The need to put the house in order
Perhaps implying democracy was in danger was going a step too far, but there was some sense in Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s speech at the National Assembly the other day. There are definitely strains on democracy. But those are not the kind that require making “a front for democracy”, rather developing a service delivery framework that directly impacts the people. Representative government must be seen improving lives of people. So far the government’s focus has been institutional superiority. But mere transfer of power means little to the man on the street. And if he remains disenfranchised, the ‘democratic system’ will indeed be derailed.
Mehmood Khan was also spot on that we need to turn our energies inwards, suggesting, of course, that our focus now must move away from threats across eastern and western borders, and putting the house in order must take precedence. And would that he could really, like he said, get Hamid Karzai or Abdullah Abdullah to sign a non-interference commitment. There are too many preventive layers. Both countries’ agencies support proxies against each other, and, just like Achakzai said, both host sanctuaries on their sides of the border.
Unwinding this web will take deep rooted government and institutional engagement. The region will turn a new leaf when the Americans leave later this year, and a security vacuum will develop along the Durand Line. It is in both countries’ interest to go the extra mile to ensure that the transition is handled amicably. Both countries face insurgencies that can tear societal fabric apart if not handled properly. And if these problems snowball, then democracy will indeed be in jeopardy, and not just in Pakistan.
This is the sort of advice the PM should receive from his closer circle of advisors.
