ISLAMABAD: The analysis by M Ziauddin on the trials and errors of democracy (March 16) raises more questions than it attempts to answer. The parable of breaking the egg before making an omelet is redundant in Pakistan because we have been breaking eggs since 1947 without cooking them into omelets, which means that power has never been transferred peacefully over the past 66 years.
Trials and errors of democracy, similarly, do not apply to Pakistan since by definition, democracy is a peaceful transition which has yet to materialise in the land of the pure. Even the most repeated claim of the outgoing government, that it is the first democratic government to complete its tenure, is superfluous unless it transfers power to its successors in an orderly manner.
Democracy and the democratic process have yet to take off in Pakistan. This take-off stage will become a reality if the Zardari government passes the baton to the winner of next elections without manipulation by non-democratic quarters. If this government does not agree on the establishment of a neutral caretaker set-up and cannot even fix a firm date for the next polls, how can democracy truly begin its journey? The next elections will show whether we can turn the broken eggs into omelets. Unlike the learned writer, I am unable to count my chickens before they hatch.
There is a big hue and cry over what is being trumpeted as one giant leap for democracy. Has power been transferred peacefully? If not, nothing has changed in this directionless country yet.
BA Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2013.
