Executive Summary – Pakistan has been in quest for stable democratic system from its very inception. The process of its democratization has been slow and passive. Its nature has remained fragile. It has been showing high vulnerability towards non democratic interventions. Besides, it has been easily falling prey to non civilian forces. As a result, Pakistan has been continuously failing to offer what a democracy promises.
Such pathetic scenario has various reasons behind it at all three levels: State, government and society. This Essay attempts to pin point and analyze the reasons behind such fragile and weak nature of democracy in Pakistan and extends recommendations along with identifying various means and players especially youth for strengthening democratic process in Pakistan to make it promising and delivering. Introduction. – From very its start, Pakistan has choiced democratic form of government for itself.
Its founders had ardently supported and emphasized for democratic system that could ideally permeate the governance structure and body politic of Pakistan; Quaid Azam Muhammd Ali Jinnah’s speech at the Staff College on June 14, 1948 is the witness of his staunch support for democracy as corresponding structure for the polity of Pakistan to make it people friendly and welfare state. However, it is an other fact that Quaid Azam Muhammd Ali Jinnah himself laid the foundation of non-democratic trends through centralizing structure of Muslim Leauge, dissolving non democratically Sindh Assembly and Ministry of Khan Sahab in NWFP in 1948 .
The Term Paper on Hurdles Impeding Development of Pakistan
... Musharraf, the military has claimed its central position in Pakistan’s state structure and political scene. Similar to the present situation Judiciary ... the representative authority did not provide much hope of a democratic state that provided socio-economic justice and fair administration ... of time seen almost every sort of government from democracy to monarchy, has been invaded a number of times, ...
Despite all this, what he choiced and dreamt for Pakistan about system is undoubtedly democracy. But unfortunately being constitutionally a democratic country, Pakistan entirely fails to offer what constitutional democracies offer viz, sovereign parliament, free, fair and regular elections, supremacy of constitution, independent Judiciary, rule of law, civilian control over the armed forces, political life free from military involvement, safety to minority rights, provision of basic human needs and guarantee of freedoms of movement, expression, association and assembly.
Contrary to dreams ,hopes and promises ,What Pakistan offers is the chequered history of democracy and unstable democratic process. Ironically, the country’s constitution has been abrogated twice (1958 and 1969) and suspended thrice (1977, 1999 and 2007) . More than half of its political life has been encroached by military generals. Five elected governments have been removed by army. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of political vibrancy, mass based politics and giver of Atomic power to Pakistan was ruthlessly executed through judicial murder.
Ex-prime ministers, and Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto were exiled. Causes: Nothing exists without any reason in universe; creation of everything carries reason with itself. More ever, According to principle of “Cause and Effect” unless the root causes of any problem are not accurately identified and thoroughly diagnosed, problem can’t be solved on sustainable basis. Therefore, let’s find and discuss the causes behind such weak, vulnerable and dented face and status of democracy in Pakistan and try to reach at workable solutions.
Colonial Inheritances and Institutional Imbalance. From time of its very creation, Pakistan has been experiencing institutional imbalance. Its roots go back to British period. Pakistan inherited administrative, political and legal legacies of British period . From political and adminstrative legacies point of view, Pakistan inherited high institutional imbalance characterized with strong and organized civil and military bureaucracies, weak1 Political institutions and non-democratic political parties.
The Essay on To what extent do political parties promote democracy?
Political parties have many functions, one of which is to uphold the principles of a democratic political system. A democratic political system is one which involves various features, such as a peaceful transition of power from one government to another, free and fair regular elections, people having open access to independent information, government accountability to the people and representative ...
As a result, it lacked strong, dynamic and sustainable political institutions which could hold regular elections based on universal franchise, could build trust of masses into democracy, could protect democratic process against constitutional transgression and could provide a conducive environment for democracy to flourish and could correspond to desires and aspirations of masses.
Muslim Leauge which is credited to creation of Pakistan was a movement not a well-structured and deeply rooted political entity2 that could offer post partition program, could counter the power of army and bureaucracy and could offer corresponding structure to desires and needs of masses after the partition. Besides, League was non democratic in its nature led by elitists3. Consequently, It could not produce first line aswell second line leadership embedded with love for democratic norms and values in particular and overall democratic culture in general .
In this backdrop, administrative supremacy coupled with absence of elections based on universal franchise4 in particular and lack of democratic culture and process in general facilitated bureaucrats to rein the country from 1947 to 1958. Their periods is characterized with dummy and rubber stamped parliaments, abrupt and non democratic dissolutions of assemblies, political intrigues, bickering and quarrelling, inefficiency, abrupt and fast changes of regimes.
