Pakistan Citizens Portal

The Pakistan Citizens Portal is an excellent step forward towards good governance, in fact a forerunner of E Governance and the harbinger of Naya Pakistan and I wish it all success and Godspeed.

During 1958 Martial Law I was in charge of a Complaint Cell at the ML HQs Kharian. Gen. Sahibzada Yaqub Khan during a visit enquired of me as to what did I do, and was amusingly shocked when I told him that I was a dignified Post Master. I apprised the Gen. that my job was to forward a complaint to the very person/department against whom the complaint was lodged and which naturally the person/department always tried to defend himself by justifying his/their action, and which response was then dutifully passed on to the complainant to his dismay!  A typical manifestation of, “Meer kia saday hein beemar hoay jis kay sabab – Usi uttar kay launday se dwa letey hein”.  I sincerely pray it will not be the same case here at the PMDU.

Next, just like the Complaint Cell, I urge the govt. to have a “Suggestions Cell” also on the Portal where a citizen could put forward suggestions, ideas and measures for the betterment of the country.  Who knows someone could come up with something out-of-the-box which the stereotyped pundits and gurus fettered by their degrees and doctorates could never conceive of.

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)