Democracy is defined as a government of the people, for the people and by the people but it is defined in Pakistan as a government of provinces, for the provinces and by the provinces. The preamble of the constitution has been made a substantive part of the constitution as per Article 2A. This states that “Whereas sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust, and whereas it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order, and wherein the state shall exercise its powers and authority through chosen representatives of the people.
The refrain in the preamble is on the people of Pakistan and not on the people of provinces exclusively which differentiates the National Assembly and the Senate from the provincial assemblies as the will of the people.
However, when we quote the will of provinces as the provincial assemblies to decide national issues like Kalabagh dam this does not reflect the will of 180 million people of Pakistan in as much as people of Punjab comprising about 60 percent of Pakistan are held hostage when the provincial assemblies of Pakistan from smaller provinces having about 40 percent people of Pakistan overbear Punjab where majority of the people reside. It appears thus that the fate of a national project could always be decided by 40 percent people of Pakistan and not by the 100 percent people of Pakistan by a majority vote. Thus a minority rule would lord over the majority people of Pakistan.
This is also repugnant to Islamic injunction in Sura 42 Al-Shurah, verse 38, wherein it is prescribed that affairs of Muslims are to be decided by mutual consultation of the people i.e., of a country in totality and not by consent of the minority of people residing in certain parts of Pakistan designated as provinces which would denigrate the collective will of the people of Pakistan. The smaller units can always gang up against the larger units with majority of people. That is why national issues are always decided by a national referendum and not by provincial assemblies.
The bane of democratic order of Pakistan lies in a built-in fault along provincial lines that would never result in a decision by the people of Pakistan at large, and which needs to be corrected by judicious interpretation of the constitution by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in vital national interests.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
This is a government, like that of Mush because both were governments "of the corrupt, by the corrupt and for the corrupt". Both have given this country nothing but misery and death. What Pakistan desperately needs is RULE OF LAW, STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY and JUSTICE FOR ALL.
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