Democracy in Pakistan – a rudderless boat

“We try to imitate our erstwhile rulers, the British, but forget the ground realities. The parliamentary system in Europe strengthened on the force of industrialisation and recourse to modern technology.”

What is happening in Pakistan in the name of democracy is abominable. The institution of parliamentary democracy in the country has been subjected to personal objectives of vested interest groups. It is imperative to find out new means of democratic empowerment of the people at the grass root level. The meaning of ‘democratic empowerment’ differs sharply depending on whether one refers to a predominantly aggregative, or a predominantly integrative strategy of empowerment. In our dear homeland, Parliamentary democracy has always had problems of legitimacy which derive from the inherent problem of establishing a relationship of trust between the representative and the ones who are represented by them.

Therefore, it would be more precise to define the current situation as intensifying the inherent problems of legitimacy. A number of reasons account for this, namely: the increasing role of the mass media has eroded the public debate; the erosion of middle class in Pakistan has upset the true representative basis of parliamentary democracy. The emergence of economic crisis amid galloping increase in the size of the population and the scourge of terrorism from abroad and within, have made it difficult for the politicians to satisfy the high expectations of the people as regards provision of food, education, healthcare, housing, employment and other public services. The current situation not only threatens to undermine the foundations of parliamentary democracy but the very survival of the State is at stake too.

Democracy holds no meaning for a labourer who is not paid wage as per Government rates. The poor cannot challenge the high-handedness of the entrepreneur. The state machinery set up to monitor implementation of laws is corrupt to the hilt. The dispensation of justice is too lengthy, cumbersome and expensive that a poor man would prefer to die in helplessness rather than knocking the door of a court.

The woes of democracy faced by the people of Pakistan are too diverse and contradictory. We try to imitate our erstwhile rulers, the British, but forget the ground realities. The parliamentary system in Europe strengthened on the force of industrialisation and recourse to modern technology. This is not to infer that Pakistan is not suitable for democracy. No enlightened person can be protagonist of military rule or advocating the legitimacy of military interventions. The point is simple: Any system that does not deliver to the common man should be amended, improved or discarded altogether and replaced with a workable clean and transparent system with no sacred cows. Need of the time is to start independent discourse to work out a credible and acceptable solution to rid the national malaise perpetrated in the guise of democracy. It is time to think and remodel our national priorities lest it is too late for everyone.