Two years of governance

The last two years of governance were indeed a rough ride for the government. The challenges that it inherited were formidable and intractable that required prophetic vision, unswerving political will, rock solid commitment and honesty of purpose to deal with them. The country faced an existentialist threat from the snowballing phenomenon of terrorism and religious extremism.
Balochistan was seething with unprecedented political turmoil. The Constitution had lost its soul due to the aberrations introduced by the dictatorial regime, which needed to be removed to clear the way for good governance. The reinstatement of the deposed judiciary and constitutional and administrative complexities in this regard needed to be resolved amicably.
Provinces and the federal government had severe differences over the distribution of resources out of the Federal Divisible Pool. The economy was in shambles, marred by food shortages, power crisis, rising unemployment and burgeoning poverty. That arguably was not an enviable situation for a representative government to land into.
But two years on, it can look back with great satisfaction for having succeeded in resolving some of the major issues, mitigating the threats to the integrity of the country and setting right directions in regards to other challenges, as is evident from the book on two years' performance released by the government. Perhaps, an objective appraisal of what has been achieved.
As regards the threat that terrorism posed, the government can rightly boast of having halted the advance of the demon. Swat is a ranting example of the success story. The military campaign, launched against the terrorists in South Waziristan, has also effectively broken their back. These are encouraging portents and hopefully the war on terror will be taken to its logical end.
The passage of the 18th Amendment by the National Assembly and the Senate represents a triumph for the policy of reconciliation pursued by the PPP government. The task was arduous, intricate and highly sensitive from the political perspective. The perseverance and determination shown by the government in the face of political pressure exerted by the opposition and other vested interests to take hasty decision in this regard, has paid remarkable dividends.
The difficulties faced by the parliamentary committee in resolving some of the contentious issue fully vindicated the government stance that the task required cautious handling without time constraints to avoid the pitfalls of a hurried and thoughtless discourse.
At the same time, it also constitutes a rebuff to the sceptics and prophets of the doomsday scenario, who all along have been expressing doubts about the sincerity of the President to forego his powers and the ability of the constitutional committee to finish the assigned task. It is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a sitting President has willingly abdicated his powers to the parliament and the Prime Minister.
The passage of the 18th Amendment has been widely hailed by all the stakeholders as a momentous achievement of the government. It augurs well for the political future of the country and the government can rightly rejoice at the accomplishment, which is a well-deserved reward for its policy of reconciliation.
On the Balochistan issue also, the government has shown remarkable flexibility and political will by redressing some of the nagging and long outstanding grievances of the provinces and initiating a process of reconciliation through its "Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan" initiative in consultation with the people belonging to all shades of opinion and political affiliations.
Although the nationalists have their reservations about the package and their response is characterised by the bitterness of the past, but the initiative has certainly provided a platform on which to build the edifice of trust. The resolution of the resource distribution dispute between the provinces and the centre through the 7th National Finance Commission award is yet another landmark achievement of the government.
The central government, in recognition of the ground realities and the injustices perpetrated on the provinces, exhibited unprecedented generosity by agreeing to raise the share of the provinces from 47.5 percent to 56% in the first year of the award and also accepting the demand of the provinces to reduce the tax collection charges from present 5% to 1%, which would also be added to the divisible pool leading to further enhancement of the share of the provinces.
The formula for the distribution of resources has also been revised in response to the demands of the provinces. The biggest beneficiary of this would be Balochistan, which will get Rs 83 billion as its share next year, registering 100% increase in the financial resources available to the province. The worth mentioning point in this regard is that this initiative enjoys the unqualified support of all the provinces, which again is a first of its kind.
The power crisis that the government inherited was another formidable challenge for the government as it was adversely affecting the lives of the people and pummelling the economic edifice of the country. The government accorded top priority to the resolution of this problem and devised emergency plan to tide over the power shortage through the rental power plants but unfortunately had to abandon the move due to stiff resistance by the opposition and incessant flak by the media.
It perforce had to fall back to the normal channels of power generation through IPPs and hydel power which require a time span of at least 3-4 years in case of the former and even more than that for the latter. The government has already added 600 MW to the system through IPPs during 2009 and another 1250 MW will soon be available for integration into the national grid system. Nine more IPPs will be commissioned by 2010.
As per the performance report, the government has also expedited work on long stalled 525 MW Chichoki Malian power project and 425 MW Nandipur power project in public sector, which are likely to be completed by late 2011. The PPIB is already processing 39 multiple fuel power projects having a cumulative capacity of 10211 MW, which will be commissioned between 2009-2017.
Thirteen IPPs with 2487 MW of power generation capacity have already achieved financial close and started construction. A number of projects have also been initiated to exploit Thar coal reserves. In the hydel power sector as well, PPIB is processing 17 projects with a cumulative capacity of 5025 MW. Work on Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project has also been started.
Likewise Bhasha Diamer Dam with the likely power generating capacity of 4500 MW has also been launched. Further, the government envisages to construct 32 small dams in the four provinces. Realistically speaking, the problem is of such a magnitude that it cannot be fixed instantly and everybody needs to understand that plain truth, particularly the politicians, who are trying to win political mileage out of this unfortunate phenomenon.
The government has set the direction and laid a firm foundation not only to eliminate the power shortage but also to provide for the future needs. Although the major focus of the government has been on tackling the above problems, but it did not lose sight of the other issues that needed attention simultaneously.
Some of the steps that merit mention are: Grant of self-rule to Gilgit-Baltistan; restructuring of bilateral relations with the US promising tripling of the aid for Pakistan; Benazir Income Support Scheme; Prevention of Domestic Violence Act; The Protection against Harassment Act; Waseela-e-Haq initiative; Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme giving 12 % share of the state-owned industrial units to workers; Benazir Green Tractors Scheme; announcement of first-ever textile policy; restoration of the deposed judiciary; abolition of emergency Pemra law 2007 and the resolution of the issue of net hydel power profit for NWFP and Gas Development Surcharge to Balochistan.
That was the best possible the government could do under the given situation. These measures will have a decisive and far reaching positive impact on the social, political and economic profile of the country. That must be honestly acknowledged. Narrow political considerations should not be allowed to overshadow or obscure their significance and the likely impact.