Future of Democracy in Pakistan

Secondly, the politicians too have mostly resisted changes in the system and have opted not to let go off their powers and stronghold of their respective politically influenced areas. A practice of reserving seats and using unfair means to support their agendas is something that dents the very concept of democracy. Running election campaigns in regards with ethnicity, creed and religion, is what most politicians do which violates the fairness and standards of elections which therefore results in important designations being occupied by people not worthy of them. Hence, political leaders and parties resist the proper implementation of democracy in the governmental system.

Thirdly, the military interventions in the country’s organizational system have been a common exercise in the past.it might be because of the fact that the psyche and approach of a soldier and a civilian differs from each other. Martial law enforcers Field Marshall Ayub Khan, Generals Zia Ul haq and Pervaiz Musharaf overthrew civilian regimes just because they deemed them not worthy or competent to efficiently run a system as complex as Pakistan’s. This may be the reason why many previous democratic governments have failed to complete their terms.

Lastly, corruption is a big threat and a termite that has been feeding itself in the name of democracy in Pakistan. It is undoubtedly the biggest reason why impartiality and equality have failed to muster up a place in the system. Lack of transparency in the elections and growing rate of dishonesty and venality by government authorities and administrative bodies continue to harm the prospects of true democracy in the country. From nepotism to red-tapism and from fraud to deception a chain of vicious socio-political evils take birth from a tiny seed of corruption. This might be the reason why Pakistan; 5^th biggest democratic nation, is ranked 103^rd in the list of true democratic states and in light of that, 113^th in the list of poverty struck countries of the world; according the Wall Street Jounal report of May 2013.

The ‘Islamic’ republic of Pakistan is a country fuelled by the strength of its state religion Islam. Its ideology and laws are al a fruit bore from the religion it was achieved in the name of. Therefore, this becomes a reason why its populace requires a system which ensures equality and liberty, kept in accordance with the regulations and decrees of Islam. In Islam, the concept of democracy revolves around two factors:

1.      Islam should be a country’s state religion.

2.      The source of laws, legislations and regulations are to be adopted and derived from Quran, Sunnah and Shariah.

Fortunately, Pakistan abides by both these principles, but what differentiates Islamic democracy from modern world democracy is the selection of leaders and their characters. The Islamic democracy is a mirror to the Caliphate system which has been practices by the Muslims for centuries. Implementation of early laws and decrees from the orthodox caliphates’ period into modern democracy is something that should be tried to achieve and adopted.

This forms a rather strange border between Islamic democracy and the modern democracy. While modern democracy employs a rule of general elections and participation, caliphs used to nominate and forward a leader worthy of ruling a nation. Apart from that, limitations and rigid regulations hold a very important stature in Islamic democracy while modern democracy practices secular and pluralistic ideologies. This provides a reason for loopholes in the modern democracy which is why it is opposed by many people.

The first one is the rule of the elite or ‘Elite Theorism’. Modern democracy in Pakistan has seen a norm of the rich or the influential ruling the poor. Looking back into the history, the only four times civilian governments are formed are shared by just two political parties; twice by each. This results in the fact that with democracy, the poor or the under-privileged, no matter how efficient, will never get a chance to rule or to govern.

The second one is the unfair rule of majority. Whenever a political party in Pakistan wins the elections and forms a government, it becomes the major authority of issuing laws and directives. The parties in minority who object to these regulations or changes are considered as ‘opposition’, whose role is to merely make the major party reconsider, not change or alter the issuance of a particular legislation. This is the reason why many legislatures and laws in the west are passed due to personal gains and benefits, not for the general well-being of the people. For example, inter-gender marriages is solely an individual’s personal issue, not in any way a social necessity or need, yet Minnesota has become the 13^th state in the United States to have legalized it. Such unaccounted freedom of using one’s power a majority is termed as a defect in the modern democracy and its failure here in Pakistan.

This does not deny the fact that democracy and its implications cannot be fixed or improved. A feature of democracy is its ability to mold itself according to the requirements of a nation. Therefore, by turning its flaws into certain changes or varieties, we can construct a system of our own liking.

One, transparency, fairness and rigidity in the elections are the prime necessities for true democracy to prevail in Pakistan. The elections of 2008 and 2013 were reported with insurmountable acquisitions of rigging and mismanagement. Strict and meticulous polling systems need to be employed.

Two, equality of participation and authority should be maneuvered. The ‘rule of the elite’ theory negates the very definition of democracy and certain measures need to be taken to provide balance of power and control to the law making and political bodies.