Politics in Pakistan

Political climate has changed in Pakistan and along with it the affiliation and loyalty of the political leadership. Since the time of General Musharraf who deposed the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan has been facing political and institutional crisis. Democracy is deliberately derailed in the name of the interests of the people. Political instability and loss of social order defines the climate. The recent Failed States Index has placed Pakistan at 12 with a total of 100.1 points. It even scores less than Bangladesh in the ranking of Failed States. The question one might ask why despite of various paradoxes, Indian democracy has become sturdier over time while the democracy in Pakistan has been struggling to survive. The reasons could be two fold – (1) history of military, and (2) nature of political leadership.

As the history of Pakistan tells us the Military has, unlike India, remained active and constantly interfered in its political affairs. The military intervention has often resulted in the replacement of legitimate regimes (may not be stable) elected by the peoples of Pakistan. It has interfered in the process of consolidation and deepening of the institutions of democracy with heavy hands. Coercion and control replaced the politics of consent and compromise. The question is who decides what is good for the people? Is it the army or the populist leaders of a corrupt political structure? Have ever the people gotten the chance to decide the fate of the country? Definitely yes through controlled elections! But the nature of participation of the people is not free of coercion. They are told to be free but the dynamics of power structure and the politics of control remain omnipresent. Pritish Nandy says that “Freedom is like virginity. You either have it or you don’t. There are no in-betweens. You can’t promise freedom with clauses and caveats”. And same is the case in Pakistan. There has never been a free and fair election or the people are never allowed to express things the way they want. The vested interest politicians and power brokers join hands, in the name of people, for the realization of private interests. This is similar in case of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who used to be known for their political rivalry, are now coming together to fight for the return of democracy in Pakistan. It remains to be seen how genuine their interest is? In the Charter of Democracy, though Benazir Bhutto calls for a commission to fix responsibility for what happened in Kargil, she seemed reluctant to take the name of General Musharraf in an interview with Karan Thapar in Devil’s Advocate and people also say that “she is quietly doing a deal with him on the side". I would not be surprised if Benazir Bhutto or Nawaz Sharif joins General Musharraf in name of establishing “Democracy” in Pakistan. The answer lies with time....