Pakistan Needs Stable Democracy

By:  Dr. Maqsood Jafri  New York

It is very saddening aspect of the Pakistani political history that the short sighted politicians are the foes of democracy. Since the emergence of Pakistan, it has been under the stone wall of the civil bureaucratic and military rule. We have seen four martial laws. The genuine leadership was pushed to the wall and false and fake leadership was created by these agencies. Pakistan Muslim League was always divided by the intelligence agencies and used to support the military dictators. Even, after the assassination of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the Pakistan Peoples' Party was hijacked by the agencies and they created fake leadership amongst the ranks of the PPP. Moulana Kusar Niazi made his own party. Mustafa Jatoi made National Peoples' Party. Hanif Ramay made Pakistan Musawat Party. Then, Farooq Leghari made Millat Party and Aftab Sherpow made an other party. But all these parties badly failed. Pakistan Peoples' Party survived all onslaughts and still is the biggest party of Pakistan. The question arises as to why, hitherto,  the PPP could not be eliminated. The simple answer is that this party has a manifesto that supports the under privileged and the down trodden classes. More over, its' founder the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a man of vision. He was a charismatic personality. He was committed to the welfare of the poor people. He stood for revolution and sacrificed his life. The poor people of Pakistan can never forget him. He stood for the ideology of Dr.Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam. It was Dr.Iqbal who in 1934, in a letter addressed to Quaid-e Azam, invited his attention to Islamic socialism. He wrote him that the atheistic socialism of Mr. Nehro was not acceptable to the Muslims. We need an economic system that is based on Islamic social justice. Dr.Iqbal believed in the abolition of feudalism and priesthood. Similarly, In 1943, while giving the presidential address to the delegates of All India Muslim League at Dehli, Quaid-e Azam announced that in Pakistan there will be social justice and abolition of feudalism. He categorically condemned religious extremism and feudalism in his speeches on different occasions. After his death, unfortunately, the political mercenaries took over the governments and these feudal leeches sucked the blood of the poor. Mr. Bhutto announced an iconoclastic

revolution and the masses zestfully thronged around him.

It is very disparaging and distressing to note that the covert hands had been destabilizing democracy in Pakistan since its' inception. Pakistan is a feudal democracy. The feudal lords and their cronies and chums had always been conspiring to damage the democratic system for their petty interests and selfish motives. Let us briefly shed some light on the present political situation. The current government of the PPP won the elections in 2007 and formed a coalition government. The chairperson of the PPP was assassinated in December 2007 after addressing a public meeting at Rawalpindi. Who killed her? The agencies of General Pervez Musharraf or the religious extremists? It is still a dilemma. But the nation lost a great intellectual and dynamic politician. Since day one, the agencies and the opposition party PML(N) are all out to oust this government. They are doing their best to destabilize the democratic government of the PPP. But the most tragic aspect is that the NRO issue has been made the life and death issue by the opposition and the Supreme Court of Pakistan is asking the government to write a letter to the Swiss court to open the cases against the President of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. The plea of the government is that according to article 248 of the constitution of Pakistan, the president has immunity in all criminal cases. Hence, the government can not write such a letter to a foreign court. When his tenure as president is over, then such a letter can be written. It is a very simple logic. There is no legal complication to understand the matter. The Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Yousaf Raza Gilani was summoned by the Supreme Court on this issue. He is facing the contempt of court case. He categorically told the SC that he was advised by the law ministry and briefed that the president has immunity in all criminal cases. If, the government writes such a letter to the Swiss court, it will be unconstitutional act. Now, who will decide whether writing of the letter is constitutional or constitutional?  The Supreme Court has one interpretation and the law ministry has the other. Can it be decided in the parliament? What is the opinion of the law experts?

Besides, the NRO riddle, the Memo case is an other issue that has disturbed the whole nation. The non-issue has been made an issue. Mansoor Ijaz, the architect of the memo has refused to visit Pakistan on lame excuses. Hussain Haqqani has been permitted to leave Pakistan. He flew back to America. The whole case is to destabilize the PPP government. Mian Nawaz Sharif filed the case in the Supreme Court. It was to damage the position of the PPP government in which he badly failed. A nine- member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on Monday granted two more months to the judicial commission to complete the memo gate case investigation. Let us see when the cat comes out of the bag. As a patriot, I pray for the solidarity of Pakistan and for the welfare of its' wretched populace who are suffering because of the shortage of food, electricity, gas and law and order situation. The law and order situation in Pakistan is highly deplorable. Daily people are targeted in all cities of Pakistan. Karachi is burning. Baluchistan is bleeding. The religious extremists, the terrorists and the secessionists are out to break the country, but the politicians, the judges and the agencies are deeply sunk in the whirls of making and breaking the governments. The workers of the PPP blame the conduct of the judges. They say that why the cases against Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian shehbaz Sharif are not being opened in the Supreme Court. The Mian Brothers have become "Release Brothers." In the petition of Air Marshal Asghar Khan, Mian Nawaz Sharif is accused to receive money from the ISI. Why this case is pending in the SC since long time? Why the SC is after NRO case and Memo case? These questions or protests from a common man are not welcoming queries. It is not good impression. It is the talk of the town that the SC has leanings towards Miam Brothers. It is only the PPP government that is attacked by the ISI and the SC. I hope this impression will wipe out by the neutral conduct as all expect neutrality from the august judges of the SC. I have full confidence in their solemnity, neutrality, impartiality and sobriety. The SC will not take any action that can derail or destabilize the democracy. The time will tell about the maturity of the minds.

An other divisive plan by the opposition parties is to raise hue and cry about the elections. The opposition is creating unnecessary tumult about the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner. The opposition leader Ch. Nisar Ahmed of the PML(N), who hails from the army background is very vocal in creating doubts about the transparency of the up coming elections. The Prime Minister had already announced that the new CEC would be appointed in consensus with all political parties after the retirement of incumbent CEC as the government of the PPP wanted to ensure free, fair and transparent general elections. Then it is being said by the opposition leaders that early elections be held under the supervision of an interim government and that government be formed with the consultation of the opposition parties. Is it a constitutional and democratic demand? It has appeared in the national press that early election can be held if necessary. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has hinted at the possibility of Pakistans' next general elections being held ahead of schedule, saying he will hold consultations on the issue with his allies and the opposition. Though, the general election is scheduled for March 2013, the government of the PPP is considering to hold it in October 2012. The question arises as to why such an undemocratic demand by the opposition parties? It is the prerogative of the PPP whether it holds general election in October 2012 or in March 2013. The pressure from the opposition is illegal, undemocratic and unconstitutional. It is tragic that  majority of  the Pakistani politicians are from the feudal and capitalist class and are quite oblivious of the problems of the poor people of Pakistan. They are professional politicians belonging to he elite class. They are clung to the crutches of the agencies. They are deaf, blind and dumb to fetch and fathom the ground realties. They do not want change. They are gamers and conspirators. It is the irony of fate that the civil and military bureaucracy, the feudal lords, the clerics, the capitalists and the politicians are anti- public and anti-democracy in Pakistan. It seems the agitated and frustrated youth will rise to the occasion and topple this pernicious system and the dawn of democracy will brighten our dark dungeons. I vividly envisage the bloody revolution in Pakistan that will totally eliminate all mercenaries and the dedicated leadership from the proletariats will emerge to harness the fast galloping steed.