Social policy, whether taken as a sectoral policy or as a policy of issues depending upon the specifics of the relevant scholarship, inevitably lies at the core of political discourse and at many a time plays a decisive role as a determinant of success or failure of political parties contesting against each other in much of the developed world.

During Musharraf’s time period, as Pakistan was experiencing somewhat significant economic growth, even though for a variety of reasons, the general public anticipated generous spending on social welfare. However, it is noteworthy that since Pakistan did not have and even today it does not have a comprehensive and well-rounded social policy, the efforts in the direction of ensuring social welfare remained largely scattered and did not bear the much-desired results.

Although a free market, which was the story back in the days of Musharraf, aids government in efficient delivery of public services since much of the same are outsourced to the private sector such as employment opportunities and etc., however, it acts as a double-edged sword also as reflected in increasing inequalities in the society. In such circumstances, the government needs to formulate a policy that is capable of mitigating the social inequalities while clearly defining the scope and range of public service delivery at government’s end.

A sound social policy has an overarching nature and has the elements namely, a clear definition of what social........

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