Health Diplomacy – advancing health & foreign policy

“Health is today a growing concern in foreign policy” – Dr. Margaret Chan

Health is on the radar of foreign policy since it is connected to three global agendas i.e. security, economy, and social justice. Over the past decade, countries around the world have progressively acknowledged the significance of linking their foreign policy efforts and their work on health. Various events around the globe have contributed to the development of the field of “Health Diplomacy”, for instance the increase in global funding to fight HIV/AIDS, the treat of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, the need for virulent disease vigilance, fears about bioterrorism, and emerging focus on health system strengthening and universal health coverage.

In recent times, there has been an astonishing surge of interest in the topic of health diplomacy. It is worth noting that, even with this growing level of interest, there is modest accord on how to define health diplomacy. The notion of health diplomacy was introduced as early as 1978 by Peter Bourne, special assistant to the president for health issues during the Jimmy Carter administration. He argued that “the role of health and medicine as a means for bettering international relations has not been fully explored by the United States. Certain humanitarian issues, especially health, can be the basis for establishing a dialogue and bridging diplomatic barriers because they transcend traditional and more volatile and emotional concerns”.

As a developing country, Pakistan has largely been the recipient of various developmental aids from developed countries including that for health and also relied on such assistance to advance domestic health condition. Conversely, with its escalating national power, Pakistan is also anticipated to shoulder responsibilities and to make contributions to many other developing countries of the region, not just in the form of medical teams. As the 21^st century continues to emphasize the need for synchronized health actions between nations, the significance of health diplomacy has become obvious within foreign policy loop. Pakistan must have bilateral or multilateral health treaties and agreements with other countries through multi-year action plan, with particular emphasis on health system development, public health, prevention of disease, primary health services and global health.

In the modern globalized world today, health is too important and political to be left only to the ministry of health. Globalization requires that ministers of health act with other countries in order to ensure the health of the residents at home. In this regard the government should:

1. ·         Integrate a global health perspective into its general foreign policy and create an information platform for health diplomacy,
2. ·         Harmonize general foreign policy and other policies to highlight the health effects of foreign policy, and improve the promotion of public health nationally and globally,
3. ·         Establish the coordinating office for health foreign policy to highlight the connection between health and well-being, social development and security,
4. ·         Produce policy papers on subjects arising in health foreign policy and strengthen academic proficiency,
5. ·         Continue its efforts to strengthen good governance, with emphasis on institutional development and the rule of law,
6. ·         And, give priority to fight against corruption and nepotism throughout development and foreign policies, with targeted efforts in the health diplomacy.

It is an eminent fact that health is a global public good and national public health cannot be safeguarded by any state in isolation. Almost all world leaders have committed themselves to ensuring that all individuals enjoy the right to health. They have also agreed to cooperate to realize this right for people all over the world. In Pakistan, foreign policy must take health issues into account, and health issues must have a diplomatic dimension. Foreign policy practitioners need to become aware of impact of policy options and decisions on health outcomes and must back these words with their actions. This is how foreign policy can make a difference to health and this is a task by which they are likely to be judged by future generation.

Who will rise against corruption?

In his historic speech delivered to the first Constitution Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August 1947, Mohammad Ali Jinnah identified the first duty of his government as the maintenance of law and order and defined his second priority in the following words:  “One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering is bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measure as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.” 

Regrettably for Pakistan, these intelligent words have not been heeded to in the last 68 years and corruption has become a virus infecting every aspect of political, social and economic activities. Corruption and bad governance is not only threatening our national security, economic prosperity but also, international reputation. In Pakistan, bad governance is perceived as widespread and systemic and deeply embedded in society and in government divisions at all levels. Moreover, bureaucratic corruption taking place in public administration at the implementation end of public policies. At this end, citizens experience corruption daily in their dealing with public administrators and services, like education, health, licensing authorities, police, customs, taxing authorities, and many other government agencies.

The recent report of Transparency International (2015) ranked Pakistan (Corruption Perception Index: 117) among the most corrupt countries and corruption has become a multibillion dollar industry. Corruption is a result of poor governance as it is a social epidemic and major constraint to good governance. To protect the democracy from this epidemic, accountability and transparency have become important element of governmental reform. Unfortunately, there is a lack of transparency and accountability in every public sector of Pakistan. In various literatures, corruption has been shown as the result of lack of transparency and accountability which is dangerous for democratic setup. It is also widely accepted and proved that transparency and accountability are major determinants in the fight against corruption. 

Globally, there is an ongoing debate in economics, political science and information technology over the best evaluation methods for transparency and accountability. Innovative technologies are opening up all kind of possibilities for improve and promote accountability and transparency. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are progressively seen by governments, activists and civil society as an imperative tools to promote transparency and accountability, along with to identify and reduce corruption. There is a comprehensive accord that ICTs have the potential to make a meaningful contribution to the fight against corruption via facilitating the flow of information between government institutions, government and citizens, as well as among citizens. In the modern age, governments around the world are beginning to introduce ICT to the public sector reform in order transform governmental relations with citizens, good governance and curb corruption since new technologies can promote transparency, accountability and citizen participation.

Over the past few years, researchers have increasingly focused on the link between poor governance, corruption, and economic growth. Governance and corruption are multi-dimensional phenomena that affect different sectors and groups of citizens in any country. In Pakistan, cross-country evidence shows how poor governance and corruption may be harmful for standards of living and the distribution of income of citizens, reducing literacy and per capita income, while increasing infant mortality. Moreover, poor governance and corruption distorts public expenditure and increase poverty.

In poorly governed country, policymakers must face the challenge of designing and implementing effective reforms to improve governance and curb corruption. Policymakers need to approach governance and anti-corruption reforms in a novel way and integrate political commitment with technical measures and citizens’ participation. If an anti-corruption policy is to be viable, it must be designed as a multi-pronged venture that comprise a set of multifarious actions in different areas of society and sate institutions. More expressly, there is a substantial need to define all dimensions of the anti-corruption struggle and the role of ICTs can play in it, since ICTs hold the biggest potential for promoting the anti-corruption effort.

'Fighting the smokeless war' – Who will frame National Cyber Security Policy?

The 21st century is seeing more countries paying attention to asymmetrical threats as a new dimension in strategic defense. Although, traditional security issues will continue into the new century but threats such as terrorism and trans-boundary crime has also attracted attention and is given focus as parts of the national strategic perspective. It is alarming that, in recent years, together with the occurrence of new information and communication technology (ICT) and the development of the internet, new threats have appeared, such as cyber-crime, cyber-terrorism, cyber espionage and cyber-conflicts, with the participation of non-state entities, and cyber war understood as confrontation between countries in the cyberspace.

Current trends in the development of threats in the cyberspace clearly indicate an increasing influence of the level of security of the cyber domain on the general security of the country. The recent development in our region has pointed to a number of new challenges and uncertainties which impact Pakistan’s national defense. Various forms of extremism motivated by political, religious, ethnic or other reasons pose an important challenge for the national security. They are particularly dangerous when they are connected with the use of terrorism.

The rapid evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) is escalating the pace, capability, flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness of the current networks and systems, both within the civil and military scope. Information in conjunction with communication technologies are altering the way in which people interact between themselves and with their environment. This continual and accelerated progression of the ICT has led to cyber attacks becoming more and more sophisticated and numerous, leading to a cyber space that is ever more hostile, forcing those responsible for national and cyber security.

Security, in all its dimensions and spheres, is the first responsibility of any government. The government of Pakistan should assume leadership regarding cyber security in order to make its citizens aware of the need for protecting our cyberspace. Pakistan still does not have a solid capacity allowing the efficient administration, control and management of its cyber security. Therefore, the government and policy makers are accountable for setting the agenda for securing all national security domains including cyberspace. Ideally, the government may perform the following roles:

• Characterize of the role of cyberspace in achieving national development goals;

• Identify, analysis and mitigation of risks to achieving national interests;

• Develop cybercrime/cyber-terrorism legislation that is applicable and interoperable;

• Resource national cyber-security programs and institutional capacity building; 

• Formulate and defend cyber-security position at regional and global forums. 

In many countries, cyber-security has become a national policy priority supported by loyal and devoted leadership. They are approaching cyber-security in a holistic manner, including, economic, social, educational, technical, law-enforcement, diplomatic, military and intelligence-related aspects. A modern nation-state increasingly depends on cyberspace for its economy, public safety and defense. As a result, establishing a national policy for cyber-security is now and will continue to be an essential and critical element of the overall national security for the government. Another key aspect to bear in mind for the National Cyber Security Policy is the identification of cyber space as the new dimension of the operating environment. It will therefore be compulsory to provide our Armed Forces with cyber capabilities and human, technical and economic resources necessary for their exercise and functions.

There are certain areas of concern regarding the “National Cyber Security Act 2014” introduced in the Senate of Pakistan, for which the following recommendations are put forwarded for consideration in future reviews.

• Policy makers must first educate themselves better with respect to the internet, internet and cyber security together with its role in modern society,

• Government must get its own house in order and eliminate corruption and nepotism, 

• Government must support the necessary R&D to address issues,

• Government must overcome the obstacles to realistic, timely, actionable information sharing with industry,

• Policy makers must establish a program to educate citizenry about the nature of the problem and alleviation approaches,

• Cyber-security policy must be risk-based, outcome-focused, practicable and globally relevant.

To finish, the development of cyber-security policy is a long-lasting dedication for the security and stability of country and its cyberspace, and government must have a voice in international arena in this critical dot.

Citizen-Centric e-governance: Can Pakistan's democracy be improved?

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have turned into the miracle medicine for curing any country from the diseases of corruption, mismanagement, poor governance, inflation, monopolies, illiteracy and so forth. ICT tools and techniques to support good governance have considerably changed with the appearance of social media, simulation techniques, opinion mining, open government data, text analytics and visualization. Today, people are more connected than ever before through ICT, linked to family, friends, social groups, and increasingly, government. Similarly, ICT tools are empowering to engage with government and find clarity on issues that touch their lives. In developed countries, governments are regarding the call to deliver information in a way that create transparency and demonstrates accountability.

In every sector, information and communications technologies (ICTs) are powerful tools for controlling corruption and ill practices. ICT works principally well when they are embedded in extensive institutional reforms. Generally, ICTs for good governance and controlling corruption operate by shining a bright light upon institutional development. ICTs improve transparency particularly at the transactional level, at the same time offer opportunities for easier access to public records, and establishing linkages among geographically separated structures for better accountability.

In every part of the world from industrialized to developing countries, governments are putting information online to provide better services for citizens and good governance. Globally, there are various countries that are aiming towards refreshing their public administration by making it more proactive, accountable, service-oriented and transparent. This transformation requires intervention of technology in administration and governance, accordingly ICT can play significantly important role in advancement of public sector and its governance. Governments around the world are, therefore, making use of ICT as a standard for promoting Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) electronic government (e-government). Generally, e-government incorporates three dimensions:

• Democratic dimension (e-Democracy): Focusing on the political processes and interaction between the constituents and the government.

• Administrative dimension (e-Administration): Including various types of management work, internal and external routines.

• Service dimension (e-Service): Relating to the delivery of all types of services.

• Participation dimension (e-Participation): To engage with citizens and enable deeper contributions and support deliberative debate on policy issues and to support the democratic decision-making process.

UN member states have recognized broad public participation as an essential prerequisite for the attainment of sustainable development. Public participation always has positive repercussion on good governance and adding the ‘e’ can make good governance better and bad governance worse. Establishing good governance and public participation have become a key concern for sustainable socio-economic development. It has been acknowledged that development cannot take place without sound and capable governance.  

Today, technologies in computing, information system and communication have led to the death of distance and time. Networking technologies work exceptionally fast and can improve anything and everything. Using ICTs to promote, as stated in United Nations Millennium Declaration, “democratic and participatory governance based on the will of the people,” may lead to more responsive and effective government. In a nutshell, democracy, good governance and modernity cannot be imported or imposed from outside a county. Let every forum of policy makers, political leaders and ICT professionals’ converse and fabricate a comprehensive set of recommendations for the successful execution of anywhere-anytime citizen-centric e-Governance across Pakistan.

e-Judiciary - modernizing judiciary with technology

“The future of law is not to be found in impressive buildings or leather bound books but in small pieces of silicon; in streams of light; and in millions of miles of wires and cable.” – Katsh
Technological developments in the meadow of information and communication technology (ICT) and introduction of computers have made a turning point in the history of human civilization. It has brought about a change of tack in all fields of human activity and has resulted in enhanced efficiency, productivity and quality of output in every walk of life. Evolution in technology, particularly the growing use of internet, have created borderless “e-world” and paved the way for irresistible and unmatched changes in every phase of life, including justice. The information and communication technology (ICT) has been advocated in the developed countries for the last two or three decades and this scenario gained astounding thoughts to have technology combined in administration of justice.
ICT has an influential position to play in the modernization of justice, improving efficiency, transparency and effectiveness, and redesigning the judicial process to manage the delivery of justice. The use of ICT in this perspective may not only improve the efficiency and transparency of justice processes but also, enhance the interaction between citizens and public authorities. As a result, the concept of e-Judiciary comes in, and we should also keep in mind that e-Judiciary is not just about “e” or computers. Its basis is judiciary should be primarily concerned with providing justice to the citizens. It should fulfill what justice seekers demand from the system, that is, speedy less expensive, quality, corruption free justice. Principally, e-Judiciary is a process of modernizing judiciary that uses information and communication technology (ICT) for its proceeding to provide justice to people.
Typically, e-Judiciary consists of Case Management System, Information Management System and Court Automation System. This process generally goes this way in order:
•    Registering cases
•    Managing cases
•    Hearing of cases and handling post hearing and report
Judiciary in Pakistan urgently needs re-engineering its course of action, modernize the use of its human resource and bring about change management by harnessing the potentiality of the available information and communication technology to its fullest extent. By using information and communication technology, an effective and efficient system of e-Judiciary can be develop and that system may possibly ensure that judiciary is accessible to all which is trusted by all and it is reliable to all.
The National Judicial Policy 2009 proposes to eradicate corruption and delays from the country’s judicial system, therefore, it is exceptionally significant for Pakistan to have well established e-judicial system on the pillars of speedy and transparent trial system in order to provide fair justice to the people.  Although, Pakistan is a developing country as such, is not yet an advance in ICT innovations, but must not avoid the adoption of electronic method of justice delivery. The electronic methods will not only bring transparency, security of court’s documents but also, swift dispensation of justice. Conversely, the successful implementation and adoption of electronic methods may be challenged by epileptic electric supply, network dysfunction, lack of IT skills, and absence of relevant legal framework. There are many other challenges to implement e-Judiciary in Pakistan as-well i.e.
•    Lack of long term strategy
•    No provision for linking technology with performance
•    No effective planning for the development of skilled HR development in ICT
•    Problems in attitude to manage the change
•    Commitment not to the extent of expectation
Finally, the construction and maintenance of the modern justice system will need extensive preparation and determination. There are already successful precedents in various countries for the use of ICT in judicial system such as European e-Justice (https://e-justice.europa.eu/home.do), European e-Justice Portal (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/criminal/european-e-justice/portal/index_en.htm), Hong Kong Judiciary (http://www.judiciary.gov.hk/en/index/), Indian e-Courts (http://ecourts.gov.in/), Namibia Superior Courts (http://www.ejustice.moj.na/SitePages/Home.aspx) etc. Experience across the developed countries that have embarked on ICT in their justice systems show that ICT tools help to improve and develop the judicial process. For the reason, e-Justice should be a major priority for developing countries like Pakistan. Along with technological developments; institutional and social change within the judicial system should be considered, as well as the harmonization of laws to ICT. Moreover, the whole society has to keep up with the technological development. Social demand is as necessary as effective government determination to improve the administration of justice by ICT.

Science Journalism - building public engagment in science

“I saw on TV…”, “I heard on radio…” and “I read in the newspaper…” are phrases that catch our attention. In the 21st century, the mass media has become the most influential medium that communicates to large numbers of individuals. News is the building block that helps us to construct an understanding of the world we live in, and science and technology (S&T) are principal dynamics in shaping tomorrow’s world. Research and innovation have been acknowledge as key factors in meeting the numerous challenges of our time such as energy supply, food security, health and mobility, environmental changes etc. Being key challenges, public and policy makers must be provided the information that is obligatory to call science and technology to account. For the reason, there is an increasing need of independent science journalism and science communicators to interpret, explain and comment on the results of scientific research and technological development. 

Globally, the public communication of S&T – Science Journalism, is expanding rapidly as a professional and academic field. In developed counties science journalism is accelerating because of advances in information and communication technology (ICT) that facilitates scientific and methodological reporting and scientists are reaching the pubic and policy makers through blogs and social media tools. Momentarily, Pakistan has made a phenomenal progress in S&T and ICT in the past two decades, on the other hand, to what extent the science and scientific knowledge is transmitted to the common masses remains a tricky question in Pakistan?

Science journalism appears to be flourishing in developing counties and journalists are now operating a new science-media ecosystem where scientists and journalists are providing original discoveries directly to the general public instead of going through the official publishing process. Science services made the first sustained effort at gathering and dissemination consistently credible, engaging and understandable news of science and emerging technologies to a nationwide audience through the easily accessible mainstream media. The emerging field of science journalism sought to produce a science-minded public able to appreciate, and willing to support and understand science and technology and scientific research. 

Because of the importance of S&T, it is important that science journalists show how science actually works. That goes beyond just editorials about remarkable expansions in science but includes information about the organizations and funding of scientific research too. Scientific writing or science journalism remains embryonic in Pakistan and there are many dimensions to the problems. Unfortunately the large segments of the population even do not have access to scientific knowledge due to illiteracy and in absence of critically planned science policy for dissemination of scientific knowledge to non-scientific community. Although, Pakistan’s engagement in scientific activities is multiplying and diversifying but, science journalism is very much limited and mainstream media coverage on issues related to S&T is alarmingly poor and limited. Conversely, low priority in science journalism in the mainstream media is also deeply rooted in the country’s journalism history. 

The idea that, to be successful, a technology must meet local needs, conditions and resources for social development. I would say there is definitely a future for science journalism in Pakistan. There is a need for scientific reporting about developments in science and technology, including science policy and science funding. Last but not the least, a multi-prolonged strategy is required to make science journalism effective in our society for that scientific platform should be created to engage scientists and media practitioners to have close discourse on issues relating to scientific and technological developments in Pakistan.

The Academic Corruption in Pakistan’s Higher Education

EDUCATION IS a fundamental human right and a major driver of human and economic development of any country. It not only strengthens personal integrity but also shapes the society in which we live. Every country builds universities and institutes for higher education. The universities have become the engines of progress for knowledge-driven economy in the age of rapid globalization.

Higher education requires much more than just building structures and calling them universities and institutes. In Pakistan, the number of universities has increased enormously from summing like two dozens 10 or 15 years ago; there are more than two hundred now. That is commendable but there is a down side of unexpected raise in terms of academic corruption. Although hard to prove, but the academic corruption in Pakistan’s higher education institutions is not only escalating but also the quality of education in the public sector is plummeting and the entire education system is facing institutional decay. It come into sight that the factors responsible for the sorry state of affairs of education coverage on a single point corruption.

While academic corruption is a global issue but in Pakistan the academic corruption is institutionalized in such a way that it has become the norm. The most common examples of  academic corruption are unfair selection/promotion within the institute, appointments through nepotism or favoritism, professorial malpractice, favoritism given to selected students, unfair and biased assessment of grades, stolen resources from budget, exam questions sold in advance, forcing students to drop out, tendering process violation and illegal fees and ghost teachers.

Pakistan’s academic sector is rife with corruption from tip to toe. The budget and funds under different heads are massively misappropriated. Usually the institute maintenance committee funds allocated for for repair and other administrative expenses of institute, and the endowment funds allocated for helping poor students, are not auditable. Likewise, numerous projects launched by funding with foreign donors to reform and advance education standards run into the brick wall of an immeasurably corrupt system.

To prevent corruption becoming commonplace, promoting integrity among people is critical to build a better future of a nation. In Pakistan, many incidents of academic dishonesty and corruption occur frequently but students do not know the accurate and truthful way to do something. Corruption in higher education must receive good electronic and print media coverage and media should play a principal role in highlighting the academic corruption issues. Although Higher Education Commission (HEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but the government must also develop wide-ranging program that integrate academic anti-corruption initiatives in universities curricula to ending corruption in higher education so that the education could be imparted in true spirit as father of the nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah rightly said, “You must concentrate on gaining knowledge and education. It is your foremost responsibility and education is a matter of life and death for our country.” 

Science diplomacy - new mode of foreign policy in the 21st century

HISTORICALLY, foreign policy can be assumed to have emerged when contacts between the earliest human societies took place. It refers to the actions sovereign states take towards each other. It is significant to note that these actions generally are not taken as ends in themselves but are joined in some way to larger principle from long run aspirations to more immediate aims that national leaders hope to achieve in their dealings with other countries.

Sometimes the two terms, foreign policy and diplomacy create confusion. The most appropriate way to distinguish between the two terms is to consider foreign policy as the legislative and diplomacy as the executive phase of the foreign relations of a country. It is believed, foreign policy is an extension of internal or domestic policy and is planned to defend and promote national interests of whom domestic policy is a fundamental part. Often domestic policies have to be made deferential to foreign policy for the reason that without success in foreign policy, there would be no domestic policy left to pursue.

Globally, science and technology is playing a critical role in international affairs, largely through its contribution to technological supremacy. In the well networked world of today, science and technology can play an innovative and positive role in foreign policy issue since S&T serves as a common language and a link amongst peoples when they strive to address both the technical and technological disparities of the 21st century. 

Science and technology are judged by many developed and developing countries to be of essential importance to their national development, not only in terms of intellectual achievement, but also, as an economic driving force. Ultimately, this is reflected in the mounting importance of “Science Diplomacy,” i.e. the building and management of international relations based on science, higher education, and technology. Scientifically developed countries have been active in this arena for decades, now developing like Pakistan are also expressing greater interest in implementing science diplomacy. According to Vaughan C. Turekian (Editor-in-chief of Science & Diplomacy), nations are looking to science to achieve some or all of the three Es of science diplomacy:

a) Expressing national power or influence,

b) Equipping decision makers with information to support policy 

c) Enhancing bilateral and multilateral relations. 

It is necessary to recognize that science diplomacy is not new concept, but factually it has never been given due attention by policy makers in developing countries. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Royal Society noted that science diplomacy refers to three main types of activities.

1) “Science in diplomacy” – Science can provide advice to inform and support foreign policy objectives,

2) “Science for diplomacy” – Scientific cooperation can improve international relations, and,

3) “Diplomacy for science” – Diplomacy can facilitate international scientific cooperation. 

It is whispered that Pakistan’s foreign policy is always branded as policy of self-abnegation. It is also blamed that external factors predominantly USA play a central role in the shaping of foreign policy of Pakistan. Paul Kennedy, a famous British historian at Yale University, in an essay “Pivotal States and U.S. Strategy”, named Pakistan as one of the nine pivotal states whose future evolution would not only determine the fate of their region, but also, affect international stability. It is significant to note here that upright relations with neighboring countries are important for any country and are measured as strategic policy in international arena. Across the world, foreign policy of every country rotates around two main axles; the first is having good relations with the neighbor countries and the second one is establishment of cordial ties with those who can help the country meet its national interests.

In the region Asia as a whole, and particularly South Asia, Pakistan is most suitably situated in terms of geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic parameters. Thus, science diplomacy can contribute a lot to the establishment of reliable relations to South Asian and Central Asian states for the socioeconomic and technological supremacy of Pakistan. In the modern period of swiftly globalizing world, Pakistan’s foreign policy considerably needs a fresh look. The development and execution of foreign policy based on science and technology i.e. “Science Diplomacy” must be most important concern for not only the government but also other institutes that contribute key role in the formation of foreign policy of land of Pakistan.

ICT for Re-engineering the National Security Strategy

“The ‘War on Terror’ is one of the most critical national security efforts in our history” – Sue Kelly.
In the past few years, it became evident that there exits close connection between ICT and national security, which plays a significant role in securing the necessary level of national safety and defense of the nation. The notion ‘security’ is defined as status of defense of the life-important interests of the personality, the society and the state against internal and external dangers. Whereas, according to Oxford Dictionary, “security is the degree of protection to safeguard a nation, union of nations; person or persons against danger, damage, loss and crime”. Information and communication technology is defined as technology that facilitates communication and the processing and transition of information by electronic means. ICT is an umbrella that involves any communication application or device, such as television, radio, satellite system, cellular phones, computer hardware and software.
The theory of security was put forward by UN bodies and has placed human security firmly on the global political and development agenda. Security can be thought of as a ‘public good’, responding to the strategic need to support sustainable human development at the same time as promoting national, regional and global peace and stability. While national security is the ability to safeguard the nation’s physical integrity and territory to maintain its economic relations with the rest of the world on reasonable term; to defend its institution, and governance from disruption from outside; and to control its borders. According to Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi, political and defense analyst, “the issues of national security have multiplied because it is not always possible to draw a clear line between internal and external domains of the state, especially in the case of the state facing serious internal regional, ethnic conflict or separatist movement. Such events have a tendency to attract varying degree of international attention and intervention if these persist and intensify over time”.  National security is also a capability to control those domestic and foreign conditions that the public opinion of a given community believes necessary to enjoy its own self-determination or autonomy, prosperity and wellbeing.
The ICT has progressively become one of the central mark affecting every feature of development not only in Pakistan but the world over. Momentous ICT progresses are constantly taking place and continue to impact on socio-economic operations at various levels of society. The pervasiveness of ICT has brought about rapid technological, social, political and economic revolution. ICT strengthens and provide opportunities for connection among the countries of the world and it also provides quicker and easier access to more extensive current information that can be used to carry out security operations.
The model of national security is multidimensional. Enhancing national security with new information and communication technology also involve addressing fundamental problems in education and long-term research and development. The under-listed are some recommendations which may help in the use of ICT for national security:
•    Government should pay more attention to the ICT related higher education and funding of ICT so that it can be of greater help as tool in monitoring security system.
•    Our leaders should exhibit good moral character in their governance and eradicate corruption in the society.
•    Government should promote human security culture, framework and raise awareness on human security issues in our society.
•    Government should control arms trade within the country.
•    Fundamental human rights must be respected, protect minorities and fight against ethnic discrimination.
•    Transition governments should be supported so as to prepare free and fair elections, promote a culture of open, tolerant and pluralistic society that accepts cultural diversity.
The rising significance of information and communication technology presents not only new opportunities to promote modern society, but also brings challenges to the approach and tactic of securing that society from outside attack. National security is all about people, and the people must accordingly contribute their share as we all struggle to restore peace and security to our nation. Legislators and policymakers must modify their focus and dedicate resources and efforts to ensure that security measures are in step with evolving technology. National security policymakers should therefore, accelerate the rate of development and embrace information and communication technology as a re-engineering strategy to bring about security revolution in Pakistan.

REVISITING THE ROLE OF ICT TO COMBAT CORRUPTION!

“Bringing together communities that traditionally did not collaborate to fight corruption – activists, IT experts and musicians – hit the nerve of a young generation that wants to engage to define their countries future” – Boris Weber

The internet, cell phones and associated technologies are deeply affecting social, economic and political institutions worldwide, primarily in new and emerging democracies. Governments all over the world have started resorting to the newly originate information and communication technology (ICT) to establish a citizen-centric, more transparent and more accountable government mechanism. Existing ICT infrastructures together with government’s willingness to implement e-government have already brought success in e-government initiatives across the industrialized world. As a least developed but emerging economy, Pakistan has been struggling to improve its government structure. Spoiled by corruption, political division, inefficient bureaucratic practices, it has been a difficult task for the government to put the country on the right development path. However, the country has been endeavoring to implement e-government in recent years to advance its current administrative practices and to establish better relationship and transparency between government and its various stakeholders.

The most cited source for corruption discussions, Transparency International (TI), defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power by political leaders or bureaucracy for personal gain or specific group interest. Most other international organizations, such as the UN and the World Bank, use either that definition or very similar ones. ICT has been acknowledged as a feasible tool for diminishing corruption by enhancing transparency and accountability of government administration. For example, the World Bank defines electronic government (e-Government) as “the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of government” and argues the “e-Government helps to increase the transparency of decision-making processes by making information accessible – publishing government debates and minutes, budgets and expenditure statements, outcomes and rationales for key decisions, and in some cases, allowing the on-line tracking of applications on the web by the public and press” (World Bank, 2010).

According to the United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “No matter how corruption is defined, it weakens societies and impacts and hinders social and economic development. It deflects domestic and foreign investment away from where it is needed; it weakens education and health systems; exacerbates inequality; distorts electoral processes and undermines government institutions”. Corruption exists in all sectors of society and it damages country’s development by undermining faith in public institutions. Corruption falls unreasonably on the poorer members of society and hinders them from accessing scarce services. Civil society in development countries are demanding greater transparency as a key component in fighting corruption and empowering people living in poverty. Increased transparency is often dependent on political will, and civil society around the world is actively challenging their governments to open up systems to public scrutiny. When governments do not have the capacity or the will to launch administrative reforms to remove the opportunities for corruption, adding external pressure on officials by increasing the risk of exposure might be a workable alternative.

While ICT is not a magic bullet when it comes to ensuring greater transparency and less corruption, it is convinced that it has a significant role to play as a tool in a number of important areas:

•    ICT can perk up transparency in public sector by growing the coordination, dissemination and administrative capacity of the public sector, as well as improve service delivery by employing user-friendly executive systems.

•    ICT assists the collection of digital footprints and complete audit trail which increase the opportunity to hold individuals accountable and eventually increase the possibility to spot corrupt practices.

•    ICT can facilitate the work of civil society organization working towards greater transparency and against corruption by supporting a mix of methods of campaigning on transparency and educating citizens on what corruption is about and their civil rights.

•    ICT can help information sharing and social mobilization and ultimately provide digital platforms where citizens can report incidents anonymously.

In nutshell, citizens must have access to public information in order to allow democracy to function. Lack of access to information results in non-participatory society in which political decision-making is not democratic. Access to information concerning governance of the state allows individuals to exercise their political and civil rights in electronic processes; challenge or influence public policies; monitor the quality of public spending; and demand accountability. Access to information and transparency are thus prerequisites for democracy as well as a key tool in the fight against corruption.

Media and good governance: An essential relationship

The origin of the theory of “Good Governance” can be traced back to the Ancient Greek period if we catch the essence of Aristotle’s fundamental statement “the state came into existence for the sake of mere life, but continued for the sake of good life”. If we look into the term “Good Life” we can trace out the components of good governance which we converse in modern times. The political philosophers like Hobbs, Lock and Rousseau also stated the stipulation of the good governance through their social contract theories of the origin of the state. As said by John Lock, governments shall govern as long as they protect the interest of the people or the trust of the people has placed in them. This is how the concept of democracy rule by consent and good governance came into existence in the theory and practice of the governments.

The World Bank defines: “Good Governance is epitomized by predictable and enlightened policy making; a bureaucracy imbued with a professional ethos; an executive arm of government accountable for its actions; a strong civil society participating in public affairs; and all behaving under the rule of law”.

Media plays an influential role in shaping a strong and healthy democracy and ensuring good governs. As a vital source of information media has been functioning the role of the heart of democratic society and good governance. The dynamic and vigilant participation of media is crucial in a democratic society. It is an important presumption that the media speaks for the people, represents the interests of the society, and serves as a check on the government. This process holds government accountable and transparent and throughout this function the media helps to ensure good governance. In contributory the democratization and good governance the media has three key functions. The very fundamental function of media is to act as a watchdog over the powerful, promoting accountability, transparency and public scrutiny. The second important responsibility of media is to function as a civic forum for the political debate, facilitating informed electoral choices and actions; and the third job is to act as an agenda-setter for policy makers, strengthening government responsiveness for instance to social problems and to exclusion.

Democracy obliges that people should have the right to know all the activities of the government, particularly the decision of the government that affects their life, liberty and property. Hence, media also has a critical role to mediate between the state and citizens through the debates and discussions about the major issues of the day and informing people about the stand of their leaders on such issues. In ‘watchdog’ role, the media can play a significant role to promote transparency, accountability, and public scrutiny of decision-makers, by highlighting policy failures, maladministration by public officials, corruption in the judiciary, and scandals in the corporate sector.

Investigative journalism can open the government’s secret records to external scrutiny and critical evaluation, and holds authorities answerable for their actions. The watchdog function of media is essential in a democratic society where people must know what their governments are doing. The primary democratic function of the media is to act as a check on the state. The media should observe the activities of the state, and fearlessly expose exploitations of official authority as good governance requires the principles of transparency, accountability and participation. Democracy is the government which rests on the active consent of the governed, as an important source of public information media could be expected to be a vehicle to encourage the promotion of these principles of good governance.

Information is very necessary for people to formulate decisions about their participation in the state and the civil society. Sufficient information helps citizens to decide wisely and take the right course of action favorable to them. Media thus helps people to know what is happening around the society. In Pakistan, media is not only been playing a key role in protection of rights by making people aware of their rights but also making people to observant on political developments in the society and helping to stimulate debate drawing attention to all social evils including the institutional failures, corruption, inefficiency and illegal activities.

The media and the public are not only players as the society moves towards good governance reform, but also it takes a good quality rejoinder from the government as well. In accordance with the principle of transparency and good governance, the government should provide to the media open access of information on public policy matters.  Principally the media should be equipped with the indispensable investigative power to bring out the truth to the public and fulfill their function in promoting good governance. Access to information, freedom of the press, and an umbrella legal instrument can together support the processes of democracy and good governance in Pakistan.

Towards Re-inventing Good Governance‏

Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development: Kofi Annan

It is not complicated for people in developed countries to envisage a situation in which all interaction with government could be done through one counter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without waiting in lines. Conversely, to achieve this same level of efficiency and flexibility for developing countries is going to be far more complicated. Experience in developed countries confirms that this would be feasible if governments are willing to decentralize responsibilities and processes, and if they start using electronic means. Each citizen could then contact the government through a website where all forms, legislation, news and other information available. The use of electronic means (ICTs) in government procedures facilitates speedy, transparent, accountable, efficient and effective interaction with the public, citizens, business and the other agencies.

Good governance refers to the question of how a society can organize itself to ensure quality of opportunity and equity (social and economic justice) for all citizens. Moralities at the heart of good governance are participation, pluralism, transparency, accountability, equity, access, partnership, and efficiency. The essence of public administration as a democratic institution is to use the principles of good democratic governance to design and structure state institutes, their internal processes and mechanisms, and their mission. Simply stated, it implies that public administration as a democratic institution has the following characteristics:

It is accountable and transparent;

It is decentralized;

It is based on a system of check and balance between the executive branch and the parliament;

It has adequate management capacity to enhance access to justice;

It utilizes the power of information and communication technology to promote citizens’ access and participation in the development process;

It promotes and strengthens partnerships of various types to achieve objectives.

The e-government is a powerful means for secretarial and governance reform. Whenever e-government projects/programs are being formulated or are going to be launched, opportunities and ways for transforming the existing administrative structure must be studied. The success of e-government initiatives depends on how well they are planned and implemented. Although the basis for e-government development, such as e-government readiness, infrastructure, and business processes may vary country to country, the ultimate goal of e-government is more or less the same. Moreover, it is not crucial to follow blindly what other countries are doing with respect to e-government development.

The e-government is about transforming the way government act together with the governed. The practice is neither quick nor simple. It requires a coherent strategy, beginning with an examination of the nation’s political will, resources, regulatory environment, and ability of the population to make use of planned technologies. Global experiences point out that there are three types of reimbursement or returns that can be achieved from e-government expansion such as economic, social, and benefits of government.

The e-government is a solution that can realistically modernize the process of governance itself. Therefore, government leaders planning e-government projects should first examine the function or operation to which they want to apply. E-government requires strong political leadership in order to succeed. Strong leadership can ensure the long-term commitment of resources and expertise and the cooperation of disparate factions. The success of e-government requires necessarily changing how government works and how people view the way in which government helps them. There is no “one size fits all” strategy in implementing e-government. In order to realize efficiencies, governments must develop a citizen-centric model that involves key stakeholders outside of government. Without citizens input, e-government projects are unlikely to succeed, because if citizens will not use system that does not respond to their needs as the concept of e-government revolves around the citizen. In order to develop this citizen-focused vision, policymakers must keep the ordinary citizens in mind as e-government is not just a cost cutting or efficiency initiative, but rather is directed at bettering the lives of ordinary people.

E-governance: An important tool for fighting corruption

Throughout the world, governments are faced with the challenge of renovation and the need to reinvent government systems in order to deliver efficient and cost effective services via information and communication technologies. E-government is understood as the use of such technologies to promote more professional and successful government, more convenient government services, greater public access to information, and more government accountability to citizens, whereas governance is a wider term which covers the state’s institutional arrangements, decision making processes, implementation capacity and the relationship between government officials and the public. E-government can not only be viewed as a subset of e-governance, and its focus is largely on improving administrative efficiency and reducing corruption but can also result in huge cost saving to governments and citizens.

The topic of anti-corruption has recently generated generous academic interest. Each corrupt transaction requires a “buyer” and a “seller”. Eventually, all parts of society must share the responsibility for containing corruption because all are willing or unwilling participants. Corruption does have some common characteristics. For example, it occurs in all countries despite of the level of social and economic development. Regardless of this common characteristic, corruption takes on very different features from one place to another. Corruption flourishes in different places in different forms including: land rezoning, custom duties, income tax collection, non-merit based appointments, promotions, and many more.

The World Bank “Youth for Good Governance Programme” divides the corruption into two categories:

• Administrative Corruption: Corruption that alters the implementation of policies, such as getting a license even if you do not qualify for it.

• Political Corruption: Corruption that influences the formulation of laws, regulations, and policies.

In the broader way, the main types of corruption can be termed as:

• Bribery: An offer of money or favours to influence a public official.

• Nepotism: Favouritism shown by public officials to relatives or close friends.

• Fraud: Cheating the government through deceit.

• Embezzlement: Stealing money or other government property.

There are four basic domes in which action can be taken against corruption within a country:

Firstly, the basic institution of good governance needs to be strengthened. Judiciary is at the head of the list, which is itself the protector of laws and integrity. Secondly, the capability and integrity of law enforcement need to be improved. The best law has no value if it is not enforced. Thirdly, a government needs to put in place a solid set of protective tools. Codes of conduct and strong independent oversight bodies can help ensure that the acceptable standards of behavior are respected in both the private and public sector. Political leaders in all branches of government, legislative and judiciary can be required to have transparency in their own financial dealings through assets disclosure for themselves and their family members. Lastly, the public needs to be educated on the advantages of good governance and participate in promoting it. The public itself bears a large share of accountability for insisting on honesty and integrity in government. The public needs to learn: (a) not to let anybody buy their vote; (b) not to pay bribes; (c) to report corruption to the authorities; and (d) to teach their children the right values; e.g. that corruption is bad.

Even though there is no single solution in fighting corruption but every country has to examine its sole circumstances and come up with a widespread strategy, which should embrace the three pronged approach – deterrence, prevention and education. The employment of ICTs can bring more transparency into public administration and polities. E-governance has the potential to involve citizens in the governance process by engaging them in interaction with policymakers throughout the policy cycle and at all level of government.

Corruption in health system: The scale of problem

Health is a most significant global industry but, more than that, it is a global human right. The health sector is susceptible to abuse through diverse channels. Health system integrates various different actors in a complex web of relationships, which makes corruption difficult to identify where it exists. Corruption in the health system is broadly known both in developed and developing countries but widespread corruption in Pakistan is disquieting. According to the Transparency International, corruption may be defined as “the misuse of entrusted power for private gain” or “sale by government officials of government property for private gain”.

Corruption in the health division is not exclusive to any particular kind of health system. It occurs in systems whether they are principally public or private, technically simple or sophisticated, and sound funded or badly funded. The degree of corruption is, in part, an indication of the society in which it operates. Health system corruption is less expected in societies where there is broad obedience to the rule of law, transparency and trust, and where public sector is ruled by effective civil service codes and strong accountability mechanism.

Corruption in the health system is an anxiety in all countries, but it is particularly serious problem in developing countries like Pakistan. The number of features of health system corruption can be identified that includes: financial leakages, fraud, illegal fees, theft of supplies and equipments, over-invoicing, clever book keeping, selling public positions and bribes, failure to base decisions on evidence, etc. According to the cross country survey by Transparency International, the public gauging perceptions of corruption in public service shows that 95% of the study population perceives that the health system is corrupt in Pakistan.

The overall impact of corruption in health system on society and on individuals can be wide-ranging. We can differentiate between direct and indirect impacts, for example, tangible (material, health quality) and intangible (social, psychological), short term (price and quality) and long term (health system) impacts. Corruption not only reduces the resources effectively available for health, lowers the quality, equity, and effectiveness of healthcare services, but also decreases the volume and increases the cost of provided services. The list demonstrates the overall impact of corruption in healthcare on the society and on individuals.

·         Impact on health budget: Corruption in health system may lead to a non-optimal allocation of health budgets;

·         Impact on price: Corruption in health system may lead to a provision of services or procurement of equipment and drugs at above market prices;

·         Impact on access to health: Corruption in health system may threaten the goal of universal health coverage because as the price of healthcare increases, the accessibility decreases;

·         Impact on health quality: Corruption in health system may lead to low quality in the provision of healthcare services and a low quality in the provision of medical devices and pharmaceuticals;

·         Impact on markets: Corruption in health system may lead to various market distortions such as bad doctors driving out good doctors, bed suppliers driving out good suppliers;

·         Indirect impact on society: Corruption in health system may cause productivity loss through bad health; distrust in provisions of services by the government; distrust in the health system; and distrust in society as a whole;

·         Cross-border impacts: Corruption in health system may lead to brain drain of medical personnel;

According to the study carried out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using data from 71 countries, shows that countries with high indices of corruption scientifically have higher rates of infant mortality. Reverting back to local setting, initially, preventing maltreatment and reducing corruption is a key to increase capital available for health, to make more efficient use of existing resources and, ultimately, to improve the general health status of the population. Before I finish, for promoting anti-corruption plan in Pakistan the government should ensure the law against corruption and the law should be enforced equally for everyone. An effective and efficient anti-corruption policy will result in great decline of corruption not only in health system but also all public sectors.

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