Democracy, transparency and turmoil in Pakistan
Dr. Jassim Taqui
Today, Pakistan is going through unprecedented turmoil in its history. Its people are suffering as a result of the rampant corruption and bad governance over the years.
Pakistan emerged as a beacon of hope for the Muslims in the Subcontinent, with democratic dispensation as its polity.
The Founder of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made it clear from the very inception of the newly found state: that it would follow a democratic system. He went on to state that the main reason behind the creation of Pakistan was to protect human rights and minorities.
Jinnah said, “Make no mistake that Pakistan was NOT created to be a theocracy.” In his address to the Constituent Assembly on 11th August, 1947, Jinnah said: “You are free: you are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, or caste or creed- that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
Unfortunately, Jinnah did not live long enough to build up a strong democratic base. General Ayub Khan made the first coup in 1958, and continued to rule through rigged elections until he was forced to resign following a popular uprising in 1969.
The 11 year rule of General Ayub Khan created the so-called Military Establishment, which has emerged to be the decision maker.
In 1970, the only fair elections were held in Pakistan, which were won by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman of Awami League. However, the Punjabi bureaucracy refused to hand power to the winning party. The subsequent unrest resulted in the 1971 war with India.
East Pakistan was lost while Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ruled West Pakistan, as a martial law administrator, Prime Minister and President.
Turmoil re-emerged when Bhutto rigged the 1975 elections. The religious parties formed the Pakistan National Alliance, and started agitation which resulted in the imposition of Martial Law by General Zia ul Haq in 1975. Bhutto was hanged subsequently in 1979, creating unrest and instability until General Zia ul Haq died on 17th August 1988 as a result of a mysterious air crash.
From 1988 to date, Pakistan’s People Party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz have alternately ruled Pakistan. Each party secretly contacted the army to topple the ruling party. Consequently, the army has emerged as undisputed decision maker in the country.
In April 2016, the Panama Leaks disclosed hundreds of thousands of documents showing involvement of all Pakistani political parties in massive corruption and money laundering to the tune of $200 billion.
According to the official statistics of National Bank of Pakistan, the country’s total domestic and foreign debts stand at $358 billion. In 2013, the country was on the verge of default, forcing the government to knock the doors of IMF, which agreed to a bail-out package of $6.7 billion just to service Pakistan’s annual debts.
The IMF unfairly states that only 2 percent of the people of Pakistan pay their taxes. The fact of the matter is that, 2 percent of the rich people are NOT paying taxes while 98 percent of the poor ARE paying direct and indirect taxes.
Evidently, the failure of the democratic system is attributed to lack of transparency, duality of power and inability of the civilian and military rulers to share power.
The failure of the democratic system in Pakistan qualifies to be a case study that covers all failed democratic dispensations the world over. However, the system needs massive reforms.
It is estimated that 85 percent of the members of the parliament are feudal lords or their representatives, who would win every election. Thus the status quo continues to prevail in the country. An amendment in the constitution is needed to rid the parliament of the feudal lords and to ensure genuine representation of the people of Pakistan. Furthermore, Local body elections need to be reformed to establish democracy at grass-root levels.
Another set of reforms should be introduced to strengthen the national institutions by making them autonomous and free from government’s control or interference.
The Judiciary needs to be delinked from Executive and Legislative control. Most importantly, the Judiciary should be totally depoliticized.
Transparency, which is the pillar of any democratic system, MUST be followed to ensure good governance. The misuse of power by rulers, warrants that a law should be made at provincial and federal levels to ensure that, no ruler be allowed to contest elections, if his election involves a clash of interest between his post and his business interests.
Fortunately, the present Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif categorically stated his disinterest in politics. The new reform should ensure delinking the army from politics while recognizing its due role in decision making in matters pertaining to security, defence and counter terrorism.
Pakistan also needs moral support of the International community since it is a front-line state in the War Against Terrorism, and has tremendously suffered as a consequence.
Pakistan has enormous potential for investment in infrastructure, energy, industry, raw materials, agriculture and water resources. It needs political stability and a sustained democratic system to realize its true potential and to usher Pakistan into a new era of rediscovering its identity as perceived by Jinnah.
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