When state institutions, public office holders are involved in violating the Constitution, then the future is bleak
LAHORE: This is with reference to reports about alleged horse-trading in the Senate elections, and excuses made by the PPP and the JUI-F for not making appropriate changes to laws or to the Constitution to prevent these non-democratic practices.
The fact is that the biggest threat to democracy and its future in Pakistan comes from not just the establishment but also the greed and corrupt practices of political parties, and the lack of basic ethics of their leaderships. What we have never seen is emergency legislation to protect the lives and property of ordinary citizens, or to punish public office holders for acts of omission causing billions in losses to the national exchequer. When state institutions and public office holders themselves are involved in violating the Constitution, then the future of such a society is very bleak.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2015.
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