ehind by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah is a brief handwritten reflection on Pakistan's constitutional future. Reproduced on page 81 of 'The Jinnah Anthology', edited by Liaquat H. Merchant and Sharif Al Mujahid and tions regarding parliamentary government and describes the presidential form of government as being "more suited to Pakistan". It was a reflection rather than a completed constitutional blueprint, but it establishes that Jinnah was seriously considering whether the Westminster arrangement was appropriate for the new country.
Almost eight decades later, that question is now under serious national discussion - not as an argument for authoritarian rule, but as a search for a democracy capable of delivering competent government. Pakistan's chronic shortage of foreign exchange, mounting indebtedness, inadequate exports, poverty, corruption, and repeated dependence on international lenders are manifestations of a more fundamental defect. We have failed to create a political order in which knowledge, integrity, professional excellence, and measurable results determine who is entrusted with governing the country.
Jinnah's speeches offer an extraordinary guide to what Pakistan should become. Although he never issued these as a formally numbered manifesto, ten important principles emerge repeatedly from his words: government must exist for the welfare of the people with women's rights guaranteed; special attention must be given to the poor; corruption and dishonesty must be rooted out; law and order are essential for progress; all citizens must enjoy equality and minorities must be protected; education, science, and technology must be given the highest national priority; national unity must prevail over provincial and ethnic loyalties; public servants must observe integrity, justice, and fair play; opposition and honest criticism must hold governments accountable; and economic arrangements must promote social justice rather than exploitation.
His warning concerning feudal and economic exploitation was particularly powerful. Addressing the All-India Muslim League in Delhi on April 24, 1943, Jinnah warned against landlords and capitalists prospering under what he called a "vicious" and "wicked" system, declaring that "the exploitation of the masses has gone into their blood". In modern language, his warning could hardly be clearer: a political order captured by feudal and entrenched interests can drain the lifeblood of a country by obstructing merit, social mobility, education, and reform.
The first requirement today must therefore be government by competence. A genuinely democratic presidential system would allow an elected president to choose ministers from the finest expertise available, rather than being largely confined to members of parliament. Finance should be entrusted to an outstanding economist or financial expert; health to an eminent health professional; education to a distinguished educationist; science and technology to an accomplished scientist or innovator; agriculture to an authority on modern agricultural systems; and industry to someone with proven knowledge of manufacturing, technology, and international markets. The same principle should determine the appointment of federal secretaries.