Pakistan's Institutions: We Know They Matter, But How Can They Work Better?

Pakistan’s public sector institutions suffer from many shortcomings, complicating efforts to craft and implement sustainable public policies and to resolve the country’s broader development and stability challenges. These institutional shortcomings also enable non-state actors and the military to step in and fill roles that civilian institutions are unwilling or unable to serve. At the same time, encouraging reforms and success stories are in place that highlight the possibilities for turning institutions around for the better. This conference examines Pakistan’s civilian institutions and the governance reform efforts that aim to strengthen them.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. 

This event has been made possible through the support of the Fellowship Fund for Pakistan.

Image: Wikimedia/Mhtoori

AGENDA

9:30     Registration and coffee

9:45     Welcoming remarks

Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia, Asia Program

10:00   Opening address

Ishrat Husain, Wilson Center public policy fellow

Why institutions matter and where reforms should start

Chair: William Milam, senior scholar, Asia Program

11:00   Morning panel: Challenges and opportunities

 Madiha Afzal, assistant professor of public policy, University of Maryland

Decentralization and service delivery institutions

Mehmood Mandviwalla, founding and senior partner, Mandviwalla and Zafar Associates

Governance—accountability, control, and transparency

Umar Saif, chairman, Punjab Information Technology Board

How technology is transforming governance in Pakistan

Chair: Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia, Asia Program

1:00     Luncheon

1:30     Luncheon address

Mohammad Zubair, minister of state for privatization, government of Pakistan

The Pakistan Story

Chair: Robert Hathaway, public policy fellow and former director, Asia Program

2:30     Afternoon panel: Institutional case studies

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)

State of Parliament and Parliamentary reforms in Pakistan

Waris Husain, adjunct professor and doctoral candidate, Howard University School of Law and Washington College of Law at American University

Judicial reforms and development in Pakistan

Asim Khwaja, Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development, the Kennedy School, Harvard University

Civil service reform in Pakistan

Hassan Abbas, professor and department chair, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University (Washington, DC)

Institutional case study of law enforcement in Pakistan

Chair: Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia, Asia Program

4:30     Adjournment