E-Governance: A Case for Good Governance in Pakistan

Abstract

Governance defines the terms in which the legal and policy framework operates to achieve the goals and objectives of an organisation. It is not a premise of governments alone anymore. With the advent of Information Communication Technologies (ICT), governance has entered into the new sphere of globalisation. Once traditional government challenges such as freedom of expression, security, legislation, universal access, infrastructure and citizen rights are now directly linked to ICT. Previously online and offline governance were treated as two different spheres but with the emergence of ICT, this distinction has been blurred. Even though this overlap seems too retain the independence of both these spheres which face distinct challenges, this paper argues that there will be a prospective merger, where e-governance shall overshadow the other. In an effort to enforce solutions at a mass-scale, active government participation is integral. The E-Government initiative of Pakistan is setup to bring solutions to these challenges. Even commercial and non-profit organisations are all using ICT to be more effective and efficient, but the question remains if this resource is being regulated under a workable legislative and policy framework to maximise socio-economic benefits? But what happens when ICT falls in the private domain, should there be control mechanisms in place for its governance or should it be discretionary? Finally, this paper attempts to present a case for E-Governance in Pakistan to clarify the blur and present workable recommendations.

Keywords: E-Governance, Pakistan, ICT, law