This is apropos an op-ed titled "No-balls by Nawaz" in Business Recorder's Monday issue. The writer has argued, inter alia, that "Appallingly poor governance during the five-year PPP-led coalition government led to PML-N victory in the 2013 general elections, or such is the general perception. But half way into the Sharif administration's tenure, governance has not visibly improved with massive power shortages continuing, state-owned entities (SOEs) persistently performing poorly; notably Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills, and all important commercial decisions entered into by the federal government shrouded in secrecy generating controversy.
During 2008-13 the PPP leadership argued that the greater number of scams reported in the media was not because corruption had increased during their tenure but because the media had become much more vibrant. This defence, pro-PML-N supporters point out quite accurately, is flawed as the number of mega scams during the PPP-led coalition government far out-number the scams post-2013. And thus it should surprise no one that the corruption perception index has declined - from 27 in 2012, 28 in 2013, 29 in 2014 and 30 in 2015."
The writer may be right in relation to the areas mentioned in the opening paragraphs of her article. But what has been conveniently ignored is the state of law and order now and what it was during the rule of PPP-led government. There has been a visible improvement in overall law and order situation during the rule of the incumbent PML-N government. In recent weeks and months, however, the government seems to have become complacent in relation to the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). This apparent lack of focus has perhaps led to the terrorist attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda. Nothing is more important than the imperative of security; it has clear precedence over everything else, including government's stalled privatisation plans.