Setting and perpetuating the trend

It is now being stated by many who have made their ways into seats of power, including the head of state, that democracy is under threat. The question to be asked of all is, does this country have a democracy in the true sense of the word and has it ever had a pure democratic system? This is a question that has often been asked. In Pakistan who, when it comes to democracy and to the constitution, has shown any commitment to either? The country had a bad start on that score, the circumstances being such at the time that the countrys creator had little choice but to decree that he be the governor general, the president of the first constituent assembly, and a cabinet minister. He was short on manpower - as the country has since ever been, growing shorter by the year. He had no time to make a constitution though he did lay down the guidelines which have been eminently ignored over the years. Six years later, in 1954, another governor general ordered the police to bar the members of the constituent assembly from entering their hall where they intended that day to pass Pakistans first constitution. He then proceeded to sack the constitution-makers, an act which was upheld by the apex court of the land, setting yet another lamentable trend. When Pakistan was finally given its first constitution in 1956, it took but a couple of years for it to be consigned to the trash can. Once the first constitution is destroyed, it is doubtful that any succeeding one will ever be truly accepted. (The Enigma of Political Development, by Lawrence Ziring). Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the country its 1973 constitution, which from day one he made a mess of by issuing a presidential order suspending its fundamental rights and continuing the state of emergency that was then in place. He later amended it seven times; then came Ziaul Haq and the shameful 8th Amendment, and many years later Pervez Musharraf with his equally shameful 17th Amendment. Now, this government of the people declares that it is doing what it can to sort out the constitution to make it people friendly insofar as the balance of powers it bestows is concerned. There is only one simple solution - go back to the original ZAB document, negate the 2nd, 8th and 17th amendments, and restore it to its pristine state, as it was when it was promulgated (all other amendments have taken care of themselves). Pakistans political history, and its present incoherent dysfunctional system, is a vivid reminder that repeated elections do not produce democracy or the accountability which is a vital aspect of democracy. Enough has been said about military interventions; we are all clued up on them. But then the happenings of the 1990s must also be taken into account when democracy was erroneously said to be the order of the day. With governments coming and going in swift succession democracy was a far cry, and the entire system suffered. Now, the threat to democracy is not the 'non-state actors whoever they may be, who are harped upon by a president who has indulged in undignified outbursts, out of line with his office and who has been taken to be almost unhinged, it is this government itself which lacks the capacity, the will or the intent to govern, and an opposition that is playing dead. The threat also comes from a prime minister, infinitely short of prime ministerial characteristics, who has declared that if his government does not deliver (which is likely) his party will not contest the next elections. This is ridiculous. He harps upon the fact, as do the president and his ministers, that the answer is a return to the 1973 constitution. Fine, then do it, and get the pussy-footing committee that sits and debates constitutional matters to finally come up with the results rather than merely publicise its intentions every second day. A further threat is the matter of the NRO - its promulgation was a disaster, and the Supreme Court decision has created contention combined with confusion that cannot lead to any purely democratic accountability process. Maybe they should have gone further adrift to order an across the board general accountability for all actors and players of the state, past and present. But, yes, the tainted now in government should have the decency and sense to go of their own free will, and take their chances. However, to oust the main state actor in the NRO drama is no answer. We have more than enough martyrs whose martyrdom has in no way furthered democracy. We do not need any addition to the list. We need to shed the syndrome - and quickly. We also have a surfeit of political sacrifices made by various state actors, which again have not furthered the democratic cause, as far too many of the so-called sacrifices have had everything to do with battling for political survival when out of office so that they can somehow scramble back in. Added to that, the perpetuation in politics of the few has proved to be a pretty rotten trend - what is needed more than anything else is new faces, new blood, for a new democracy. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: jilani.amina@gmail.com