The Pakistani Spectator

“Government has taken action to maintain its writ”

We often hear above statement by government officials. We generally use this statement against terrorist or outlaws who are not obeying the structures, rules, regulations & policies of the government enforced time to time.

We have to take this concept in a broader meaning, and before knowing how the writ is maintained, we have to know how the writ is established.

We take an example, a city where the electricity is provided by an electric power generation company (owned or supported be government) and after receiving bills people of that area refuse to pay them and it becomes a practice, or traveling on a road one have to pay toll tax and people cross a toll plaza without paying the levied amount, or driving car on highways without having valid driving licenses becomes a practice, or a bunch of businessmen or salaried persons stops paying
taxes, or people of an area start to keep un-licensed arms, or become involved in activities prohibited by law or regulation enforced time to time etc then the writ of the government is challenged in different shapes.

But what if a government is unable to facilitate its people through its available means, means a government is unable to establish its writ.

For example people of an area are forced to keep arms to protect themselves as government is unable provide means of protection in time there is a chance that they keep them un-licensed, and if government levies an amount in form of taxes and duties and not returns in shape of facilitating people like free or affordable education up to university level or providing curative facilities to people free or cost or at affordable rates or if any one is jobless the government don’t pays stipend out of its incomes until he/she finds a job, or a women is raped and have no finances to ‘bear the cost’ of lodging an
FIR or if FIR is filed then have no finances to hire a lawyer, or a huge tax payer pay less tax with the support of concerned officials, or If people of an area are manufacturing weapons and ammunition for decades and this business is in the knowledge of government and there is no other means of their earning bread, or money plunderers are allowed to be free, or drones fly within the air space or jets of other country come and attack our territory etc

Above all mentioned cases and many other cases not mentioned here reflect that there is no established writ of the government and government agencies / departments are violating the law, rules, regulations & policies.

In developing or under-developed countries another factor which effects establishing the writ of government is when they take huge loans at huge interest rates and then to repay installments apply taxes and duties, as imparted to them, to recover it.

Writ is not established by killing own people, it becomes humorous when they are not resisting. Writ is damaged by overthrowing the constitution of the state, writ is damaged by doing un-constitutional measures like, PCO, NRO etc

Establishing the writ of the government should be the prime objective then to maintain it, government should put in efforts as provided by the constitution. And government agencies / officials / department should be careful in establishing its writ in every department and boundaries of the state.

Until government establishes the infrastructure to fulfill the demands of first two stages of ‘Need Theory’ pyramid, it should not claim its writ.

Last 5 posts by Farid Masood

• Credibility - September 4th, 2008
• Electricity Tariff raised by 31% - September 2nd, 2008
• Democratizing the Autocracy - August 28th, 2008
• Fazlur on Political Business - August 27th, 2008
• 3rd and Workable Option - August 24th, 2008