10 years of democracy

On May 31, 2018, democracy will complete its 10 years in succession. And you can't dream of a better end than the government and opposition parties agreeing on an interim prime minister, with utmost dignity.

It was good to see Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, opposition leader in National Assembly (NA) Syed Khursheed Shah and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announcing the name of former chief justice of Pakistan, Justice (retd) Nasirul Mulk, as the interim PM for 60 days, in a brief media talk.

The interim government with limited powers need to look after day-to-day affairs and administrative matters, while holding of free and fair elections on July 25 is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). It’s a step forward as in 2013, the ECP had announced the name after the government and opposition had failed in reaching consensus on a name.

Similarly, in Punjab, which is going to be the real battlefield in elections, PML-N President and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has accepted a name proposed by the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for the interim chief minister office.

Nasir Mahmood Khosa, a seasoned bureaucrat, who has also served as Punjab chief secretary, enjoys a good reputation. He will take over as the CM Punjab on June 1.

All these positive developments clearly indicate that all mainstream political parties, particularly the PML-N, PTI and PPP, are well prepared for elections and they have named people of integrity as PM and CM Punjab for the transitional period.

In yet another positive development, the parliament created history in its last session by passing the bill about merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Except for two parties – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), all other parties supported and adopted the pro-democracy decision, which will pay the way for bringing the people of tribal areas in the mainstream politics.

The last 10 years has not been as bad as portrayed by some critics. They hardly miss any chance of criticising democracy instead of criticising the government of the day. It is true that the media has to play the role of an adversary, but it also has a role to play when it comes to saving the system.

Continuity in the system brings political stability, which will ultimately lead to economic stability in the country. In democracy, the writ of the government and state is essential, but so is important good governance.

Both the PPP and PML-N can take credit for ensuring smooth transition of power to the next elected government. Yes, the PML-N completed its term at a time when its leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif stands disqualified for life and is facing a trial. At the same time, it also goes in favour of a political leader, facing a trial in his own government, as happened in the case of the PPP government when Yusuf Raza Gilani was disqualified as the PM.

As far as the positives of the last 10 years are concerned, it is a fact that Pakistan would not have won the war against terrorism without a political will on the part of the elected governments. The country had suffered a lot because of policies of General Ziaul Haq and General (retd) Pervez Musharraf during the two wars in Afghanistan.

The PML-N government took over from where the PPP government had left after a clean-up operation in Swat and South Waziristan, which led to a grand operation in the entire country.

While all credit goes to Pakistan armed forces for their successes and sacrifices in the line of duty, Pakistan's political forces also paid the price, as former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated because of our resolve to fight against Taliban and all other terrorists.

Over 50,000 Pakistanis lost their lives including 20,000 Jawans and officers, besides leaders, activists, ministers, and elected representatives.

In 2013, history was created when for the first time in 70 years, one elected government handed over the power to another elected government. During PPP’s five years in power, the parliament became much stronger. Credit goes to the PPP and former president Asif Ali Zardari for handing over all presidential powers to the parliament through 18th Amendment. The legislation also resolved the basic issues of provincial autonomy as well as system of a caretaker government for holding elections.

Below mentioned are some of the steps which led to political stability in the country, as well as the measures which should be taken for democracy promotion.

Firstly, thanks to the 18th Amendment, a democratic mechanism was evolved for nomination of an interim PM and the CMs. (1) The PM and opposition leader can decide the name of caretaker with consensus. (2) If they fail, the matter is referred to the joint parliamentary committee, comprising equal numbers from the ruling party and the opposition. (3) Even if they fail, the ECP will appoint a caretaker premier. Perhaps, the makers of the said procedure knew the kind of distrust existing among the politicians for long. But, what happened on July 28 gives us more hope for the future.

Secondly, the parliament in the last 10 years had also made the ECP stronger and the new election rules had given it further strength. It is now up to the ECP, led by Justice (retd) Sardar Raza and his team to ensure free and fair elections, particularly early disposal of post-election petitions, and ensure implementation of limited financial spending in elections. The ECP has to ensure that elections are held free and fair in the country.

Thirdly, as a result of the joint struggle, the superior judiciary has become stronger and more powerful. Although, in the last 10 years, both the PPP and the PML-N governments expressed their reservations over the way through which Yusuf Raza Gilani and Nawaz Sharif were disqualified, the system was not derailed. However, the ouster of Gilani and Sharif certainly created political uncertainty in the country.

Fourth, it is almost essential for stability of the system that the element of ‘political engineering’ is eliminated from pre- and post-elections. What happened in the last few months, particularly during the Senate elections, did not augur well for the country as the element of engineering in the case of change in Balochistan and in election of Senate chairman raised serious questions. Similarly, it’s very much visible in the case of Karachi and MQM also.

Fifth, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is a constitutional body and has every right to probe and investigate allegations and complaints across the board. But, victimisation in the name of accountability has damaged the very process of accountability. Therefore, it is very important for NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal to ensure that it should not look one-sided.

Sixth is related to the responsibilities of the political parties. It is a dilemma that our mainstream parties lacked democratic culture and, as a result, when they came into power they fail in setting good examples of governance and accountability.

It is a beauty of the system, and due to continuity, a third alternative force has also emerged i.e. Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). His party boycotted elections in 2008, but performed reasonably well in 2013, and formed the government in KP.

As we are still not a fully matured democracy, it is also important for all the political parties to evolve a joint strategy of discouraging the culture of turncoats in the name of electables. The best way is to bring about an amendment to the Political Parties Act, under which no MNAs, MPAs or Senator be allowed to switch loyalty during the last two years of the government.

It is essential for political stability and smooth transition of governments that the civil-military imbalance is fully resolved, which despite formation of National Security Committee (NSC), is still questioned as indicated in the interview of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

One has to look into the reasons as to how justified and unjustified concerns exist in the 10 years rule of the PPP and the PML-N. The PML certainly took a bold decision of the trial of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf under Article VI (high treason), which certainly led to discomfort within the establishment. Perhaps, it was a decision taken in haste, but it was a right decision.

Although, there has been drastic changes in the approach of the establishment and successive army chiefs, from General Kayani to General Qamar Javed Bajwa, to allow democracy to function, they also need to address some of the issues pertaining to civil-military imbalance, when it comes to accusations of political engineering.

Unlike in the past, when not only premiers but also the parliament were sacked under 58-2(B), the governments now complete their terms even if they lose one premier or the other, now under Article 62-1(F). The future parliament can address this issue more seriously.

Judiciary is not only independent but also strong and time and again Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has assured that no extra-constitutional move to remove the government would be accepted or allowed.

Governance of federal and provincial governments by and large had been poor in the field of development and pro-people economic policies. Not much has been done in the field of education, health, water and energy sectors.

In 2014, had Nawaz Sharif drawn his strength from parliament instead of requesting former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif to resolve the issue, the PML-N government could have completed its full term without much difficulties.

Nawaz Sharif missed the second chance in April 2016 after the Panama leaks. He could have made history had he stepped down, accepting moral responsibility or by accepting advice from his own colleagues and the opposition to resolve it through parliament.

It has been a long journey to democracy and as we celebrate 10 years of democracy and continuity of the system, there is a lot to learn from the past. Whoever wins the next general election, should not repeat the mistakes committed by their predecessors, and acknowledge their achievements as well.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst at Geo, The News and Jang.

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO