Pakistan requires more than just an economic charter. It requires a Charter of National Revival based on a 4D strategy: deregulate, devolve, deradicalize, and digitize.
Deradicalisation is required for a contemporary and accepting society that is willing to conduct business with the rest of the world. Deregulation is required to unleash the energies of a private sector that is severely limited by bureaucratic obstacles and rent-seeking. Without the devolution of powers to local governments, it is hard to deliver basic services in a country with one of the highest urbanization rates, and without digitalisation, Pakistan cannot compete in a world driven by intellectual capital and increasingly defined by the digital divide. Pakistan’s future will be determined by its ability or inability to overcome these problems.
Can Pakistanis rise to the challenge given by the current difficulties, or will they pass up the opportunity? This will be determined by the ruling elites’ policies: will Pakistan end up like Afghanistan, Iran, or North Korea, or will it move forward like South Korea, Indonesia, or Malaysia? These nations rebuilt their countries on the wreckage of armed battles and civil wars that occurred during and after the colonial period. Can Pakistan achieve this?
Politics is the art of possibility. What is conceivable is limited by one’s imagination and ability. Only the mediocre and timid would hide behind this reasoning and fail to confront the difficulties of their day.
