2025 Summit - A Playbook for Citizens

Are citizen voice and civic participation irreplaceable in the 21st-century governance toolkit? In the midst of generational divisiveness and uncertainty, what will 2025 bring for citizens?

In the second panel for the 2025 Summit, we'll ask experts Dr Ammar A. Malik, Azeema Cheema, and Taimur Khan Jhagra to tackle these questions and address how Pakistanis may frame questions of rights, entitlements, and quality of life in the coming year.

0:00:00 – Introduction
0:02:25 – A breakdown of development finance flows
0:07:38 – What do citizens expect from the state?
0:10:36 – The importance of delivering services that increase the state’s credibility
0:11:01 – Allocating donor funds to implement existing agendas
0:12:53 – The Role of Federalism
0:18:57 – The success of provincial service delivery
0:20:15 – The citizen-state relationship
0:21:41 – Generational divide between decision-makers and their constituents
0:25:23 – Inequality in the services provided to women
0:28:38 – How are other countries dealing with the challenge of shrinking aid?
0:32:22 – China’s development model
0:34:17 – Representing citizens’ interests
0:37:18 – Political stability for economic investment
0:39:33 – How do federal and provincial governments view citizens differently?
0:43:56 – Politically branding financial outlays
0:46:09 – The generational cost of neglecting citizens
0:50:42 – Citizens’ reactions to the 2024 general elections
0:53:21 – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s relationship with the state
0:57:04 – Citizens' entitlements and the cost of doing business in Pakistan
0:58:18 – Credibility signals for Pakistani investors
1:02:31 – What is possible in 2025, in terms of the citizen-state relationship?
1:06:33 – Conclusion

[nehabalapure]

In a normal country, the Army is normally in the barracks and has no role in the day to day operations of the government.
But Pakistan is the only abnormal country in the world where the Army operates the government, runs Departmental stores, and when they are expected to fight a war, it surrenders with 93, 000 troops with tanks and ammunition and the associated military hardware.


Fifth largest population in the world is not a matter of pride nor claiming that Pakistan has the largest youth population, with no new industry in place, jobless youth will revolt today or tomorrow, you are sitting on a Hand Grenade with the pin removed.


A country which survives on begging to IMF, World Bank, Saudi Arabia and UAE for its daily two times meals calling themselves as a Middle Power is preposterous.

A country with socioeconomic metrics comparable to Somalia and Niger is not even a power but is a powerless Banana Republic.