Mohan
Kothekar
Writer and Blogger
Pakistan, the carved out babe from British India, the
nation emerging with leaps and bumps, is gradients toward democratic mellow.
The country had so far confronted with four dictatorships and was anticipating
additionally from General Raheel Sharif to counter infamous Panama paper leak.
Leisured but consistently the democracy has strengthened in the mind and heart
of the general public. A country down memory lane mulish alike North Korea
appears to have embraced people’s verdict that emerged from the heated live
debate over TV channels. The latest electronic contrivances have transfigured
the globe into small wick; the iron curtains are evanescing. Prof Kelly Meier deservedly articulated that
political infrastructure, people’s participation, protection of rights, legal
process is the basic requirement of society for democracy; federalism, education,
judicial-election-vigilance-ombudsman’s independence and executive powers
strengthen it. Thus executive,
legislature, judiciary and media are the four pillars and are equally important
for any democratic system.
Former Pakistan Chief Justice I. M. Chaudhry, who was
suspended on March 9 2007, has been evoked by Ex-Military Ruler and Ex President,
and, the government decided to form a high-level judicial commission to probe
Panama papers are the milestones of democratic emergence; it happened due to nationwide
popular mass protest. Nevertheless, the
people at large tried to instigate General Raheel Sharif to take over the
government control after the Panama leak, and also Musharraf’s utterance
regarding Raheel’s support during his escape from Pakistan, are the hurdle in reinforcement
of democracy. Smart phone, Whats App,
Instagram, Skype, internet, etc are the democratic tools at the hands of the general
public to transfer news at the lightening speed.
Over the globe, barring a few, most
of the countries willingly embraced one or other form of democracy. Madeleine Al-bright, first woman US Secretary
of State, once said “what people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability
to change.” Healthy democracy constantly
consorted with people’s involvement and their verdict. “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter,” Winston Churchill stated. In the recent past, the gush of large scale
exodus of migrants from uncivilized, autocratic and dogmatic nations to
European countries displays not only desirous for civilization, human rights
and the rule of the law to flourish, but strong approbation for democratic
norms. History depicts dictatorship ensues
into almost non-existence of a nation.
“A totalitarian dictatorship cannot explain; it can only suppress,”
author Robert Payne quoted. Democracy
itself has its own shortcomings; in Indian parliamentary democratic system hindrances
are more widespread rather than a salutary debate over the issues of transcendent
national importance. So, a hybrid
“democracy with self-discipline” is the resonant model.
The public at large, scholars and
analyst of Pakistan are persevering for puissant, dynamic and vibrant public
rule through their representatives in the real sense. As seen from outside, TV luminaries like Najam
Sethi, Ejaz Haider, Hassan Nisar, Husain Haqqani, Salmaan Raja, Faisal Naqvi,
Shabir Choudhary and few more are soft-spoken and confabulate to the point, rest
seems to be hard-liner and hysterical.
Infelicitous outspoken intellectuals like Noble laureate Malala
Yousafzai and former diplomat Husain Haqqani are either both censured and
reproved as treacherous and traitors or forced to leave the country in view of incessant
intimidation. For effective and
efficient implementation of democratic system a ceaseless criticism from the
opposition is obligatory. Justice,
equality, freedom of speech and citizen representation from all the sections of
society is required for healthy functioning of democracy. Slowly but consistently the independent
judiciary must pronounce verdicts one after another of national importance that
substantiate the process of maturation of democracy and that restrains dictator
to rule the country like a lunatic king.
Sharp decadence from 20 percent
minority populace, especially Hindus, to three percent in seven decades of
Pakistani Islamic rule exhibited history of diverse civilization has been
forcefully unilaterally converge to Islam based autocracy. Religious extremism is amply transcendent, parlance
of Islam and Muslim is on and often attribute in Pakistani community that
should be permanently occluded for healthy democratic system. Licit protection of the minority society and
their involvement in all walks of life shall be the transcendent duty of
elected government to form the strong secular fabric. Attack on churches and demolition of temples
and gurudwaras malign the national image.
Recently, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has visited the ancient Katas Raj
Hindu temple complex in Punjab province to inaugurate a water filtration plant
is the explicit sign of initiation of minority friendly government. Supreme Court constitutional bench of India
has in recent past delivered a landmark ruling regarding seeking votes in the
name of religion, caste or community amounted to corrupt practices as election
is a secular exercise. Audacious and
marked verdicts are anticipated from the highest judiciary of the adjacent
nation to reinforce democracy.
Women dynamic involvement and
empowerment at every step in electoral politics is indeed imperative and
insuperable, an equivocally assignation of gender equality and mature
democracy. Politically active
participation of energetic and robust youths is about abreast importance. New young blood must be enthused in
collaboration with ladies participating to supersede the old glued disgruntled
corrupt billionaire guards. Political
parties must be obligated to accommodate these tribes in substantial quantity
to lead the general public; otherwise, confinement in four walls will be a
crime and stubborn attitude against the society. Politics is not the legacy of few
individuals, but the public movement wherein all the sections of the society
should be equally accommodated.
Otherwise, as stated by Mother Teresa “the most terrible poverty is
loneliness and the feeling of being unloved,” both the sections of society will
have ill feelings if not allowed to participate in politics.
Education is the most powerful
weapon for changing the world, Nelson Mandela once said. It is the constitutional and fundamental
right of each and every individual to have a world class quality education, not
the madrasa type wherein in the name of chaste Islam the large number of
terrorists is produced that maligned the image of the nation. Fanatic leaders not only are sidelined by
banning their religious institutions that teach terrorism under the shadow of
holy teachings of Islamic theology and sacred religious laws but also are to be
arrested and severely punished. The
world’s worst terrorist attack on temple of education was at Army Public School
in the north-western city of Peshawar on December 16, 2014 when terrorist
killed 141 people including 132 school children. The democracy matures as and when educational
quality improves.
As envisage from outside, the
military interloper in day to day functioning of the legislature, executive,
judiciary and all walks of life is against the basic tenets of democracy. Assemblage with terrorist groups has endorsed
a blot on military activism, needless to speak about the presence of Osama Bin
Laden at Abbottabad. So, one of the
important hurdles in emergence of democracy to full bloom is military regime
especially the personnel from Pakistan army.
Nowhere in the world has the military had extra constitutional role in
the full grown democratic setup.
Military should be confined to barracks and never allowed to poke their
nose in routine affairs. They should only
be trained for border security and warfare activities. Step-wise disassociation of military powers by
the civil administration will suffice the cause.
The neighbouring democratic country,
the India, is growing with galloping pace and dreaming to transform her as a
superpower in a decade with strong economic fabrics. Afghanistan singed from the last four decades
is a budding democratic nation has determined to strengthen the democracy by
hook or crook. Both the countries have
lucid and coherent relationship and assertion of claiming of facing subversive
activities from the neighbour. Strong
democratic setup in Pakistan will subdued the claim. Never to forget that under the British India
rule all lived like brothers and sisters.
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