Finished democracy

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Politicians, bureaucrats, judges and all the officials, they're all here to serve us. Not the other way around.

So many times, I see public officials being escorted around and being met by citizens as these ordinary men bow their head down, as a gesture of humility and praise, hoping for a picture moment. Is that supposed to be the case?

I think we're forgetting the fact that public officials are elected by us to serve us. They draw their salaries from our tax money. They are servants of the state, to the state. They work (or at least they're supposed to) to improve our lives by providing basic infrastructure, and health care.

Health care. Reminds you of someone who loves promoting their self and being in the public spot light so much that they get supplements printed in newspapers. However, public money should be used to provide health care, education and resources for the citizens, not for self-promotion.

But who am I to say? I am just an ordinary citizen working a 9-5 corporate job who will pay bills till he dies. It's the rich lot who will continue to prosper.

As a lawyer, I've always seen files being buried in a stack of a thousand other files after notices are issued and they never see the light of the day again.

These files include Zahir Jaffer, Arshad Sharif and soon, Mustafa Amir. Remember the 26th amendment? It was also challenged before the apex court? I hope someone's senselessly filing urgent applications in that case. Will that case ever be fixed? Your guess is as good as mine.

On the flip side, Hyderabad's SSP was transferred after strong opposition by the legal fraternity. The lawyers are now pressing the state to halt canals which are being built at the Indus River.

Have you ever thought how democracy will end? I am currently reading a book by David Runciman who talks about how, in modern times, democracy will end. Will it be through a coup? Not really. Democracy will start crumbling down when people start losing belief in their state institutions. You think the military will take over the country and abrogate the constitution? That's too old school. We still need the IMF to fund us so we can't afford a full-blown martial law.

What will happen is: the state institutions will start becoming helpless. They will begin succumbing to external pressure from within the state and will eventually lose their mandate. The shots will be called from elsewhere. Democracy per se will continue to operate but it will be a mere façade. Do you think we've reached that point already?

We will become robots. Working our jobs, living mediocre lives, exploiting our employees. We're already mechanical humans anyway so we might be close to a finished democracy.

Taking a more optimistic view, we're still a new country. Seventy-five years isn't a lot. We still have a long way to go. But our neighbours were also born with us and they seem to be on the right track. I won't say they're doing good, but at least they've acknowledged their problems and have started to address them. And us? We still haven't recognised the fact that we have issues. Do you expect a fool to see what a fix he's in?

When all of this is said and done, there will only be more Zahir Jaffers, more Arshad Sharifs, more Mustafa Amirs and maybe more Armughans. More 26th amendments? Maybe.

Some citizens have lost hope in the system, the rest are currently stuck at Shahrah-e-Faisal.