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‘WITH friends like you, who needs enemies?’ If our democracy had linguistic abilities, this is all it would say about the politicians of Pakistan. Though the priorities of every political party from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Sindh are atrociously misplaced, the party ruling Sindh deserves special mention in this regard. The reason perhaps is the fact that the PPP does not see that its stronghold in the province is waning.
If someone asks you who is the home secretary Sindh, by the time you come up with the answer, the secretary might have been changed. In the last month or so as many as three home secretaries have been changed. It seems as if the chief minister who hardly wields any influence and opinion of his own has almost completely handed over authority to the security forces when it comes to handling Karachi.
The sad part is that the security apparatus did not really want a role of this sort but the lack of competence has meant there is hardly any other option. The capitulation was complete when at a recent meeting with the prime minister and army chief, the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari reportedly proposed a representative of the army or Rangers in the police selection boards. This coming after the support for military courts from the same party whose claim to fame has been its sacrifices for the supremacy of civilian institutions is indeed yet another admission of the failure of civilian institutions in this country.
Last month, at a high-level meeting the then home secretary Sindh was asked for a briefing on the law and order situation in Karachi; he appeared to have hardly a clue as to what was going around. Media reports say that the corps commander, Karachi, went to the extent of asking him what he was doing before his current assignment. The secretary admitted that he had been commissioner Sukkur and this was his first experience as secretary. The chief minister was reportedly then asked why such people were appointed to pivotal positions and this exchange resulted in the transfer of the home secretary soon after the meeting.
Transferring an individual is brushing the issue under the carpet.
A new appointment was made but things did not go down well with the new secretary either. Home secretary Abdul Rahim Soomro was transferred about 10 days ago, hardly a month after his appointment and only a couple of days before a high-level meeting chaired by the prime minister and attended by the chief minister. Such is the state of affairs that the corps commander Karachi could not resist mentioning that the Sindh government had changed the home secretary three times in a month, which was causing problems.
If things are not handled well at the very top then simply transferring an individual is akin to brushing the issue under the carpet. If someone has been removed from a certain position then there has to be a reason for it. And if the reason is incompetence then that reputation for incompetence would precede the individual no matter what department he is transferred to. A position as senior as this requires important decisions to be made irrespective of the department.
These bizarre circumstances highlight a couple of scary points — one, that even the most senior of our bureaucrats is found wanting when it comes to capacity, and two, the lack of urgency and analysis shown by politicians while making pivotal appointments.
These issues are not limited to a particular province. For instance, the federal government has finally appointed the chairman Nadra. The appointment is a good one but it took almost a year. Similarly, PSO kept working with an ad hoc managing director for several months till the petrol crisis exposed what such a stop-gap arrangement can cause.
Even as I write these lines Ogra has virtually become defunct with the chairman being sent on forced leave in the wake of the petrol crisis. Furthermore, recent nationwide blackouts resulted in a number of senior officers of the water and power ministry being sidelined. In short, now the show is being run by officers in Grades 20-21 against Grade 22 positions and that too on a temporary basis which really undermines the concept of placing responsibility where it belongs.
This is not how countries are run. This is how they are ruined. It is sad to see Sindh — the land of the most ancient and organised civilisation — falling victim to such mismanagement. If it had linguistic abilities it would perhaps say nothing more than these lines by Noshi Gillani:“Tumharay haath lagay hain tou jo karo so karo…Wagarna tumsay tou hum sau ghulam rakhtay thay”. (Not much can be done as fate has made you my master … Otherwise there was a time when hundreds like you could only be my slaves).
The writer is a former civil servant.
Published in Dawn February 22nd , 2015
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