Dark and Dull Democracy

More than democracy, Pakistan is ruled by military dictatorships. The founder of Pakistan after founding this country said, military has nothing to do with politics . Jinnah believed that Islam taught us about the values of democracy such as equality, justice, and tolerance almost fourteen hundred years ago . but out of 74 years of its creation , almost 32 year this country is rule by military. First military dictator was Field Martial Ayub Khan who ruled from 1958 and 1969 and his tenure is called decade of development. After him , another dictator General Yahya Khan came into power untill 1971 when East Pakistan got separated. Third military dictator was General Zia-Ul-Haq who remained president from 1977 to 1988 when he died in plane crash near Bahawalpur .And the last dictator was General Pervez Musharaff who dissolved assemblies and overthrow government of Nawaz Sharif. He dictate from 1999-2008. During all these dictatorships, all political parties remained banned. Democracy remained dull during all these dictatorial period. Pakistan cannot be called a democratic country till now in the true sense because it does not provide the decision making power to the elected representatives. There is still the influence of military power over the political decisions

Weak political parties cannot strengthen the Democracy. From 1948 to 1958 eight governments were changed. After that there was not a single democratically elected president who competed his tenure expect Asif ali Zardari in the history of Pakistan. There were corrupt politicians in the weak political parties who were engaged in white collar crimes. Different parties used different cards for the acquisition of their votes. In interior Sindh, there are feudal lords who are dominated that region since long . This is not democracy. Political leaders come in public to get votes but once they came in power they try keeping themselves at distance from common citizens.

Zia used islamization for his regime. He was in favour of Nizam-e- Mustafa. Nusrat Bhutto, former wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto claimed that Zia “used Islam” to ensure “the survival of his own regime. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zakat charitable donations became a 2.5% annual tax. School textbooks and libraries were overhauled to remove un-Islamic material. Offices, schools, and factories were required to offer praying space. Zia bolstered the influence of the ulama (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. But the point that made difference was that he used Sunni version of Islam .Shia-Sunni religious riots broke out over differences in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) . . sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias taking place . The Ahmadis, whose members include “many leading scientists and professionals”, complain that under Zia they have been “removed from jobs and charge that their property and mosques have been seized. Democratic country must protect this right of its citizens without any Discrimination

Election rigging is an another hurdle in democracy .May 2013 elections PMLN got majority Votes and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as a second major party in the country. After 2013 Elections PTI chairman Imran Khan blamed that the elections were rigged. Later in 2018, when Imran khan become PM ,PLMN said election were rigged . This is not how democracy flourished.

Another obstacle in the way of democracy that is the gap between Political elite and public. Politicians are seen before the elections and once they get their vote they disappeared. They don’t listen to their problems and can’t solve them. Democracy rulers are accountable for Their actions to the general public . They become autocrat and do what they like.
Benazir Bhutto struggled a lot for the development of democracy in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto fought against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq for the Restoration of democracy. In her whole life, she tried to provide basic facilities and to ensure the welfare of The people of Pakistan

Judiciary is regarded as one of the fundamental essentials of democracy. It ensures timely and fair justice to each and every citizen of the society irrespective of any colour,creed ,status or privileges. This is because the judiciary is to determine any particular happening based on factual pieces of evidence . This adds to the beauty of Democracy as it demoralizes illegitimacy . May be we had paralyzed judicial system and that’s why democracy got parlayed.

Last but not the least Education affects democracy. A well educated nation can elect a veracious leader. How can public that themselves are unaware of national and international politics can select a dependable leader . A person can’t select his leader who is even unable to knows his and his leader’s rights and duties. Democracy is strong in those countries where public is well-informed about pros and cons of governance. An unaware public is another hurdle for our strong democracy.