Recalling CoD

History bears testimony that ‘democratic’ forces out of power have never been patient with their political rivals

Pakistan’s struggle with democracy is pretty embarrassing. This most accepted system of governance the world over has only functioned in fits and starts in our country which is now more than 73 years’ old. Even though democracy is currently having its longest-ever run in the country — of 12 years and 7 months — it remains shaky and under threat as ever. As democracy in our country scrambles for a way out of the danger zone, among the most difficult hurdles it has come across is from within — from the ‘democrats’ themselves. More than the anti-democratic forces, it is the champions of democracy who have failed this system of the people, for the people, by the people.

History bears testimony to the fact that ‘democratic’ forces out of power have never been patient with their political rivals at the helm, to the extent of doing anything and everything to get rid of ‘such a democracy’. While the post-Musharraf era also witnessed tug of war for political power, the decade of the 90s — which was replete with calls for army chief to ‘play his role’ — is the most pertinent case in point. The period saw the country’s two major political forces — the PML-N and the PPP — wrestle with each other in the name of ridding the public of ‘sham’ democracy and replacing it with ‘accountable and people-centric’ rule.

The attempts to topple democratic governments with the help of hidden hands only worked to weaken democracy and allowed non-democratic forces to penetrate into purely political domains — something that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his arch rival, Benazir Bhutto of the PPP, learnt the hard way years later. Thus came the Charter of Democracy, or CoD, in the year 2006, with the two leaders pledging not to side with non-political forces in a bid to topple each other’s government. However, the lessons learnt were forgotten in no time, and the two parties soon fell out with each other in the wake of Benazir Bhutto clinching a reconciliation deal with the dictator of the time. That recalled, it would be interesting to see how a ‘good deal’ to any of the major members of the newly formed 11-party alliance would be resisted for the sake of bringing ‘real’ democracy back to the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2020.

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