The leadership deficit

PAKISTAN’S problems seem to multiply by the day and contribute to the country’s deepening po­­larisation and instability. Public protests, insurgency, militant violence, terrorism, centre-province friction, disputes over the sharing of water and government-opposition confrontation are happening all at once. This at a time when a fragile economy still has to make the transition to sustainable recovery from temporary stabilisation.

What does this say about governance and the country’s leadership? That despite self-congratulatory advertisements splashed all over the media, fundamental problems wait to be tackled and governance remains way short of public expectations. Billboards across Punjab and elsewhere trying to build personality cults do not add up to leadership. Nor do PR campaigns on television, which show power hol...
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