An Indian like me across the unfriendly border from Pakistan cannot help finish reading this article with sadness rather any sense of schadenfreude.
https://thefridaytimes.com/25-Jul-2024/the-looming-showdown-in-pakistan
“Pakistan’s democracy has been mangled by repeated overtures to authoritarian tactics, often to justify violence and oppression. That has resulted in a hostile and polarized political landscape, where finding any common ground is an insurmountable challenge. Stability depends on leaders setting aside their differences and finding common ground. Failure to do so on either front could have severe consequences for the country.” — (July 25, 2024 The Friday Times, Pakistan)
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Dear Mr Saad Hafiz ,
Sir, you have in your article described Pakistan as a “hybrid democracy” wherein “the clash of political wills could escalate into a full-blown crisis, with both sides unyielding in their positions….”
The unposed question by you therefore is this: why is it that in Pakistan’s democracy it is impossible for political stakeholders to be anything but unyielding towards each other ?
The answer to my mind is that Pakistan’s democracy is structurally flawed which makes it impossible for “clashing wills” to compromise and yield in the true democratic spirit of give and take a bit, win some and lose some a bit . Structurally , Pakistan’s democracy is built for the zero-sum game . Your democracy thus is not hybrid but is a freakish, malformed one designed to malfunction.
Democracies around the world are all without exception very very messy … . India is an egregious outstanding example. But structurally, Indian Democracy is sounder than Pakistan’s because it stands on only three balanced and aligned fundamental pillars : Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Democracy in Pakistan on the other hand , has its 3 pillars dwarfed by a fourth great hulk of a column towering over them — the Military. This military pillar is a rank intruder in the general democratic scheme or architecture of things. It upsets the balance, equation and symmetry between the other three putting them each at odds with one another. The Military in Pakistan today effectively uses the same policy that imperial Britain once employed to once rule over greater India: Divide and Rule. The Military is precisely what in Pakistan politics as you rightly observe makes “any common ground an insurmountable challenge”.
One of the redeeming feature of Indian Democracy as it has evolved over the last 75 years is that its fundamental structure remains sound … the Military remains firmly subject to civilian command under the Executive . That creates a level playing field for the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary to play their assigned Constitutional roles without ever having to look fearfully behind their shoulders to see if Army generals have grabbed their tails.
India’s democracy too is far from perfect … actually it’s quite messy too … but then to use your phraseology we in India “have a lively but imperfect opposition — and not the Military, thank God! — to have things stay the same … and it keeps people involved and makes sure those in power do what the people want”.
Pakistan too like India has journeyed politically the last 75 years as a very populous country beset with innumerable challenges. In India we have our multifarious problems to deal with. Our resilient system has every chance to deal with them . But your problem I am afraid is that you have sailed too far a distance and too long a time on a big faulty, leaky boat full of good people held however hostage by a gang of deadly sea-pirates holed up within the captains deck . That ship I am afraid just cannot be made now all of a sudden to turn course without running the risk of either completely capsizing it or else running it aground.
Sudarshan Madabushi