ISLAMABAD: Drastic reforms are needed to restore people’s confidence in the governance system, said a panel of legal and constitutional experts on Monday.
They were addressing a seminar: ‘Legal instruments for transparent governance’, held by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Zafarullah Khan, the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) executive director, said that the people of Pakistan had a strong belief in democracy. “However, it has not been translated into trust in governance. We know that there are a number of progressive laws, including Right to Information (RTI). However, a parliamentary consensus for transparent governance is needed instead of over-reliance on courts in political matters,” he said.
“We have not been able to move forward from the colonial era as far as the statute book of the country is concerned,” Khan said. He said that a sense of collective social responsibility was needed at every level to revive the declining trust of the people in government and governance.
Mohisn Abbas Syed, a senior legal expert, presented details of various legal instruments that were available to curb corruption in governance. With help from his detailed presentation, he said that we only needed political will and commitment to make the governance system transparent and people-centric.
“Pakistan ‘s ranking on the global corruption index has improved during recent years. It was at 143rd place in 2010. In 2016, Pakistan was ranked at 117. This is an achievement. However, we need to bring it down further to a level that could restore the credibility of our governance,” he said.
Nasreen Azhar, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Council member, presented the civil society’s perspective. “The culture of secrecy in government affairs is obstructing transparency. Despite some encouraging progressive laws, the rights of women, children and vulnerable segments of society are still being denied due to various flaws and lacunas in our legal system,” she said.
Earlier, during his welcome note, Dr Shaharyar Khan of SDPI said that a governance system could not gain credibility without being responsive to people. “Advancing discourse on legal instruments for transparent governance is need of the hour as people have lost their trust in the governance system. It should be a matter of grave concern for all of us, especially for the people sitting at the helm of affairs,” Khan said.
