Democracy that Pakistan struggles for

What do we lack?

Pakistan was set up as a democratic state at the time of its independence. Inspite of having religion as state ideology in its foundational roots, Jinnah declared it to be a democratic regime. And later it adopted a parliamentary state structure. International community measures the status of a nation state through the lens of procedural democracy (political representation through elections). Every government that has been elected since 1947 was elected with the will of people through elections, like other countries in the world. But the question is if Pakistan already has a democratic structure. Why is it that every single political party is affirming the existing democratic structure in Pakistan? Why democracy as an ideal form of government has failed to satisfy our nation? Why do Imran Khan and Tahirul-Qadri draw parallels between democratic regime of Pakistan and monarchy? What kind of democracy are we pugnacious for?

Pakistan’s problem is that its politics is a puppet of the upper class. Not even a single individual in political hierarchy of Pakistan belongs to the middle class. Most of the opulent in Pakistani politics are feudal lords and business tycoons. Politics is a way to achieve dosh and eminence. Not only that but the politics of Pakistan presents a true picture of dynastic rule which transfers from one generation to the next and is confined within the family. Any commonplace individual with middle class background cannot even think of to taking part in Pakistani politics as to cross the threshold of national politics one needs to have strong political and financial support. So, the brawl of these opulent for democracy makes no sense. The struggle of political elites for democracy is to save their own houses. Our politicians are lamenting on the rigging in the last elections and are demanding mid-term elections. Every single politician not only entitles himself as a curator of democracy but is struggling to maintain the transparency of procedural democracy to convey a positive image of the State before international community.

Our opulent class involved in politics wants to wrap the feudalism and class discrimination in a cover of procedural democracy. We are neglecting the substantive democracy. Procedural democracy is of no use until or unless it provides the citizens with basic human rights and establishment of a classless society. All those people who support or associate themselves with “Inqilab March” and “Azadi March” must reconsider their choices.

Another quandary of Pakistan is the nation itself, which is fond of experimentation. Time and again the nation trusts new faces and pins its hopes for a revolution on new leaders. There are examples of how badly the nation has been taken advantage of and exploited in the past, all in the name of revolution and prosperity. Revolutions can neither be a product of one day’s effort nor an overnight change.

These new revolutionaries will not bring revolution and they are not even capable of doing so. None of them is ready to bargain. They are in a state of war, a tussle in power politics. Political elites are bothered about human rights to naught. Our so called political cream which calls themselves as custodians of the rights of Pakistanis are busy in their marches, whereas hundreds of people in KP have become victims of bad weather. They are not perturbed about the national security and territorial integrity. Our armed forces are fighting on the western border and instead of boosting their morale, our leaders are creating a catch-22 for Pakistan by creating political instability. Those who are least bothered about our national security, how can we risk handing over the whole governance system of the state to them? I am not sure about the revolution but the present conditions are reflecting acrimonious reality of our political leadership which is hell-bent to paint the picture of Pakistan as a rogue state on international canvas.

Being a democratic nation, we can’t accept martial law in any form. Like every civilised nation, we see democracy as an only way out towards perpetual peace and harmony, but the truth, which may sound weird and is unacceptable to a majority of the people, is that procedural democracy in the absence of substantive democracy (a true form of democracy based on justice and equality) is worse than military dictatorship. We need to have a substantive democracy as portrayed by Ibrahim Lincoln; a state that comprises of classless society, free from racism and internal divisions of religion, a state which would be a reflection of democratic regime in its true sense. This can only be conceivable if we get ourselves out of the romanticism and illusion and stop following our leadership blindly. If we want to progress as a democratic regime in the world, we have to follow the footsteps of the developed countries. And for that we need a rational and pragmatic approach.