ISLAMABAD: Democracy seems to be cursed in this land of ours. That is why successive governments in Pakistan, on different pretexts, failed to introduce a sustainable system of good governance based on democratic norms. Every government that has ruled has done so on an adhoc basis and created more problems than it solved.
No serious attempt seems to have ever been made by politicians to nurse and nurture the fragile plant of democracy to grow into a full-fledged tree with strong roots, their full-throated claims to the contrary notwithstanding. There has always been a continuous struggle for power between fake democrats (creations of dictatorships) and anti-democratic forces in the name of democratic dispensation, which never existed. Nothing has changed so far and the same old tactics of self-praise and hurling all sorts of accusations at others still continue.
In the wake of the 2013 general elections, which have offered them another chance to mend their ways, political leaders still appear to tread the same path of hurling accusations at one another. Instead of laying out their long-term policies for introduction of political, social, educational, health and judicial reforms — all necessary ingredients of good governance — politicians seem to indulge in trivial talk and follow the path of hatred, envy and animosity, which retards growth in every field.
One wonders how our political leaders who believe in the rapid growth of democracy through distribution of entitlements through the Benazir Income Support Programme and other such programmes will succeed in protecting democracy. I fear that a system which revolves around personalities cannot progress and prosper in this age.
Raja Shaffatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2013.
