PESHAWAR
\nShakil Durrani, a former senior Pakistani civil servant, book \u201cFrontier Stations\u201d 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.
\nThe 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\u2019s system of governance under the impact of a turbulent history, both in the Frontier and neighbouring Afghanistan, not least in the past 20 years.
\nThe tone of the book is set in an opening chapter called \u2018Fond Memories\u2019, reminiscences of events and personalities encountered in a civil service career which he describes as a \u2018great joy\u2019 from start to finish.
\nIt 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.
\nHe 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.
\nDurrani\u2019s 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 \u2013 which were merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018 \u2013 will surely provide a valuable source for historians and current observers of Pakistan\u2019s politics.
\nThe chapter on his tenure as chairman of Pakistan\u2019s huge Water Authority \u2013 WAPDA \u2013 is also illuminating in highlighting the central importance of water in Pakistan\u2019s development, the policy successes in developing this vital resource, and the failures caused by corruption, missed opportunities and delays.
\nHe 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.
\nOne is the consequences of increased military intervention against Islamic extremism in the tribal areas in the post-9\/11 \u201cwar on terror\u201d, 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.
\nHe 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.
\nA third area of almost silence is the reach of the army intelligence services \u2013 the ISI \u2013 which has taken the lead in many areas of Pakistani policy-making in Afghanistan and the Frontier region.
\nIn 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\u2019 protest movement in Karachi on 12 May 2007, is described in more graphic detail from Durrani\u2019s first-hand involvement as Chief Secretary of Sindh at the time. He calls it \u201cone of the darkest days in Pakistan\u2019s history.\u201d
\nAlmost half of the book is devoted to a discussion of general lessons for the governance of Pakistan, significantly introduced in the section titles \u2018Falling Standards\u2019 and \u2018The Long Wait for Good Governance\u2019.
\nThe discussion on water policy is included in a section which focuses on a number of \u2018Critical Issues\u2019 including wild-life conservation and environmentalism.
\nThis 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.
\nThe 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.
\nThe 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\u2019s central and provincial governments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR Shakil Durrani, a former senior Pakistani civil servant, book \u201cFrontier Stations\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n