Pakistan’s ability to progress in the coming decades will depend critically on a proper understanding of the opportunities and challenges offered by the changing international situation. Three hundred years ago, at the end of eighteenth century, the “industrial revolution” brought thousands of years of agriculture wealth creation to an end. The dawn of twenty first century marks the beginning of a new age in the history of mankind. The old foundations of success are gone. Today, knowledge is the new basis for development and prosperity.
Today, a new “knowledge and information revolution” is underway. The paradigms of development is today’s world are changing from muscle power to brainpower, making investments in human resource development critical for the success of any society. This revolution is moving societies from national economies to a global economy posing serious challenges to the future of developing economies. In order to cope with the new challenges, we need to transform our social, political, and economic institutions into responsive, innovative, productive and competitive organizations. PML-government initiated Pakistan Vision 2010 Programme to achieve this goal, unfortunately it was discontinued after 12 October, 99. After 9/11, misunderstandings between civilizations are also growing. To build a peaceful world, there is a need for dialogue between Muslim societies and the West to find just solutions for global conflicts. This situation calls us to move forward with vision and speed in order to eradicate illiteracy and human under-development from out society otherwise the poverty in our society will grow drastically and challenge the social and economic foundations of the state. If we didn’t transform our governmental institutions fast enough to become facilitators of quality services and change, the potential of our society to move forward will be crushed under the burden of its heavy public sector. If we didn’t have genuine democracy, our voice will go unheard. Lasting change and leapfrog jump can only take place with the ownership and participation of the people.
Therefore, the link between democracy and development is being seen as inevitable all over the world for progress except our country, where military continues to see itself as the sole custodian of the national interests. For coming times, we need to strengthen democratic and civil structures of the society and make them effective. The military must become subservient to civil based authority in order to make Pakistan a truly democratic society based on the principles of rule of law, social justice, enterprise and prosperity shared by all without any discrimination.
