The system must go on

A win for democracy is a win for everyone

In contrast to the assault that was mounted against the apex court when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was summoned to face a contempt of court proceeding in 1997, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s appearance in the court was a unique experience: there were no slogans, no attack and no engineered gathering of diehard workers to repeat the scene of the court’s mauling. January 19, 2012, thus can be described as a historic day as an elected prime minister appeared before the judges and reposed his trust in the judiciary.

It must not be forgotten that prior to his appearance in the court, he was bequeathed with the support of National Assembly that passed a resolution for upholding democracy and reiterating confidence in the political leadership with a thumping majority. Will this government survive till the election of Senate, or are we heading for an early election, is inconsequential, as the issue is broader and crucial from the perspective of supremacy of democracy and parameters of institutions.

In his address to the National Assembly, the prime minister neatly summed it up when he said if democracy goes and if the system is derailed, everyone will suffer. He was of course alluding to the conspiracy theories whirling around suggesting an imminent fall of the present government through some out-of parliament machinations. No democrat worth his salt can take issue with Gilani’s statement, and to ignore it for petty motives would amount to ruining what little democracy we have been able to induct in our polity.

The government, under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, has completed four years, and will complete its term in 2013. If the government, despite all the spanners in its works, is able to do that then it would be a brilliant feat, as no political government since the inception of the country, except Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s first government, has been allowed to complete its full term. Will the PPP-led coalition be the beneficiary, or will the ultimate advantage accrue to parliamentary democracy is the point that must be considered by political adventurers.

If the coalition under PM Gilani is able to survive by defying all the schemes and stratagems, the beneficiary will be the next government, nay parliamentary democracy. This is very simple and no rocket science is required to understand this; the method of sending a government home is written in the constitution, and the power to do so has been given to the electorate. Unfortunately, in our country where true democracy has yet to take root everyone who has enjoyed power has skeletons in his closet.

Our political history is but a tale of compromises, pacts and behind-the-scenes wheeling-dealing for acquiring personal fortune; no one is clean here. But whenever a representative government is at the helm, desperate measures are initiated to pull it down by creating a cacophony of allegations of wrongdoing. Should this be allowed to continue? No.

This must be borne in mind by opposition parties and some media-persons and all those who are visibly ‘sensitive’ about the problems facing Pakistan that their over-pouring desire to cut the life of this government is a sure-shot way of perpetuating the unholy cycle of democratic-undemocratic rule in the country. Liaquat Ali Khan (50 months in office) was assassinated. His successors, Khwaja Nazimuddin (17 months); Mohammed Ali Bogra (29 months); Chaudri Mohammed Ali (13 months); Shaheed Suhrwardy (13 months); I.I. Chundrigar (2 months); and Firoz Khan Noon (11 months), all became victims of palace intrigues.

Throughout the 1950s, two bureaucrats, Ghulam Mohammed and Iskander Mirza, brazenly abused their powers as head of state to make or break governments. In April 1953, Ghulam Mohammed set an unfortunate precedent when, citing the government’s failure to resolve ‘the difficulties facing the country’, dismissed Khwaja Nazimuddin and installed Bogra in his place. When Bogra responded by trying to limit the Governor General’s power, Ghulam Mohammed dismissed him too. Add to this list, the toppled governments of Benazir Bhutto twice and Nawaz Sharif twice and one gets a pretty good idea of the state of democracy in this ill-starred country.

It is patently clear that Pakistan’s problems and maladies do not need palliatives under the garb of a technocrat dispensation or any other short-sighted innovation. Nor do they require an interruption in democracy; no do they require some advice from self-proclaimed saviours of the nation, or future tellers with not a modicum of commitment to civilian rule. In this circus where everybody is masquerading as a law expert, defence analyst and economic guru, the loser is the country itself.

The direction is clear: elections according to the prescribed timetable and government by the elected representatives of people. Above all, there should be an environment of reconciliation as no single party can overcome the scale and magnitude of crises, ranging from power, economy to law and order, in the country.

After the establishment of Pakistan, the wrangling of politicians and dismissal of governments were accompanied by intense regional conflicts between Bengalis and West Pakistanis and between Punjabis and Sindhis, and Punjabis and Pakhtuns. These fault-lines exist. In this milieu to think that a single party can correct things is unjustified. To the credit of Prime Minister Gilani, he has been able to restore the original 1973 Constitution, revised the criteria for NFC Award and upheld the sanctity of parliament. There should be a forward movement from here not a plunge back into darkness.

The writer teaches at BNU.