‘Good governance vital for democracy’

Natural disasters, war on terror, energy crisis and foreign debt; major causes of economic crisis faced by the country

HARIPUR:

Speakers at a discussion on Friday accused bad governance for the challenges being faced by citizens and said the frail democratic order was pushing the country into the hands of undemocratic forces.

The discussion, held at District Democracy Forum, was organised by the Sahara Development Foundation, a local non-governmental organisation.

The speakers acknowledged that natural disasters, war on terror, energy crisis and foreign debt were among the major causes of economic crisis being faced by the country. However, they claimed that the government’s inadequate policies and corruption have created a trust deficit among citizens.

They opined that this sense of alienation towards the political process is causing harm to democracy, while political instability and existing conflict between institutions has endangered the existing democratic system which is indicative of a disastrous end of democracy in the country.

They suggested that the role of people in governance, supremacy of constitution, respect for human rights and transparent and independent elections were imperative for democracy to continue in the country.

Mukhtiyar Javed, Qamar Hayat, Zahoorul Haq, Muhammad Rafiq, and Ashiq Awan spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th,  2011.