ACCOUNTABILITY IS GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN

1. Introduction

2. What is accountability?

3. Accountability mechanism in Pakistan

a. Accountability-related laws
b. Accountability-related organizations and forums
c. Accountability-related courts

4. Importance of accountability for democracy in Pakistan

Accountability is extremely good for democracy in Pakistan:

a. Proofs from the political sector

i. Improvement in legislation
ii. Guaranteed provision of fundamental rights
iii. Closure of the door to military coups by strict enforcement of Article 6 of the Constitution
iv. Holding fair elections
v. Emergence of better and more dedicated leadership

b. Proofs from the economic sector

i. Formulation of state-centric economic policies
ii. Enhancement in foreign direct investment (FDI)
iii. Transparent and pragmatic utilization of national resources
iv. Considerable improvement in revenue-collection and end of budget-deficit problem
v. Equitable distribution of funds among provinces

c. Proofs from the social sector

i. Creation of a well-aware society because of improved performance of educational institutions
ii. Improved status of hygiene and health
iii. Improvement in law and order situation
iv. Implementation of merit policy in the provision of jobs
v. Decline in corruption

d. Proofs from the administrative sector

i. Provision of justice by courts
ii. Merit-based performance of the executive
iii. End of red tape

e. Situation of accountability in successful democracies of the world

i. The United States of America
ii. European countries

5. Causes of poor status of accountability in Pakistan

a. Political causes

i. Lack of political will
ii. Toothless laws
iii. Intermittent dictatorial regimes

b. Social causes

i. Illiteracy
ii. Social disparities
iii. Absence of well-aware, free media since long
iv. Failure of educational institutions to inculcate morality among students
v. Weak and fragile judiciary

c. Economic causes

i. Lack of resources
ii. Poverty
iii. Poor pay structure

d. Administrative causes

i. Weak internal controls in public sector organizations
ii. Lack of technology
iii. Absence of training and skills development
iv. Weak structure of watchdog institutions
v. No system of performance evaluation

6. Recommendation for improvement

i. Enactment of stringent laws
ii. Mature role of political leadership
iii. Promotion of education
iv. Responsible and objective role of media
v. Focus on character-building in educational institutions
vi. Free and independent judiciary
vii. Introduction of strong internal controls
viii. Independence and strengthening of watchdog institutions
ix. Revision of performance-evaluations process
x. Use of technology

7. Conclusion