democracy vs dictatorship in pakistan

8/9/2019 Democracy vs Dictatorship in Pakistan

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Subject: Pakistan Studies

Topic: Democracy or Dictatorship

Submitted to: Miss Asma Javed

Submitted By: Badar Muneer Khan Baigal (BS 2K8)

Date: 13-6-2009

DEMOCRACY OR DICTATORSHIP

Introduction

1Democracy or Dictatorship


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The word democracy is derived from two Greek words (demos = the people; kratein = to

rule) which literally mean "rule by the people." Democracy may, therefore, be described

as a political system in which the people are entitled (through some form of

constitutional arrangement) to make the basic determining decisions on important

matters of public policy (Holden, 1994)

A dictatorship is defined as an autocraticform of government in which the government

is ruled by an individual, the dictator, without hereditary ascension. It has three possible

meanings. A government controlled by one person or a small group of people. In

contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by

leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within

the state.

Establishment, role and relation of military with PoliticsIn Pakistan history, military has ruled the country for about 33 years. So definitely they

have been deep rooting in decision making and they have control nearly every matter of

the country. Here, we have to understand the role and relation of military with politics.

The Pakistan military resumed its independent role in 1947 when the British withdrew

from south Asia and divide the British Indian armed forces between the newly

independent states of India and Pakistan. They inherited the British military traditions

and their officer corps was trained in British military institutions or the institutions

established by the colonial rulers in India. This stressed militarys subordination to the

civil authority and their aloofness from politics. These traditions were the corner-stone of

military organization in Pakistan.

The erosion of these traditions was set in motion by the gradual decline of the political

institutions in the mid-fifties. The military began to expand its role and (along with the

civil bureaucracy) soon emerged as an important factor in the decision making at the

national level. The first conspicuous change in civil-military relations took place in 1958;

When Ayub khan took the power. The second coup took place in 1969(General Yahya

Khan) and the third coup in 1977(General Zia-ul-Haque) and the fourth General Pervez

Musharaf (from 1999 to 2008). With the exception of the temporary phase of 5.5 years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy


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of civilian rule (1972-77), the military have exercised power directly under the cover of

Martial law or the civilianized regime of the former army commander ruled the country.

The analyses show that three factors explain the transformation of the civil-military

relations.

i. The nature and problems of the civil society.

ii. The nature of the military.

iii. The interactions across the boundaries of the civil and military domains.

The militarys position was strengthened by Pakistans acute sense of insecurity caused

by regional security pressure. The military e\received (and still receives) the largest

share of the national budget and was the main beneficiary of Pakistans participation in

the western alliance system in the fifties and the sixties. The reinvigoration of Pakistan-

American relations in the backdrop of the soviet military intervention in Afghanistan

(1979) proved a boon for the military. It acquired greater confidence and improved its

efficiency and strike capability which reinforce the institutional imbalance between the

under=developed civil institution and the well-developed military. The military profession

also enjoyed respect in Pakistan, partly because of the marital traditions of the Punjab

and NWFP, and partly due to Islams stress on holy war and concepts like Ghaziand

shahid.

The coups in Pakistan ere proceed by law and order situations and serious challenges

to the then governments. In 1958, the opposition political parties had built strong

pressure on the civil government which relied on the militarys support for its survival. In

1969, the nationwide mass agitation paralyzed the Ayub regime. In 1977, the violent

street agitation immobilized the Bhutto government. Initially the military extended

support to the besieged cavil government and helped the contain agitations, The

persistence of agitation, the inability of the civil government to over come the crises led

the military commanders to conclude that they were protecting a government which

would not survive if they withdrew their support. This encouraged them to play a direct

political role and assume power. There were no resentence to the coups in 1958, 1969,

1077.1999; the governments capitulated and the opposition leaders welcomed the

change for their personal benefits.



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The Ayub regime, often described as the showcase of economic development and

stability, was unable to cope with the participatory and distributive pressures on the

political system. It came to an end under worse conditions than those which brought

Ayub Khan to power. General Yahya Khan lacked political prudence and ability to steer

to Pakistan out of the East-West Pakistan conflict. His failure to maintain a balance

between the diverse political, economic, social and regional forces indulged the country

into one of the most unfortunate civil wars of he 20 th Century. The failure of military to

create stable political system and institutions, facilitating the participation of the people,

Socio-economic justices were once again the problems of the periods of Zia-ul-Haque

and Musharafs martial law.

The repeated military interventions in politics since 1958 and especially the military

rules of Zia and Musharaf, has altered the traditional pattern of civil-military relations.The military commanders have been arguing that, in addition to their role of defense

against external aggression and provision of necessary assistance to the civil

government, the military is the guardian of the ideological frontiers and ideology of

Pakistan. This argument helped them to expand their way to reserve the right to step

into domestic politics any time in the future without any resistance. They also demanded

some institutional arrangement enabling them to share decision-making power with the

political elite at he national level. For this they created National Security Council(NSC)

and made it super decision making body. Later this body was abandon with an

agreement with members of National Assembly to obtain their support for amendment

bills in favor of military.

Mr. Bhutto did try to assert civilian supremacy by strengthening political institutions

because of set back due to 1971 debacle in East Pakistan. However, his objective was

defeated by the very policies he adopted to achieve this. The military not only overcome

the temporary set-back but it also acquired greater confidence by its expansion and

modernization during the Bhutto period. The regional security pressure made it possiblefor them to obtain lions share of the national budget which facilitated the modernization.

This was augmented by the reinvigoration of Pakistan-US relations after the Soviet

military intervention in Afghanistan.

Pakistan can now be described as a praetorian state where the military has acquired

the capability, will and sufficient experience to dominate the core political institutions and



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processes. Their principal ally is the civil bureaucracy who shares several organizational

attributes and perspectives with them. As the political forces are disparate and weak,

the militarys disposition (whether in power or not) is crucial I shaping the course of

political change and facilitating transfer of power from one elite to another.

Failures of Democracy

a) Spread of Fundamentalism

The fundamentalism grows and spreads in those countries where there is some sort of

democratic system and opposition id allowed to play its part. In such a system,

fundamentalists are allowed to form their won parties, publish their literature,demonstrate for their demands and use media for their propaganda. We can see all this

in FATA, where Tehrik-a-nafaz-e-shariat-e-muhammadi (TNSM) has introduced its

own Brand of Islam that aims at destroying girls colleges, burn the CD shops, and train

people for suicide attacks. They are all doing this in the name of Islam.

The presence of fundamentalist parties in the body politics of the Muslim countries

changed the whole scenario. As a result of their aggressive politics, religious-oriented

parties are successfully mobilizing the people, and forcing the secular and enlightened

elements to recede from main political activities. As we can see, during the MMA

government, the extremist groups were allowed to pursue their function regularly. This

has resulted into a situation, as we can see now in Pakistan.

b) The Politics of Hatred

Pakistan came in existence in 1947. It came to be known as sovereign independent

state but most of the people did not know that it was still in the hands of few powerful

people. 22 families acquire more than 90% of wealth of Pakistan and almost all of themare feudal.

The feudals played an important role in the creation of Pakistan. Once Quaid-e-Azam

said on one occasion, I had got fake coins in my pocket.

These feudals have the political and economic power. People had been greatly and are

being exploited in this system from the past 60 years. These few corrupt people are



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using common people purely for their own cause. They dont want to give up their power

and authority for the uplift of Pakistan.

In a feudal culture, either there is intense friendship or intense enmity, but no middle

course of toleration. Criticism is regarded as personal insult and defeat as humiliation.

Honor and respect is due only to those who are physically powerful. These values havecontributed in shaping our political culture, where power is only way to become

respectable.

Pakistani politics is full of hatred. Democracy is a system in which political power shifts

intermittently. A loser has the chance to win the mandate of the people in the next

election. But it depends on his commitment and dedication. To remain in power for a

long period, like a king, is very difficult in democratic society. A real power lies in the

peoples verdict. It should be accepted. Opponents should be tolerated and not

eliminated. Opposition should not blame ruling party for ragging. The difference

between politicians encourages the army to interfere. The people loose trust on the

politicians. But unfortunately in history of Pakistani politics we not see such a good and

healthy activity. The clashes between PPP and PML in 1990, not only destabilize both

the parties but above all it harmed Pakistan. And currently we can also see the political

uncertainty, when chief minister of Punjab was dismissed from his post. The PPP should

respect the mandate of PML-N in Punjab

c) Inherited Politics

Unfortunately in Pakistan the politics is inherited. The feudals, sardars and Wadaira

have occupied the markets, economy, industries, and simply they have power in do

anything. In rural areas they dont allow the people to get education as these people can

revolt against them. So they rule the innocent people while keeping them ignorant. The

Pakistan political system has been dominated by few families, who are in parliament

and in upper house. Take the example of PPP. We have a leader Bilawal Bhutto. But he

has never lived in Pakistan, his education is from abroad, he has never seen the

suffering of the common people in Pakistan, he has never traveled in Pakistani publictransport. How can I expect him to be a great leader of this country? Our politicians

have no faith in our institutions. They called upon Scotland Yard or UN to resolve their

domestic issues. Most of the parliamentarians are illiterate and they are there to make

law for the people of 160 million people.



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Role of democracy and dictatorship in todays perspectiveToday, unfortunately, Pakistan is passing through difficult, delicate and sensitive phase

of its history. Its now become not a question of ruling the country, but the intensity of

problems demands that now it has become the question of survival of Pakistan.

Pakistan is facing intense external and internal problems. The biggest problems that,

now, Pakistan is facing are terrorism suicide attacks. It has completely failed to control

this meaner. Its challenging the security of Pakistan. A sense and feelings of insecurity

is expanding among the people of Pakistan and now they are no more trusting on

government for provision of security.

In order to end the terrorism military operation is at its full scale in FATA areas. But this

operation has resulted in displacement of nearly three million people from this region.

Now the government is trying to manage one of the biggest displacement of the world

has ever seen, over three million people have left the tribal areas and Malakand

division. These people are now in various camps in Sawabi, Mardan and other parts of

NWFP. The provision of food, shelter, health facilities has the biggest problems that now

Pakistan is facing. These people are living a very pathetic life, as there is no clean

water, lack of electricity and hot climate is unbearable to the people. Children are

becoming ill. This is the biggest displacement of mass of people after independence.

The issue concerning the internal displaced people (IDPs) is not simply that of

displacement; but its also of poverty. Friends of Pakistan have promise to give 4 billion

dollar to help IDPs but till now we have received only fraction of it. Then there is

problem of rehabilitation of these displaced people. There have been rallies against the

rehabilitation of these people in Sindh, which last question of the unity of Pakistan, as

these people are Pakistani.

The law and order situation has blocked the way of investment. Rather people are

shifting their assets to foreign countries due to uncertainty instability in the country. This

has also badly affected the economic situation of Pakistan. Recently the budget has

been announced for year 2009-10. Total outlay of Budget 2009-10 is Rs2.489 trillion,

out of which Rs50 billion has been allocated for the displaced of operation in Malakand

Division. In order to fulfill its demand Pakistan has borrowed money from IMF. In budget,

budget deficit is 4.9% of GDP. The government is aiming to fill this gap partly with help



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democracy vs dictatorship in pakistan

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