Since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Pakistan’s democratic process has never been able to maintain itself for long periods of time. The constitutional process itself has been the victim of interference by military and civil dictatorships that have meant that it has never been given the chance to develop into a set of mature democratic institutions. Besides this institutional damage to the democracy, there are a range of other anti-democratic forces, including more than a few people who do not want to see democracy succeed, and have continually campaigned against it. This last group comes in many forms – on the one hand, we can see the so-called educated members of the Hizbut Tahrir, with their sophisticated approach of targeting educational institutions and influential media figures to convince them about the damages caused by democracy to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and how their favoured alternative to democracy - the ‘Khilafa’ system - can resolve all the issues faced by the Pakistani society. On the other hand, by contrast, there is the rather ruthless Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who openly declared a war against democracy by calling it a ‘system of infidels’ and by targeting and killing various prominent members of the political parties.
These anti-democratic forces have no idea what damage they have already caused to the state of Pakistan. Probably worst of this damage is the lack of confidence that ordinary people have in the democratic system. The total voter turnout in 2008 election was 44.55% - a shockingly low turnout compared to the neighbouring Bangladesh where it was 85.26%. Such a low turnout ratio is detrimental for any aspiring democratic state. Looking at these numbers, it is clear that, if we want democracy to succeed, every effort must be made to motivate the citizens to participate in the electoral process. No matter what political parties they support, the key is not to ignore the fact that in such a system, they are the true agents of change and without their participation the status quo in Pakistan will remain the same. The civil society and media have got to be proactive to raise political awareness and the government itself must ensure that the voters are facilitated in every possible way to increase the turn out for the coming elections.
The famously acerbic British satirist and playwright George Bernard Shaw once remarked that ‘democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve’ – but in this case ordinary Pakistan do deserve to be governed well, and have demonstrated their desire to govern themselves in a democratic way, for their will and aspirations to be empowered and embodied in effective politic decision-making. Today, Pakistan may have a number of problems but one of the beauties of democracy is that there are structures and processes in place to deal with these problems; there is a free and fair media to raise questions and concerns about each and every dubious act of the government, there is an independent judiciary who is empowered enough to prosecute the Prime Minister of the country, and in contrast to the dictatorial regimes, the elected government did not try to prolong their due span of governance with any lame excuses. As we noted in the introduction, these processes have suffered in Pakistan at the hands of those who’d undermine them, but they are still very much alive and present in the country.
All the anti-democratic forces in Pakistan are still busy spreading their misleading narratives across the country, warning of contradiction of democratic principles with their reading of Islamic thought. The people of Pakistan must refuse and reject those narratives. Pakistan was envisioned and founded by a man who was a great supporter of democracy. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam always believed that the conception of modern democracy is based on the Islamic principles of a welfare state.
Today, when I find anti-democracy rhetoric resonating in Pakistan by certain groups, I end up wondering who created this divide between democratic principles and Islam. My view is not very different from the view of the founder of Pakistan and which is:
"Democracy is in the blood of Musalmans [Muslims], who look upon complete equality of manhood [mankind]…[and] believe in fraternity, equality and liberty." [Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah]
The famously acerbic British satirist and playwright George Bernard Shaw once remarked that ‘democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve’ – but in this case ordinary Pakistan do deserve to be governed well, and have demonstrated their desire to govern themselves in a democratic way, for their will and aspirations to be empowered and embodied in effective politic decision-making. Today, Pakistan may have a number of problems but one of the beauties of democracy is that there are structures and processes in place to deal with these problems; there is a free and fair media to raise questions and concerns about each and every dubious act of the government, there is an independent judiciary who is empowered enough to prosecute the Prime Minister of the country, and in contrast to the dictatorial regimes, the elected government did not try to prolong their due span of governance with any lame excuses. As we noted in the introduction, these processes have suffered in Pakistan at the hands of those who’d undermine them, but they are still very much alive and present in the country.
All the anti-democratic forces in Pakistan are still busy spreading their misleading narratives across the country, warning of contradiction of democratic principles with their reading of Islamic thought. The people of Pakistan must refuse and reject those narratives. Pakistan was envisioned and founded by a man who was a great supporter of democracy. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam always believed that the conception of modern democracy is based on the Islamic principles of a welfare state.
Today, when I find anti-democracy rhetoric resonating in Pakistan by certain groups, I end up wondering who created this divide between democratic principles and Islam. My view is not very different from the view of the founder of Pakistan and which is:
"Democracy is in the blood of Musalmans [Muslims], who look upon complete equality of manhood [mankind]…[and] believe in fraternity, equality and liberty." [Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah]
Rehman Anwer
