Lahore: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan has said that self-accountability and effective exercise of the constitutional powers of state institutions are essential to addressing Pakistan’s economic and political challenges.
Addressing the ‘National Dialogue on Pakistan and International Peace’ at Governor’s House on Thursday, he said the country needed to examine its own policies and institutional performance rather than looking solely to external factors for solutions.
He said Pakistan’s identity as a state would ultimately be shaped by its own priorities and choices. If the country projected itself as a militant state, its identity would be associated with militancy, whereas presenting itself as a peace-loving country would shape its international image accordingly.
The speaker called for a review of the state’s role and Pakistan’s involvement in global conflicts from independence to the present day. He said it was important to determine why Pakistan became involved in various conflicts and whether such involvement was necessary for national survival or resulted from foreign and domestic policy choices.
He said national unity could not be imported from outside and had to be strengthened through the country’s own institutions and capabilities. He also stressed the need to examine whether a particular conception of national identity strengthened the country or contributed to internal divisions and separatist tendencies.
Discussing terrorism, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said Pakistan had faced the menace for three to four decades and that its consequences remained deeply embedded in the collective experience of society. He recalled witnessing deaths and destruction caused by terrorism, including attacks affecting mosques, imambargahs, courts, hospitals and educational institutions.
He said Pakistan remained on the front line in the fight against terrorism and maintained a clear position on the issue. He added that studying history was essential for understanding the circumstances and challenges confronting the country today.
The speaker also emphasised the importance of justice and fairness in assessing domestic and international conflicts. Referring to the work of economist and philosopher Amartya Sen, he said the principles of justice had evolved from local dispute-resolution mechanisms to national and international institutions.
He said global conflicts should also be examined through the principles of justice and fairness, citing conflicts involving the United States and Iran, tensions in South Asia and the Pakistan-India dispute. He said Pakistan’s official position was that its armed forces had responded to what it described as Indian aggression during the May 9-10 episode.
Referring to the Palestinian issue, he said Israel’s role in the conflict could not be ignored and stressed that conflicts arising from aggression should be assessed according to principles of justice.
On the economic situation, the speaker said Pakistan was facing serious economic challenges and needed to review the performance of its various economic sectors and the tax system. He said sectors that failed to contribute their due share of taxes placed an additional burden on the national economy and made governance increasingly difficult.
He said Pakistan also needed to critically examine why the country had not been managed effectively over the past several decades and emphasised the constitutional powers vested in Parliament.
Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said merely granting Parliament constitutional authority would not automatically create institutional capacity. He said parliamentary empowerment required the uninterrupted exercise and implementation of its constitutional powers. He stressed that a fundamental decision was required to ensure that authority was exercised through Parliament in accordance with the constitutional framework.