- Having suicidal flag bearers
A weak branch, with too many vultures sitting on it, is bound to break and fall.
The aforementioned, apparently, seems to be synonymous with the condition of democracy in Pakistan at present. Whereas democracy, throughout our ironic political history, has remained weak, and never had the opportunity to prosper, this time there is an aberration from the trends of the past. While in the past the civil, and military establishment, combined with the international invisible hand were blamed, and perhaps responsible for the destabilisation of democracy in Pakistan, at present the credit for the same, perhaps, goes to the very political democratic forces claiming to be its flag bearers.
Ever since the demise of Benazir Bhutto, the role of institutions, be it the military, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, or the media, has been nothing less than an encouragement, supporting the then ailing democracy, and acknowledging the long ignored reality of democracy being the way forward for Pakistan. Opposed to this acknowledgement and support from other pillars of the state, however, the role of political parties, claiming day in and out to be the flag bearers of democracy’s cause, has rather been disappointing, and is a major cause for the deterioration of amateur democracy’s health.
The assassination of former prime minister and chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto provided democracy with yet another opportunity to flourish, and prove its worth across the board following the decade long rule of dictatorship under General Pervez Musharraf; something ironically the incoming PPP leadership could not capitalise on succumbing to poor governance, and outrageous corruption.
Pity our mistaken nation misguided by the assumption that only a s/elected few are the face of democracy; well, they are not. Democracy’s future, rather, lies in the hands of the public
Choosing evolution over revolution, through the transfer of power to PML-N in 2013, despite the sufferings of the public, the democratic transition through elections was a breath of fresh air for the political, and civil circles. The five year tenure of democracy, however, once again has ended with the party’s leadership caught in severe corruption charges facing off with NAB, and other institutions. With nothing at hand, the self-proclaimed democratic leadership is crying out loud for being politically victimised amid its ground breaking initiatives that have resulted in economic turnaround of the country.
With a decline in the popularity graphs of both, the PPP and the PML-N, the opportunity, at present, lies with the Imran Khan lead Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to do justice to the cause of democracy; since the nation in general, and democracy in particular, are left with only this option. In view of recent developments pertaining to the inclusion of electables; whom Mr Khan throughout his political career used to blame to be the root cause of all political problems; and the irregularity in distribution of party tickets for the upcoming general elections, however, the PTI appears to be just another political party focused on winning the elections, and coming into power.
Having mastered the politics of U-turns, Khan himself seems to have killed the dream of his Naya Pakistan, by filling his bottle with the same old wine instead of bringing forward the youth, and the new faces to the political stage as promised all along.
The political figures, and parties, ironically, fail to understand that it’s not just the talk, and tall claims of democracy that will deliver the results in the long run, but the true spirit of democracy lies in empowering the common man; what cannot be achieved without promoting good governance, establishing the rule of law, and providing economic opportunities at all levels; and to deliver all of these, it is imperative for all political parties to inject democratic values in their own rows first. For our political system to be strong, the political parties must not roam around individual figures, but be driven forward by their democratic ideologies, values, and practices; at present what enormously lacks.
Come what may post the general elections 2018, what our democratic structure needs is an urgent renovation to fix the removable faults, prior to the point in time when there remains no option but to take down the old rotten, and irreparable building, and make way for an entirely new one.
Let us remind ourselves of the bitter fact that change through revolution rather than evolution comes at a hefty price, in Pakistan’s case what we all will have to bear collectively as a nation subject to democracy’s failure; something that, seeing the prevailing circumstances, resembles very much the writing on the wall.
Pity our mistaken nation misguided by the assumption that only a s/elected few are the face of democracy; well, they are not. Democracy’s future, rather, lies in the hands of the public which carries the power to vote. Ensuring its wise use will only safeguard democracy’s future, not self-proclaimed democratic forces. For democracy, the center of power is never the king, but the king-maker i.e. the public.
So vote wisely, and for the wise; just in case you don’t find one, be that one!
Failing to play our respective roles, and choosing to flow with the current tides, Pakistan might have to host a future that is out of room for democracy.
