March 22, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 2, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 21: Pakistan needs to provide political freedom, and economic justice and opportunity to its people, urges an official document to be discussed and approved at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting this month.

Official sources told Dawn on Wednesday that the Working Draft of Vision 2030 was perhaps the first-ever document which sought assurances and commitments from the rulers to create a just society in Pakistan like other developed countries.

"For the first time, the government has been urged in plain and simple words to ensure the rule of law and access to justice for every citizen in the country and this is how we can hope for any change or improvement in our society," an official concerned said.

The NEC meeting was scheduled to be held on March 22 but was postponed due to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's other "pressing political engagements". "I do not know why the meeting was postponed. But there must be some valid reason for it," another senior government official said when contacted.

The core theme of the Vision 2030 is that Pakistan would transform itself into a just, prosperous and sustainable society. To reach this goal, there must be an acceptability of high quality of life for all citizens, marked by equal access to opportunity and national resources.

It will be manifested initially through significantly reduced inequality and access to national resources, later it must lead to change in consumption patterns which do not harm the integrity and productivity of the natural systems while sustaining inter-generational equity.

"The institutional requirement for attaining all these features is the rule of law which provides optimal productivity and equity for each citizens," the working draft said, and added: “This is ensured when these rights are embedded in broad-based and participatory institutions -- not just in the state sector -- but also through strong and capable civil society institutions, and the socially responsible corporate sector.

“This is the first requirement to attain a just and sustainable society."

The rule of law and access to justice must become the bedrock of the Pakistani society to renew trust between the citizen and the state. Without justice, there is no commitment to any public and communal good, no social capital, and no trust -- only apathy and indifference at best, and perhaps even alienation.