Politicians each others’ worst enemies
The key to success of democracy is the effective working of state and societal institutions and processes over a long period of time. These institutions must respect each other because every institution enjoys autonomy but does not operate in a vacuum. If an institution endeavours to expand its domain at the expense of others or develops a self-ascribed mission of rectifying all other institutions, there will be sharp institutional imbalance which is not helpful to democracy.
In a country like Pakistan where democracy is trying to rehabilitate itself after long years of military rule, some institutions and power players are trying to retain their hitherto privileged position while others are attempting to expand their domain. The civilian political institutions, especially the elected civilian federal government, often find themselves under pressure from the military that has a long tradition of dominating the political process, and the superior judiciary that has acquired a hyperactive profile to extend its domain in the post-2009 period.
In a democratic system, no person or institution can make an exclusive claim to ‘all wisdom’ or the ‘national interest’. All this is evolved through dialogue and mutual exchange among the political and societal players and state institutions. Politics is viewed as the art of the possible within political power framework rather than an activity simply for promoting textbook honesty or righteousness. These values are part of the collective ideals and norms of democracy but all democratic ideals are pursued through mutual consultation and shared effort. The political process creates institutional arrangements for implementing these norms because it is a shared responsibility. No single institution or leader can enforce them.
Pakistan has traditionally experienced institutional imbalance. The return to democracy in 2008 has initiated the process of rehabilitating civilian institutions and balancing them with the state institutions. This balancing of different state and societal institutions has to be distinguished from exact equilibrium which is neither possible nor desirable. Each institution has a defined role but the primacy is assigned to elected institutions.
The pressures on civilian institutions do not come from the military and the judiciary alone. It is also exerted by political leaders and parties. This is done in two ways. First, the poor performance of civilian elected governments alienates the people from civilian leaders and institutions. Second, political leaders delegitimise each other by trading charges and counter-charges. The opposition and the government engage in accusing each other of corruption, nepotism and malpractices. They often pursue these agendas in total disregard of democratic norms and political decency. This is a recipe for self-destruction on the part of political leaders. When they try to delegitimise each other, they in fact undermine civilian politics and democracy.
It is interesting to note that all major political parties are in power either at the federal level or in provinces. The federal coalition includes four political parties. If the PML(N) is in opposition at the federal level it is ruling the province of the Punjab. The PPP heads the ruling coalition at the federal level and shares power in Sindh, KP and Balochistan but it is in opposition in the Punjab.
Being in power at federal or provincial levels, it is ironic that these political parties are busy delegitimising each other by accusing each other of corruption, mismanagement and mishandling of state institutions and resources. The PML(N) engages in mudslinging because it finds itself outsmarted by the PPP leadership that has built such a strong coalition at the federal level that the PML(N) desire to pull down the federal government has failed to materialise.
The main target of the PML(N) criticism is President Asif Ali Zardari. The Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, seem to have surpassed his party colleagues in condemning and criticising Zardari, turning this into a personal campaign and an emotional issue.
The latest demonstration of the PML(N) antipathy towards Zardari reflected in the sloganeering by the PML(N) when Zardari addressed the joint session of the parliament on March 17. It revived the unfortunate memories of the 1988-1999 period when the president used to be shouted down by opposition whenever he addressed the joint session of the parliament. Interestingly enough, a few of the members of the PML(N), known for disturbing the address of the president in 1988-1999 were active in sloganeering in the joint session on March 17.
Some of the activists of the PPP are equally hard hitting in criticising the PML(N), especially the poor performance of the Punjab government and highly personalised management of governmental affairs by Shahbaz Sharif. This keeps politics on the boil.
The MQM, a partner of the PPP in the federal and Sindh governments, periodically engages in propaganda against the senior partner in these governments, i.e. the PPP, to extract political and economic dividends regarding its political interests in urban Sindh, especially Karachi. Its campaign for putting an end to extortion is the latest example how it shifts the blame of administrative failure on the PPP rather than share it as a coalition partner.
Lacking a long term perspective, it is not surprising that the political leaders have spent time and energy on the Memo issue and the Mehran Bank scandal. The judicial review of these political issues is not expected to contribute to resolving Pakistan’s economic and social problems or improve governance. These two episodes discredit civilian leaders as well as the military.
The international financial institutions, other states and political analysts do not have to undertake any research on corruption, mismanagement and institutional decay in Pakistan. They get enough material from what the political leaders have been doing to each other over the last four years. They can also get some material from the remarks of the judges of the Supreme Court.
The pathetic show of gross violation of parliamentary decorum by the opposition on March 17 in the presence of the Pakistani service chiefs and foreign diplomats has not simply embarrassed Zardari. It has actually embarrassed the parliament and discredited democracy. This has strengthened the perception that the political leaders lack a long term vision because they cannot get over their personalised and partisan agendas.
The writer is an independent political and defence analyst.
With all due respect, Mr. Rizvi sounds like a stooge of PPP. By critisizing the punjab govt. and the opposition parties, he seems to be siding with PPP. He brings up the poor performance of punjab govt. but has nothing to say about the gross misconduct, corruption and mis management by fed govt.
If he thinks that the judicial review of the memo issue and mehran bank scandal will contribute nothing to the economic and social problems of the country, then I would have to say that he does not have a clue about what he is talking about. Unless you correct the wrongs that have been done and set an example, it will keep hapenning again and again. I think Dr. Rizvi's degree should be checked to make sure that it is not fake because his article lacks any credibility and contributes noting towards solving the country's problems.
Mr.Kamran,
We have mind set in pakistan like you, who have ruined our country, You are asking for to check Dr. Riziv's degree, first you need to check yourself. Reality is always bitter,Every body knows what punjab Gov is doing, they are just making the fool of the poor people.
Frankly, I don't like any of the established political leaders that we currently have. My point was only that if Dr. Rizvi is going to write an article about political leaders what their mud slinging does for the morale of the people, then he should have kept it balanced and should have given specific examples. These examples should have been kept above party level and should have addressed the consequences of each (political) person's accusations. Memo issue and Mehran Bank scandal have huge implications that go down to the very survival of the country. It brings out the people and their mind set who have been running the country. If these leaders are willing to compromise the security of the country or if they are willing to sell out for a few rupees, then we should infomed about their actions so we can choose the right leaders before entrust them with our national security. What I said earlier was only what I feel is in the best interest of the country.
I completely agree with you and i would like to ask the author of this piece few things…
i cannot understand is there any shame worst than having this person addressing the parliament for the 5th time? the world is already laughing at us when we made him the president despite his declaration in a UK court that he is not mentally stable… the world laughing at us because we have a democracy with 45 percent bogus vote..the world laughing at us because 50 percent of the elected people are bogus degree holders…the world laugh at us because 30 percent of the elected are citizens of other countries…the world laugh at us because our president does not have a permanent address in his ID Card..the world laugh at us because the so-called largest democratic party of the country was bequeathed through a 1 page will to a 19 year old kid… the world laugh at us because we have a senate which elected its members with 65 crore vote each… the world laugh at us because we have a PM who is more loyal to the party than the country..the world laugh at us because we have a PM who is not in his senses most of the times and changing statements every other day..the world laugh at us because we have Waheeda Shah and Jamshed dasti…the world laugh at us because our cabinet is 80 plus… the world laugh at us because our ministers are involved in Hajj corruption…the world laugh at us because our president is the biggest thief and he is hiding behind an immunity… the world laugh at us because our PM has set a new world record by having 4 family members in the parliament…the world laugh at us because our PM did not have money to pay the fee of his children school but in 4 years he has enough money to build a 6 crore rupee wall around his house, and his son is having 99 lakh rupee bullet proof car… the world laugh at us because our PM appoint important state functionaries on the basis of their serving jail time with him… the world laugh at us because we appoint a matric pass as the head of OGDCL…
The author has predetermined the virtues of Democracy and the unnecessary interference by other national institutions.How could he ignore the democratically elected persons poking nose in other once well reputed institutions from lowest to highest tier.What happened to PIA, Steel Mill, Sports, Railway,Wapda,FIA,and worst of all The Police??One could go on and on.An incompetent Prime Minister with corrupt Ministers and leader can last only in sham democracies like ours.This system of government is one way to destroy what was built by honest persons like Ayub Khan.It continues till today.We do not have the moral courage to accept this….a khubsoorty of jamhooriat.What a shame!!
Oh I FORGOT TO MENTION THE PRESS THE PRINTED ONE LIKE THIS.WHICH HAS TOUCHED BOTTOM WITH DESCREET INTERFERENCE (LAFAFA BRAND).NO WONDER MY EARLIER COMMENTS DID NOT APPEAR.ANOTHER GIFT OF THE CORRUPT.
exactly sir,
in the presence of army chief and foreign diplomats the way PML N protest clearly show that as a nation we are for away from democratic value, personally i become ashamed to see the environment in the parliament on TV screen
Majority in the government whether in Center or Punjab are business minded who will use all methods for personal gains. We talk of democracy but our mindset is criminal and out of touch with rest of the world.
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