M. Q. Yaaser |
Paragraph 124 of Supreme Court’s decision on the Panama Case stated the following:
“Some provisions of article 62 of the constitution certainly contain some strong moral overtones but those provisions have not been undone by the popularly elected parliaments in the last many decades.”
The Pakistani political elite, like all the political elites around the world, is following the saying, ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’.
This is very true. The so-called democratic and political parties in Pakistan, despite being progenies of military rule raised political slogans against the military dictators, but none have made some serious efforts to remove the constitutional amendments made by and during the eras of such dictators.
Deliberate negligence of political leaders
One of those efforts must have been made to change, replace or even eradicate and erase the words of ‘SADIQ AND AMEEN’ from the constitution. These are vague terms, the tools of which can be used against the political leaders by the dictators for the victimization of the former. The newspapers and electronic media are full of slogans and sermons by the political leaders against the military dictators and their utter disregard for the constitution. However, the fact remains that civilian government has done little to redress the flaws in the constitution.
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Political leaders create an impression that they are trying to bring in stability in the political process. They play ball with the media and the people.
Apart from this, same is the case with the number of reserved seats for women in national (60 in a house of 342) and provincial assemblies. This was again the amendment that was made during the rule of a military dictator, General Pervez Musharaf. If the above rule of abrogating the constitutional amendments made during the dictatorial regimes in the country is followed, this also applies to the special seats for women in the national and provincial assemblies. Special seats for women, if they are needed in any case, must not be more than 10% in all the assemblies. These special seats are being used as political bribery to the powerful political families and, if analyzed, one can find each woman representative a close relative to a sitting male member of the parliament. There can be one or two exceptions.
Dictatorial legacies
Why does the civilian leadership make no efforts to undo such provisions? This could be because the so-called democratic and political parties want to keep the constitution, media, and especially the people of Pakistan confused since it favors the political mafia. The Pakistani political elite, like all the political elites around the world, is following the saying, ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’.
Political leaders create an impression that they are trying to bring in stability in the political process. They play ball with the media and the people. This is entirely different from the rest of the modern world, especially Europe and America.
When there is a military regime in Pakistan, the slogans of the political parties are worth listening, even ‘charter of democracy’ can be signed between the arch rivals parties.
Donald J. Trump, being anti-establishment and an outsider, has rocked the establishment by the will of the people. Samuel Macron of France has just won the election weeks ago after just one year of making his own political party. Is that even possible in Pakistan? So, even if the Western democracies are blamed for not delivering to the general public, the public service they are elected for, they are at least sensitive to public opinions, unlike Pakistani democracy. Western political forces do not only try to win elections, they have to deliver in accordance with the given mandates. The public, knowing the power of their vote can hold leaders to account.
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When there is a military regime in Pakistan, the slogans of the political parties are worth listening, even ‘charter of democracy’ can be signed between the arch rivals parties like PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) and PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz). But as soon as they come into power, they concentrate on accumulating power and elongating their stay. If efforts are made to hold them accountable for corruption and bad governance, it is deemed as a ‘conspiracy’ to subvert democracy.
The leaders of political parties have been dealt with severely by military dictators. However, sadly they have learned nothing and are, as it appears, unlikely to learn in the near future.
M. Q. Yaaser is working in an organization for children’s vaccination. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and one in Sociology, He has an interest in international and domestic politics. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.