OBSERVATIONS by a number of UN organisations put together in one volume by the UNDP have once again tried to make us confront a reality that we have been too shy to acknowledge. The assessment, Covid-19 — Pakistan Socio-economic Impact Assessment and Response Plan, says how a top-down authoritative style of governance can weaken the social contract between society and state.

The picture that emerges is not too different to the one regularly painted by the local press and other keen watchers. The study is populated with familiar dissatisfied traders affected by ‘unilateral’ government decisions, with medics having to work without personal protective equipment and people left at the mercy of an inefficient system of testing and tracking.

There are no revelations when it talks about the threat of mental health issues in the wake of Covid-19, about lost livelihoods — though coming from UN agencies these lines would sound almost like an indictment. The better option is the old but, in Pakistan’s case, seldom taken course of “political engagement and social dialogue, community empowerment and participation, and governance and rule of law ... these three together determine the state-citizen relationship, which eventually determines the implementation of the government’s response to such a crisis”. The objective is to build this “bridge between the government and the population”.

A cursory look based on the pointers given in this new, painful reminder shows just how guilty those in power have been. They have been jealously refusing to share authority with those who can really make a difference at the most basic level. As the structural flaw is reflected in a lack of relief supply lines connecting to the people in times of emergencies, the country is still struggling to create a balance between the federal and provincial powers.

The debate on grass-roots empowerment via local government systems is restricted to the very contentious and controversial exchanges between the supporters and critics of provincial autonomy. The acrimony has to be taken out of the debate for the discussion to promise any meaningful progress. Legislations of the past — to be precise the 18th Amendment that has ramifications for power structures at all levels — have to be treated with full respect. The devolution of power has to be recognised as a ground-breaking move, reflecting the collective wisdom of parliament elected by the people of Pakistan. Avenues of empowerment at the grass roots must be created, and not blocked.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2020