A state is a self-governing political entity constituting tightly-knitted culturally homogeneous people who share common language, religion and historical experiences while living within a well-defined territory. Every state has at least three permanent institutions such as the legislature, the executives, and the judiciary. Theoretically speaking every state is independent and sovereign. It has complete authority to regulate its affairs and has the right to fend off any outside interference in this regard.
Since the appearance of the modern state on the international scene, sovereignty has been vested either in the monarchs or the body of the people representing the powerful and effective groups of the society. Whatever the case, state has been regarded equal to other such entities. How a state defends its sovereignty depends very much on how effectively various institutions play their roles and responsibilities.
To understand the governing system within the state there are some permanent organs like bureaucracy, defence, judiciary, Central Bank, and some are mobile organs like parliament. The effective and productive input of the organs ensure smooth running of the state and helps create sovereignty.
A country with effective governance structure is in a better position to draw limits of its sovereignty and defend it to its proper strength. State performs well when its permanent organs like bureaucracy, defence and judiciary and Central Bank are doing well. This also holds true for the non-permanent organs such as the parliament, pressure groups and professional bodies.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is a legal and political concept, whereby state is independent and possesses the exclusive and sole authority over specific people living in certain geographical boundaries. To understand the state and its sovereignty in particular we have to visit the course of history a bit. During the ancient and medieval times, sovereignty rested with the kings who used to be absolute rulers. They exercised their power at their sweet will. Crown combined in itself all the powers and functions of the legislature and judiciary besides that of the executive. Since there was no check on king’s authority and no limits on his conduct, he used to claim himself the shadow of God on earth.
In modern times, there emerged the concept of separation of power guaranteed by constitution, written or otherwise. Every institution and organ of the state would operate within its limits, prescribed by the constitution, and the differences would be settled by the independent judiciary. All the pillars of the state working in harmony with each other produce as well as preserve the independence of the state. The states during this period of time have relied on standing armies and coinage to assert their independence in the world arena. The more they have done well on military and economic front, the more they have been able to influence the course of international politics.
In the post-modern era, some countries have pooled sovereignty in regional organisations to escape security dilemmas that arose particularly due to the state’s obsession with large armies and strong currencies. These factors have once pitted powerful nations against each other resulting in two destructive wars of the last century. The development has taken place under the guiding influence of globalisation marked with free flow of goods, capital and information. The guiding philosophy in this regard is that interdependent world sharing values of good governance and standards of life make states more secure and stable. The country may also feel more confident of its survival through cooperation rather than conflict.
Europe has realigned and has converged into European Union, globalisation has taken place and distances of land, sea and air are shrieking, communication is developing on a very fast pace, economic, fiscal interdependence is inevitable and alliances of state and nations are taking place, and state are tied together in irreversible links. Like pipelines, super highway, under sea rail links, so again the meaning and perception of sovereignty is reshaping, which need us as state to look into sensitive dimension of state crafting vigorously.
Pakistan’s case
NGOs, INGOS, civil society, media, capitalist and ruling elite are looking for due space in the areas that have been under the complete jurisdiction of the state.
It is vital to define sovereignty anew.
The civil-military bureaucracy formulates the policies after filtering the opinions of think-tanks and stakeholders, and executes the policies as per the directions of the government. All organs complement each other for good governance. The executive can also prove to be a guiding force by setting the framework for the state and create the environment where sovereignty will be spelled-out in a clear and transparent manner. Clarity in approach concomitant with the appropriate and just behaviour of the executives invites tangible responses by not only the rest of the institutions of the state but also by the active and vital groups of the society.
The Executives
The morality, authority and commitment of civil servants are essential to create the social order, legal framework of state and establish rule of law. Civil servants need to have vision, intellect, passion and devotion to serve the state effectively. How bureaucrats are recruited, trained and posted deserve a lot of attention.
Competitive exams started in 1858 for Indian Civil Service and Home Civil Service for Britain started in 1871. After 1947, Pandit Nehru continued with Indian Civil Service (ICS) in India, which was renamed later, India Administrative Service (IAS). In 1947 Pakistan was having about 85 ICS officers. Down the line along with the reshaping of other institutions, the acute problem of shortage of higher cadre officer was fulfilled through provincial services, some from defence services and some from other areas. All together they were about 20 in numbers. The very first badge was sent to Delhi in 1947, which came back after receiving training somewhere between 1949 and 1950. Just after independence in the early years out of all prominent bureaucrats none was qualified for higher rank from ICS. So from the start Pakistan was badly lacking in this particular area, which caused derailing of the governing system and corroded policies-making process. With the passage of time different governments tried to address the problem but unfortunately the rulers put their vested interests before the national interests. This is a reason why the relationship between the state and society remains undefined. Sovereignty just draws its mining from such relationship.
Bureaucracy is not only highly politicised, but also influenced by the capitalist’s elite of the country. Whole system of the country is governed without vision. Civil servants should be supportive for bringing full change and be innovative in the matter of state craft. Taking decisions just in favour of political masters does not serve the cause of the state. Feeling of the superiority vis-à-vis common people only reflects the colonial mindset. Even CSS itself pronounced ‘Central Superior Services’ reflects a colonial approach. During the stay at the Civil Services Academy, civil servants start practicing the art of being different.
The ground reality is that even a common man cannot sit in front of them without their permission. The deputy commissioners have been used as the best tool to compete or to turnaround the elections instead of fulfilling their duties. Their red-tape is a culture known to everybody. Corruption of power is a routine matter. Within the system, ethnic prejudice, favouritism, patronage and sycophancy prevails. Nepotism from the first tier of the carrier goes to the end. We have to change the environment and not the name of the institution only. Time has changed and they have to change themselves.
The National Commission for Government Reforms (NCGR) chairman said once, “our policies are in a state of influx and transition and the anchor which provides support to these policies i.e. the administrative machinery is also in a state of influx and transition.”
State has to raise its administrator in a humanistic environment. Once they are qualified from their institutions they should have the realisation to serve the people not rule them. So reformation of the civil service institution is a must. Need of the hour is that the best professionals should formulate state policies.
Bureaucrat should have relevant academic background. Their recruitment and selection criteria should be strictly on merit. Training, management and administrative philosophy has to be carefully crafted. Categorising in groups and placement of areas should not be based on scoring the highest numbers but according to the aptitude of the person. And most importantly specialising on subject for the areas of responsibility is vital. They should be groomed and selected on scientifically approved parameters and should be coherent with the advancement of the knowledge.
The civil servants should have the capacity to transform the vision of democratic forces into concrete polices they should be equipped with excellent skills of the state crafting to address the entire area of governance. Institutional mechanism should be designed with accordance and proven models of developed world. Only then they can formulate the appropriate and rational policies. State of Pakistan can meet the internal and external, present and foreseeable, challenges if its bureaucracy performs its due role.
The legislature
Dissatisfaction of political leaders for bureaucracy is a known fact, which eventually brings in state affairs the people from private sectors. Even military commanders have shown unhappiness about the performance of bureaucracy. International financial institutions are raising question against the authenticity of the data generated by them. So much so these institutions are insisting on the reforms within the civil services to qualify for their funding.
The bureaucrats, on their part, mistrust politicians. Whatever the case may be, it is true that the two don’t enjoy good and smooth working relations. It is virtually impossible for them to reject the demands of the politicians particularly of the ruling party, but at the cost of their stay at the helm of affairs. It is also the rotten matter for the secretaries to do all kinds of unlawful demands of ministers, starting from their mobiles, petrol ceiling, authorising the vehicles, and manipulation in the files for their personal interest and gains. Most of the secretaries are under compulsions of the ministers or the blue-eyed of ruling elite, those create the pressure for doing the unlawful thing. At the end of the day both scratch each others back, but only state suffers. Its integrity remains at stake when bureaucracy and politicians discuss their perks and privileges before undertaking any real job.
The political parties and government should understand the fact that performance of the public sector is not possible without due support of efficient and skillful bureaucracy. So to achieve the desired outcome it is essential to have cohesion between both vital pillars of the state.
Sovereignty of the state cannot be recognised and asserted without having the very basic concept of cooperation, sincerity, devotion and the state-crafting on recognised parameters. State of the art working relation between the organs of the state is the prerequisite to spell out sovereignty.
Judiciary
Corruption can be weeded out if judiciary, as per the principal of separation of powers, plays its due role of adjudicating the matters on which some conflict arise among deferent institutions of the state and judicial activism to provide relief to common people from hazards of life.
Bureaucracy and politicians may act in a selfish manner and secure gains at the cost of nation. Judiciary can throw its weight on the side of the victim — the weak and marginalised groups of society.
Unfortunately judicial system has been subservient to both. Politicians of Pakistan tend to be opportunist in their attitude and the behaviour of judiciary needs to be vigilant about their conduct in national interest. Politicians and bureaucracy both are free from accountability for their conduct, and it here the role of judiciary comes in.
Judiciary can also perform its role in maintaining law and order. It may lay down conditions of pace and harmony to guide the conduct of institutions and individuals.
The socio-economic growth of the country hinges on the degree on which the judgments of courts reflect wisdom not the crude realities of life.
It is the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure harmony of interest among different organs of the state and groups of the society. Rule of law is the responsibility of judiciary more than any institution of the state. This is a natural decisive vital role of judiciary. If it acts with a vision it can take a nation to the stars.
Central Bank
There must be some logic in the role of government regarding the flow of money and the market to balance the whole financial affairs.
The credible strategy to manage the financial affairs of the state lies with the SBP. Deficits in services sector, balance of trade, foregone reserves and monitoring policies are the areas which should be organized, monitored and even planned by the SBP. The role of executive is also very substantial in this regard, though one can’t deny the responsibility of legislature.
Liberalisation, deregulation and privatization are the measures which have been appreciated by the International Monitoring Fund (IMF). But simultaneously the role of SBP to regulate the affairs has become more crucial. Just embarking on haddock parameters will not serve the state; monitoring and transparency in financial regulation by the Central Bank are the prerequisites for sustainable growth and development of financial sector of the state.
Collection of revenue is centralised vis-à-vis distributions, which is causing a lot of hazards. The mechanism can be improved on the models of developed world. Short-term policies by SBP to regulate the financial affairs of the state mostly go against the global trends. And increase in inflation is alarming. The persisting inflation devaluation of currency requires well thought and professionally organised policy. Because it directly hits common man and also affects the borrowing process. Foreign remittances have been mismanaged, investment has been made in non-development areas, and taxes are low on the services industries whereas essential items are heavily taxed which shows that tax system is not rational. Because of unprofessional management capital shifted from the country.
Incompetent legislature and executive are responsible for these anomalies. These are a clear indicator that the organs of the state are not fulfilling their due responsibilities. SBP’s role to create the acceptable environment for economic activity of state is vital.
Conclusion
The world is full of sovereign state, big and small, preserving one’s independence implies respecting that of the others. Some states are really great and powerful. The smaller ones have to create a space for them while not compromising on their dignity. Secret of their success lies in clear understanding of the strategic environment they live in and evaluating their policies accordingly.
Human history has transformed in due course of time and meaning of state and sovereignty has changed and transformed according to the circumstances and global environment. In the past the king was the custodian of sovereignty. In medieval age king claimed divine authority. Then in modern age, the parliament and in post-modern era the relations with community of nations expressed through international law and treatise, international organisations have influenced the concept of sovereignty.
Sovereignty is not a tangible commodity; it manifests itself through the demonstration of national character and the performance of state institutions. Understanding of global environment, diplomacy, good governance, economic health, standards of life and the military prowess shows the ability of a nation to influence course of regional and global politics.
While sovereignty has no limits but states have to survive in a very competitive environment. They have to compromise on their claims when larger and vital interests are at stake. Statesmanship of the leader not passions can transform the sovereignty from its conceptual frame to practical existence.
