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Rather, it is the demerits of our politicians that disqualify them from being the right choice to lead the nation.
Syed Jawaid Iqbal
Pakistan has a chequered history -- right from Jinnah's demise and Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination to the toppling of democratic governments several times by the armed forces. Whether we like it or not, a majority of today's politicians are provincial leaders at best. On the contrary, the army, which happens to be the only permanent political party in Pakistan, has its loyalty with the state and not with any particular group or sub-strata of society. Before we criticise this institution, we must also remember that it does not assume power by virtue of its merit. Rather, it is the demerits of our politicians that disqualify them from being the right choice to lead the nation.
The first time a democratic government had attained consensus among all political parties was during the regime of Z A Bhutto. Much to the displeasure of vested interests who only wanted a dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties and not an agreement, Air Marshal Asghar Khan unconstitutionally invited army intervention through a letter to the then chief of army staff, Gen Ziaul Haq. In the name of protection, all political leaders were arrested and martial law was imposed, which led eventually to Bhutto's 'judicial murder'. Talking of our democratic leaders, if they have flaws, they also have their merits. One example is of Benazir Bhutto and her PPP who deserve the credit for being the only truly liberal and national representatives of Pakistan.
Is our democracy really successful and sustainable? It must be remembered that democracy is not a manufactured product that can be imported, but rather it should be seen as a locally-grown fruit whose strength depends on factors such as 'soil', 'climate' and 'farmers'. Our ground realities are different from those found in the west and hence in our context we will have to meticulously determine what parts of this fruit need to be peeled and discarded and which ones preserved and made use of. In other words, Pakistan needs to find its own definition of democracy and not one inherited from the west. Pakistan is a brand; and every brand has its life cycle. Pakistan's positioning within and outside Pakistan has deteriorated sharply. Before it falls below the danger level, it is essential that we redefine its attributes, utility, packaging and positioning.
The first thing that we need to do is to increase the literacy rate and reduce our population. This means providing universal free education. Parents who don't send their children to school should be penalised. 'Food' banks should be set up in places where there are many impoverished families and help from NGOs, the private sector and charitable organisations should be taken in this regard. On the population front, only two children should be allowed per family. The law should be made applicable after one year of its announcement. Those with more children should be made to pay a higher tax burden.
The second step is to dissolve all provincial boundaries and use the old system of divisions. The latter should be treated as autonomous states, each with its own state government. Foreign affairs, currency and defence should be under the federal government, while the rest should be administered by the respective state governments. This would not only help overcome the issues of cultural animosity, language and ethnic discrimination, but would also be in the greatest interest of Punjab, which is accused of being responsible for the 1971 dismemberment of East Pakistan and for capturing the country's major resources since 1947.
The third essential element would be the redefinition of our identity. If we are uncertain of what it should be, we should go by the old Chinese proverb, "If you don't know where to go further, go back to where you came from." To recognise our identity, we need to revert to our origin and recognise the ideology whereupon Pakistan was founded.
In his address as first governor-general of Pakistan to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, Jinnah said: "You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the state You will find that in the course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state."
As rightly envisioned by Jinnah over half a century ago, religion should be a personal matter to every practitioner of any faith, and not a subject regulated by the government. Accordingly, it should be declared that political parties' manifestos should be based on social and economic programme and all religious parties should be given a month's notice to decide once and for all if they are religious factions or political parties. Thereafter, Pakistan should neither be called a secular state, nor an Islamic one. Rather, it should be a welfare state, dedicated to the welfare of all its nationals alike.
Pakistanis have never voted the country's largest religious party into power. The fact that this party had only three MNAs in the National Assembly during Z A Bhutto's regime is a clear sign of the moderate mindset of Pakistani people, and a living testimony to Jinnah's apt vision. Later on, they were the first ones to hijack the nation's ideology and impose their version of religion on our moderate way of life.
analysis
Syed Jawaid Iqbal
Pakistan has a chequered history -- right from Jinnah's demise and Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination to the toppling of democratic governments several times by the armed forces. Whether we like it or not, a majority of today's politicians are provincial leaders at best. On the contrary, the army, which happens to be the only permanent political party in Pakistan, has its loyalty with the state and not with any particular group or sub-strata of society. Before we criticise this institution, we must also remember that it does not assume power by virtue of its merit. Rather, it is the demerits of our politicians that disqualify them from being the right choice to lead the nation.
The first time a democratic government had attained consensus among all political parties was during the regime of Z A Bhutto. Much to the displeasure of vested interests who only wanted a dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties and not an agreement, Air Marshal Asghar Khan unconstitutionally invited army intervention through a letter to the then chief of army staff, Gen Ziaul Haq. In the name of protection, all political leaders were arrested and martial law was imposed, which led eventually to Bhutto's 'judicial murder'. Talking of our democratic leaders, if they have flaws, they also have their merits. One example is of Benazir Bhutto and her PPP who deserve the credit for being the only truly liberal and national representatives of Pakistan.
Is our democracy really successful and sustainable? It must be remembered that democracy is not a manufactured product that can be imported, but rather it should be seen as a locally-grown fruit whose strength depends on factors such as 'soil', 'climate' and 'farmers'. Our ground realities are different from those found in the west and hence in our context we will have to meticulously determine what parts of this fruit need to be peeled and discarded and which ones preserved and made use of. In other words, Pakistan needs to find its own definition of democracy and not one inherited from the west. Pakistan is a brand; and every brand has its life cycle. Pakistan's positioning within and outside Pakistan has deteriorated sharply. Before it falls below the danger level, it is essential that we redefine its attributes, utility, packaging and positioning.
The first thing that we need to do is to increase the literacy rate and reduce our population. This means providing universal free education. Parents who don't send their children to school should be penalised. 'Food' banks should be set up in places where there are many impoverished families and help from NGOs, the private sector and charitable organisations should be taken in this regard. On the population front, only two children should be allowed per family. The law should be made applicable after one year of its announcement. Those with more children should be made to pay a higher tax burden.
The second step is to dissolve all provincial boundaries and use the old system of divisions. The latter should be treated as autonomous states, each with its own state government. Foreign affairs, currency and defence should be under the federal government, while the rest should be administered by the respective state governments. This would not only help overcome the issues of cultural animosity, language and ethnic discrimination, but would also be in the greatest interest of Punjab, which is accused of being responsible for the 1971 dismemberment of East Pakistan and for capturing the country's major resources since 1947.
The third essential element would be the redefinition of our identity. If we are uncertain of what it should be, we should go by the old Chinese proverb, "If you don't know where to go further, go back to where you came from." To recognise our identity, we need to revert to our origin and recognise the ideology whereupon Pakistan was founded.
In his address as first governor-general of Pakistan to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, Jinnah said: "You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the state You will find that in the course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state."
As rightly envisioned by Jinnah over half a century ago, religion should be a personal matter to every practitioner of any faith, and not a subject regulated by the government. Accordingly, it should be declared that political parties' manifestos should be based on social and economic programme and all religious parties should be given a month's notice to decide once and for all if they are religious factions or political parties. Thereafter, Pakistan should neither be called a secular state, nor an Islamic one. Rather, it should be a welfare state, dedicated to the welfare of all its nationals alike.
Pakistanis have never voted the country's largest religious party into power. The fact that this party had only three MNAs in the National Assembly during Z A Bhutto's regime is a clear sign of the moderate mindset of Pakistani people, and a living testimony to Jinnah's apt vision. Later on, they were the first ones to hijack the nation's ideology and impose their version of religion on our moderate way of life.
analysis
