Contrary to the true application of democracy in its real essence, the democratic culture in Pakistan and Afghanistan is confined only to the quantitative representation of the people and neglects its qualitative aspects, thus depriving the populations in both the countries of their civil, economic and political rights.
Jami Chandio, a renowned writer and a political expert, stated this while speaking at the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) 7th Pak-Afghan youth training workshop held here under its Afghan Studies Centre initiative. The event saw the participation of several young Pakistani and Afghan students and professionals.
Chandio, who was the chief guest on the occasion, explained that the spirit of democracy was not confined to any single geographical entity or civilisation. Rather, it was a universal human concept which existed in one form or the other in civilisations all over the world, and evolved over time to take its present-day form.
He stated that the human civilisation had broadly witnessed three major periods of transition, starting by making progress from hunter-gatherer groups to tribal communities, monarchies and, consequently, empires where humans became subjects to sovereigns and the concept of free people seized to exist.
The oppression under such a political order culminated in the age of reason which pushed the thought process towards a system that could represent the wishes of the people, such as the modern democratic system.
Fast forwarding a few centuries, Chandio, while emphasising the importance of a constitution to lay down the foundation of a democratic system, said that Pakistan inherited its constitutional framework from the Government of India Act, 1935. Unfortunately, it took nine long years for the newly independent state to formulate its first Constitution which further underwent several more amendments until 1973 when the Constituent Assembly unanimously passed Pakistan’s existing Constitution which was still in force today.
Of the existing models of democracy in the world, such as liberal democracy, social democracy, and people’s democracy, Afghanistan and Pakistan fall under the category of transitional democracies. Speaking in the context of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Chandio stated that both countries could currently be described as oligarchies controlled by the elites.
Additionally, both these countries also faced common challenges, such as economic disparity, poverty, intolerance, gender inequality, sectarian violence, ethnic divisions, radicalisation, and terrorism, which could only be addressed through consolidation of a true constitutional democracy in the two countries.
Further, Chandio said that conflict was another major mutual challenge, adding that democracy provided a peaceful means to the resolution of disputes and conflicts as it was an auto-dynamic system and could evolve on its own.
Democracy was not only a political system but it was also the process of social education, training, and evolution, he said. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have to understand the needs of contemporary times, he added.
In conclusion, Chandio remarked that democracy was very significant for both Pakistan and Afghanistan as it was the only viable way forward for an egalitarian society, and the key to true democracy was the continuity and evolution of the system.
The participants commended the efforts of CRSS for organising the workshop and sharing such useful knowledge with them over the important issue of national governance.
