PESHAWAR
Shakil Durrani, a former senior Pakistani civil servant, book “Frontier Stations” has been published and launched for the general public in which the author highlighted the obstacles to quality governance and lack of transparency in the affairs of the state.
The author who had served with distinction for more than 40 years gave an authoritative perspective on the many changes that have taken place in Pakistan’s system of governance under the impact of a turbulent history, both in the Frontier and neighbouring Afghanistan, not least in the past 20 years.
The tone of the book is set in an opening chapter called ‘Fond Memories’, reminiscences of events and personalities encountered in a civil service career which he describes as a ‘great joy’ from start to finish.
It was a career of constant movement. He rarely stayed in one post for more than two or three years, constantly subject to changing circumstances and events, or unpredictable relations with his political masters.
He stresses the importance of respect for the law and consistent standards as the best protection against arbitrary decision-making or illegal pressures from politicians or favoured businessmen.
Durrani’s analysis of the policies of successive Pakistani governments toward the Frontier region, in chapters on the former princely states of Chitral, Swat and Dir, and on the former tribal areas – which were merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018 – will surely provide a valuable source for historians and current observers of Pakistan’s politics.
The chapter on his tenure as chairman of Pakistan’s huge Water Authority – WAPDA – is also illuminating in highlighting the central importance of water in Pakistan’s development, the policy successes in developing this vital resource, and the failures caused by corruption, missed opportunities and delays.
He is unsparing in his criticism of failures but generous in acknowledging the good intentions or shrewd choices and achievements of politicians and administrators where he finds them. He is unexpectedly quiet in identifying responsibility for crucial decisions in a number of areas.
One is the consequences of increased military intervention against Islamic extremism in the tribal areas in the post-9/11 “war on terror”, which was undertaken at a huge cost in Pakistani army casualties. A second is the long term implications of promoting Islamic education through the madrasahs, the religious schools from which emerged the generation that formed the Taliban.
He is surprisingly positive about the value of the madrasahs as educational institutions, especially those that include science and other practical subjects in a modern curriculum.
A third area of almost silence is the reach of the army intelligence services – the ISI – which has taken the lead in many areas of Pakistani policy-making in Afghanistan and the Frontier region.
In a separate section, the role of the intelligence services in supporting General Pervez Musharraf in his ill-judged, bloody, and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to suppress the lawyers’ protest movement in Karachi on 12 May 2007, is described in more graphic detail from Durrani’s first-hand involvement as Chief Secretary of Sindh at the time. He calls it “one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s history.”
Almost half of the book is devoted to a discussion of general lessons for the governance of Pakistan, significantly introduced in the section titles ‘Falling Standards’ and ‘The Long Wait for Good Governance’.
The discussion on water policy is included in a section which focuses on a number of ‘Critical Issues’ including wild-life conservation and environmentalism.
This is a long book and it would perhaps have benefitted from tighter editing. It does not aspire to be a work of critical scholarship and there are no footnotes to the text, but an index would have been helpful.
The long list of acknowledgements reveals the impressive range of his contacts and sources, each name accompanied by a pithy description of their special characteristics or expertise. The book is easy to read, entertaining, and contains much information of value on issues which are of enduring interest and global importance.
The author Shaik Durrani has filled many of the highest administrative positions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former Tribal Areas now incorporated within the province, as well as other key posts in Pakistan’s central and provincial governments.
