najam Sethi, in his TV programme challenged Shahbaz Sharif's contention, claim of complete ignorance and non-involvement of the Punjab government in the Davis release affair and invited Shahbaz Sharif to the show where he would provide and present irrefutable evidence, confirming involvement of Shahbaz Sharif and his provincial government.
If Shahbaz Sharif is a man of his word and worth his salt, he should accept Najam Sethi's challenge and prove his innocence and ignorance over the issue or, otherwise, resign from the post of chief minister of the province, as promised in the above mentioned press conference. [Business Recorder]
GROWTH ORIENTED BUDGET
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Federal Minister Abdul Hafiz Shaikh has said that the next budget will be growth and development oriented in order to bring prosperity in the lives of common people. As the famous poet Mirza Ghalib said “Kaun jeeta hai, teri zulf kay sar honey tak.” [Pakistan Observer]
CAT AFTER EATING UP 900 RATS
[Mahabat Khan Bangash, Peshawar]
MQM chief Altaf Hussain has stressed that the prevailing corrupt political system in the country was the root cause of all crisis. He forgets that the system, of which he himself is part, is alright but has been made corrupt by the corrupt politicians and the Election Commission of Pakistan. Should his memory be refreshed that the Bhatta and terror culture in Karachi was initiated by him which is still going on? Did he forget torturing of his opponents with drill machines and hanging them with football poles in the walled localities of MQM in the dark? [The Frontier Post]
HAJJ FREEBIES
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
According to the new Hajj Policy approved by the federal cabinet, there will be no “Hajj Freebies” for the next three years. Why three years? Don’t we need to ban it for good. [Pakistan Observer]
ALWAYS ABROAD
[Jahangir Khan, Oslo]
Gilani in Turkey, Zardari in Turkey, Gilani in UK, Zardari in UK, Gilani in Uzbekistan, Zardari in Tajikistan, Gilani in China, Zardari in China and so on. Sometimes I really feel that we are the cynosure of the world. What do they do in foreign countries, anyway? What does the country get from these extensive visits? A few things are understandable though. Many of our so-called leaders have properties overseas and they probably settle issues related to their properties during these visits. Also, our governments always have “supporters” outside the country and they have to consult these people quite often. [The News]
MATCH FIXING
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Interior Minister Rehman Malik before the Cricket World Cup semi final said that Intelligence is being gathered on Pakistani cricketers so that “there should be no match-fixing”. Sir, the biggest match fixing is going on in the corridors of power. Please address that first. [Pakistan Observer]

 
MORE PROVINCES
[Fardad Ali Shah, Chitral]
This refers to the ongoing debate about creating more provinces. I think the idea is half-baked and futile. Making three or four more provinces would do nothing but add to the list of VIPs and further burden the exchequer. If real change in governance is desired, we must go for a presidential system with the present districts as federating units (provinces) with adequate financial autonomy and responsibility. The present national and provincial assemblies should be replaced by a potent national senate and district assemblies. The elected district governor should also be a member of the senate by virtue of his position. This will ensure equal representation, eliminate horse-trading and considerably reduce the burden on the exchequer, besides simplifying and streamlining governance in the country. [The News]
MORE PROVINCES
[G Zaman, Abbotabad]
If the subdivision of existing three provinces namely Sindh, Punjab and KP can facilitate their governance and law and order problems, then this should be done in a very dignified manner without politicising the issue. The creation of more administrative units should only be done after a comprehensive and credible census has been carried out, so that the demographic composition can be assessed. In South Punjab, there seems to be a need for carving out at least two administrative units namely Bahawalpur and a Seraki one.
The uncontrollable ethnic violence in Karachi, which has resulted in more victims of violence than FATA, Swat or North Waziristan put together, where an insurgency is going on. The people living in interior of Sindh are not even welcome in Karachi, as was shockingly displayed during recent floods when they had to be registered for placement within their own province. It is also a reality that Karachi does not have a clear majority composition of any single ethnicity and there can be no solution to its problems unless a credible census free from political pressures is carried out. Karachi can also be declared a federally administered unit given its complicated composition and divisions.
Whatever the political solution to these problems, it is a fact that the political elites belonging to rural under-developed areas of Sindh, South Punjab and KP have settled in big cities, which has further added to the woes of the people living in under-developed parts of the country. As long as local representatives do not have a visible presence within their constituencies, these problems can never be resolved. [Pakistan Today]
MORE PROVINCES
[Brig Akhtar Zamin (R), Karachi]
I fully endorse the view of Lt. Col. Hafeezullah Awan (Retd) expressed in print media dated 27 Apr 2011 regarding the creation of new provinces. We have to learn from history. Europe did it the hard way after the First World War, whereas India soon after the partition appointed a committee perhaps in 1951 or 1953 under the aegis of Fazal Ali to set the rules for creating more provinces and from 14 they reached to 26 and are still thinking to add a few more. We have to understand that all over the world, provinces are created on administrative ground to facilitate the people. It also ensures development across the country. However, while doing so ethnicity should not primarily determine the provincial boundaries. Imagine the plight of people moving from Sadiqabad to Lahore, from Vinder to Quetta, from Sukkur to Karachi to get their issues resolved. I also fail to understand why our political parties are not taking this issue upfront which is a win win situation both for them and the common man. [The Nation]
NEW PROVINCES
[Fakiha Hassan Rizvi, Lahore]
The chorus which demands for more provinces in Pakistan is swelling up. Recently, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi stated in the National Assembly that there should be 16 provinces for better administration. Earlier, Altaf Hussain strongly supported the demand for more provinces. On the other hand, PPP has welcomed the notion as well with Firdaus Ashiq Awan hinting that the party might include the creation of a Seraiki province in its manifesto for the next elections. While Babar Awan during another reconciliation effort with PML(Q) gave the message that the land of five rivers (Punjab) is calling for fragmentation into five parts.
Administratively, there is no drawback of increasing the number of provinces. It is evident that the distance between the ruler and the ruled is increasing day by day. If the aim is better administration then even a common man thinks about the progress of the provinces during the past 63 years. Unfortunately, security concerns at the border areas, targeted killings in Karachi, instability in Balochistan and above all the suicide bombings have frequently depicted the inefficacy of Pakistan’s leadership. Within the existing provinces, lukewarm or half-hearted efforts have been seen to raise the standard of living of people, ensure safety, reduce inflation and provide every child with his or her Constitutional right of education.
On the contrary, if the aim is to divide the provinces on the basis of ethnic backgrounds, culture and language, then this will prove out to be fatal for national integrity. This will be analogous to triggering sectarian disputes, linguistic differences and widening the already wide ethnic disparities among people of different provinces. The purpose of bifurcation should be linked with the progress of Pakistan, envisaging manifold increase in participation of the people pertaining to the affairs of the state.
The political will should be reflected by chalking out a road map for good governance which would be able to satisfy the masses by ensuring their proximity with the government and justice. Also, the urbanisation and development of peripheral areas must be encouraged. In addition to this, the elected representatives instead of chanting slogans of nationalities, language and culture should be more responsive to the needs of their constituents and warmly accept open accountability. Without this, bifurcation will be null and void like any other developmental step which lacks political acumen and will. [Pakistan Today]

 
It is for the people, especially for the think-tanks and NGOs, and no doubt for media also, that the big issue for the next election should be the provision of basic social services (water supply, sanitation, public transport, roads, paved streets, street lights, libraries, parks or playgrounds, and noise and pollution free environment) to all the citizens in Pakistan not only ensured in the constitution but binding on the next government also. If achieved, that will be a great step forward towards the unification of the ordinary and elite Pakistans. Is there any political party ready to take up this at the top of its agenda? [Editor]
NO LIBRARY IN CLIFTON?
[Rizwan Jamil Jaffery, Karachi]
Recently, I visited the Clifton area with my mom, who came here to see her friend. While they were busy in their conversations, I decided to take a walk and spend time outside. On my way to Boat Basin, I spotted a bookshop and decided to look through its books, as I am a diehard reader. I entered the shop and bought a few interesting books. The weather was very humid outside so I decided not to sit in a park and read those books. I meekly asked the shop owner if there was a library nearby. He looked surprised as if I was the only person on earth seeking a library. Then he said no there was a park on the other road where I could go. I said thanks and left.
I was shocked to hear that there is no library in Clifton area. Clifton, reckoned to be a posh area of Karachi, has no library. I would like to use this platform to appeal to the concerned authorities to build libraries in different areas of Karachi. This would disseminate knowledge among city residents and facilitate students and teachers. [Daily Times]
SUKKUR LIBRARYNEEDS FURNITURE
[Shafique Soomro, Sukkur]
It is commendable that the Sukkur administration has renovated the Mir Masoom Shah Library. It is one of the oldest buildings of our national heritage for Sukkur that was built in the memory of Saint Mir Masoom Shah. It is again noteworthy that the new library is divided into two separate portions for men and women. The new library has brought a new ray of hope for girls as well. The library lacks furniture that is badly needed. Students face inadequate seating problem, especially on Sundays. I would like to request the authorities concerned and Pir Mazharul Haq, minister for education, to look into the matter and provide adequate furniture for the library so that the sense of deprivation among students is reduced. [Dawn]

 
Edited and prepared by
Khalil Ahmad
[FreePakistan Newsletter, among other things, is a compilation of views and news taken from the national newspapers’ print and online editions. It is not possible to mention the source of every piece of news or view made use of herein; but as a matter of policy, where possible the source is mentioned with due thanks. However, no opinion expressed here should necessarily be taken as reflecting the view of Free Pakistan Newsletter.]
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