Socio Economic Problems of Pakistan --- A sample Essay

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN --- A Sample Essay

Introduction:
Linguistic and cultural diversity, economic disparity, divisions of class and caste, tribal
and clan affiliations, and inherited differences of rank and privilege have profoundly conditioned
Pakistani society and its responses to democracy and human rights. The most visible
characteristic of this society is the dominance of a feudal and tribal social structure, with strong
patriarchal and authoritarian trends. Social behavior is shaped by these trends, which are
manifested in a culture of control and monopoly over power and resources.

REASONS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

1. The Problem of Feudal Structure:
The pattern of colonial rule in undivided India had given rise to ruling elite drawn from
feudal and tribal groups and the industrial bourgeoisie. Access to the State for the vast rural
majority took place through the patron, who was the feudal landlord or the tribal chief. Power
and privilege were negotiated with the colonial rulers by these elites. Patron-client networks had
grown stronger during the period of colonial rule.
The grip of a landed oligarchy (government by a small group of people) in the Punjab and
Sindh, and of tribal chiefs in Balochistan and NWFP, over the rural population continued to be a
main cause of the growth of inequality in Pakistan. Control of political decision-making
remained directly or indirectly in the hands of those who had a stake (interest) in maintaining the
status-quo. Economic policies also accommodated those interests. A series of military regimes
co-opted the same stake-holders to perpetuate the tradition of control over power and resources
to the exclusion of the 'common man'. A more equitable redistribution of assets never became a
part of any political or economic plan, and remained a rhetorical slogan of successive regimes.
The social structure, therefore, persists (carry on) without serious challenges from either state
policies or social movements.
In Sindh, the feudal structure is stronger than in the Punjab, and at the same time the
tribal system of NWFP is slightly less hierarchical than the Sardari Nizam of Balochistan. In
Sindh and Punjab, particularly in Southern Punjab, power emanates from control over resources,
i.e., land and its products. In tribal society, strong ties of clan and kinship impose the necessity to
submit to the control of the tribal elite.

The feudal system operates by controlling all aspects of the subject's life. The landlord
sees it as a right to command the labour of the peasant. If any terms are offered, these are
extremely exploitative. Often peasants are subjected to forced and bonded labour. Social rights
of the peasants are also subject to the will of the feudal. Education has been discouraged by the
feudal class, which always felt that education would empower the peasantry sufficiently to
challenge feudal control. Exploitation has often taken more serious forms of abuse and violence.
 Rape of women, illegal confinement of families to prevent their mobility, child labour, and cruel
and inhuman punishment for defiance (challenge) of authority are common occurrences under the
feudal system in rural Pakistan.
Failure to Implement Effective Land Reform:
Failure to implement effective land reform has resulted in the continuing prevalence of
large land holdings. The first attempt at land reform in Pakistan was in 1959, the second in 1972,
and the third in 1977. These attempts failed to bring about any significant reduction in the size of
land holdings, and caused no loss of social or political power to the landlords. The major factor
responsible for the failure of the land reforms was the ceiling on ownership.
The limit to the size of holdings was fixed on an individual, rather than a family, basis.
This allowed most of the feudal landlords to circumvent (Evade, escape from) the reforms by
effecting fictitious (imaginary, unreal.) or merely formal transfers of land. Many used other
lacunas (a gap) in the scheme to retain land without declaring any land in excess of the ceiling.
The failure of land reforms to achieve the objective of equitable distribution of land is evident in
the following observations:
1.               Landlords were left with large land holdings even after declaring land in excess of the fixed
ceilings;
2.               In 1959, only 35% (1.9 million acres) of the land declared in excess of the ceiling could be taken
over by the government. In 1972, this was even less. The total amount of land taken over was 0.1
million acres.
3.               A major portion of the land taken over by government after the attempts at reform was
uncultivated and needed considerable improvement before it could be cultivated. The recipient
farmer not having access to credit or support services could, therefore draw neither economic nor
social benefit from his new holdings.
With the "green revolution" in late 1960s, successive governments saw no need for land reform,
as the argument that small farms had a higher yield than large farms could no longer be used to
spur action by the government. The prospect for another attempt at more genuine land reform
was finally eliminated by a decision of the Federal Shariat Court in 1989 declaring the Land
Reforms Ordinance of 1972 to be non-Islamic thereby establishing the principle that the whole
concept of land reform is non-Islamic.

Rights of Women in the Society:

Regardless of class or urban/rural differences, women are subject to cultural practices
that are repressive (oppressive) and discriminatory. Many of these practices reflect the status of
women in society. They are perceived as having no independent existence or dignity. They are
the repositories (storehouse) of family honour, and violation of their honour and dignity is not
seen as injury to the women themselves but to the family honour. A common form of
humiliation, often meted out (measure) to the defiant (openly disobedient) subject by the landlord,
is publicly stripping (undress) women of the offender's family. On the other hand, any exercise of
freedom of choice in marriage by women, whether in a feudal or tribal setting or in an urban
environment, is also seen as blemishing the honour of the family, and results in extreme forms of
violence exercised against women.

Women from the peasant class suffer both as members of their social class as well as
from denial of rights and status on the basis of gender. While women from the feudal class enjoy
freedom from poverty, their status and rights are as vulnerable to feudal practices as those of
peasant women. In some respects, the freedom of tribal women and those belonging to feudal
families is more restricted than that of peasant women. Deprivation of most of their social rights,
including education and health care, results not from poverty but from the strict rules of
seclusion (privacy) imposed on them. No opportunities for economic independence are available.
Although entitled to inheritance under the law, patriarchal trends have largely denied this right to
women of the landed aristocracy. In order to prevent division of land-holding, only male heirs
are allowed a share in landed property. Where title to land is transferred to women, either as a
concession to the law, or to avoid land reform schemes, it is only formal and women have no
control over the land. More often than not, they are not even aware that they hold this title.
Patriarchal attitudes and value systems have denied women autonomy in all decision-making.
The right of choice in marriage is totally denied. Women are bartered into marriage to forge
(fabricate, invent) family alliances to strengthen the power base, or to protect interests in land-
holdings.

2. War against Terrorism:

Most of Pakistan's socio-economic problems originate from the heavy emphasis on
national defense and military spending. Pakistan's unconditional support for the US's "war
against terrorism" after September 11, 2001 has augmented this lopsided ( with one side lower)
stress. The then President General Pervez Musharraf had been handed "an enduring rationale for
continuing as president under Kelsen's law of necessity that has served all prior military rulers".
He was less inclined to take any major initiatives to pursue peace with India. Military
expenditure continued to absorb the lion's share of the government budget and no major overhaul
of Pakistan's military organization is likely.

More harm than good has accrued when Musharraf short-sold Pakistan to the US. To
prevent the "Islamic bomb" from falling into religious terrorist hands, the American 15th Marine
Expeditionary unit is ready to "neutralize" Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction even at the
cost of engaging Pakistani troops. The arrest of Pakistani nuclear scientists for passing know-
how to Al-Qaeda was done to please the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Changes in the
Pakistan army high command and the Inter-Services Intelligence were carried out to curry favor
with the Central Intelligence Agency. India has succeeded in throwing flashlights on terrorist
training infrastructure in Pakistani Kashmir. The victory of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan
is a major setback to Pakistan due to the former's closeness to Iran and India. Pakistan's economy
is deteriorating, with sliding per capita incomes lower than 1%, and foreign economic assistance
evaporating after the Taliban were dislodged from Afghanistan.

Pakistan's nuclear program cost an estimated $10 billion up to 2001 and set back development
indices by more than years. Post-nuclear US sanctions caused Pakistan's economy to suffer a
gross domestic product fall of 2.9%. The exorbitant (extravagant) opportunity costs of Pakistan's
nuclear white elephant have actually diminished the country's national security.
RETRENCHMENT STRATEGIES:

The solution to Pakistan's security deficit suggested by Faruqui is to balance its economic
resources with strategic ambitions. What is needed is a "lean and mean military organization,
without becoming a drain on the national treasury and undermining the non-military dimensions
of security. The comparative experience of Israel, which depends on reservists for defending
territorial integrity, is a lesson. To defend Pakistan against external aggression, a force level of
300,000 troops is enough, i.e. half of the present strength. Offering golden handshakes and
compensation packages for converting swords into plowshares can carry out demobilization.
Small force levels do not imply weak defense.

Suggestions:

Pakistan always had the human and natural resources but its leadership lacked the will and
sincerity of purpose. Under the leadership of sincere leaders, Pakistan will emerge as a
responsible and dignified member in the comity of nations and will show unflinching
commitment in discharging its international responsibilities. The people of Pakistan strongly
desire to have friendly relations with all countries, especially, its neighbors.
1. Cut short the Military Expenditures:

Pakistan's poor economic situation is linked intrinsically ( essentially) with faulty defense
and foreign policies. Pakistani leaders should follow the example of Deng Xiaoping, who
converted China's foreign policy of confrontation into one of economic cooperation. Pakistan's
savings and investment ratios are among the lowest in the world, mainly due to defense spending
 and corruption, both severe drains. It spends 6% of its gross domestic product on defense, while
health and education stagnate at 1% and 2%.

Military spending in Asia as a whole has declined from the end of the Cold War and
helped power investment and per capita incomes in the long run. Disarmament is feasible and
practical, as examples from both developing and developed countries reveal. For Pakistan, which
is on the edge of the precipice, (dangerous situation) there is no choice but to pragmatically take a
leaf from Deng's famous dictum that strength is primarily economic. The million-dollar question
is whether Pakistani leaders follow this honest reappraisal of what Pakistan requires to be really
secure.

The President must initiate the process of strengthen the nation by pursuing the following
seven point agenda:
       Rebuild National confidence and morale
       Strengthen the Federation, remove inter-provincial disharmony and restore National cohesion
       Revive the economy and restore investor confidence
       Ensure law and order and dispense speedy justice
       Depoliticize State institutions
       Devolution of power to the grass-roots level
       Ensure swift and across the board accountability

In an effort to drive maximum focus from the seven points, a four point strategy must be
developed. The idea is to concentrate, prioritize and accomplish tangibles. The key goals should
be:

1. Economic revival
2. Poverty alleviation
3. Political restructuring
4. Devolution of power to grass root
On each one of these we will see tremendous forward movement.
2. Extremism and Ethnic hatred should be abolished:
The nation strongly feels that in order to attain the objective of becoming a mature,
moderate and tolerant society, Pakistan has to get rid itself from the elements spreading religious
extremism and ethnic hatred. The nation should be firmly committed to root out terrorism in all
its forms and manifestations from Pakistan. While evolution of a moral and ethical society,
strong in religious and cultural values shall remain the nation's cherished goal, I believe that
extremism and sectarian violence by a fringe (border) have to be rooted out from our society. The
minority cannot be allowed to hold the majority hostage.
A progressive and prosperous society is directly linked with a dynamic, robust (sound)
and resilient economy. Pakistan, therefore, as a strong, vibrant economy, should make progress
at an average rate of 7 to 8% over the next decade. In order to meet this target, the policy makers
should initially, through singular focus and by following a definite strategy, concentrate on
removing the weaknesses of Pakistan's economy. The problems of growing debt, rising
corruption, sliding confidence of the business community and prospective investors and eroding
credibility of vital State institutions should be addressed with encouraging results. With
economic stability and wide ranging reforms, Pakistan will look ahead towards self-reliant
growths, which will directly impacts poverty reduction. Our small and medium enterprises i.e.
housing and construction, oil and gas, information technology, tourism and telecommunications
can play a pivotal role in the envisaged growth.
4. Development in Agricultural-Sector:
Around 70% of Pakistan's population live in rural areas with their livelihood dependent
on agriculture. Irrigated agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy but water is becoming
a limiting factor on cropping area. Pakistan also has the additional potential of bringing about
22.5 million acres of virgin land under cultivation if irrigation water is made available. The
policy makers, therefore, should designate the construction of medium and large reservoirs,
canals and brick-lining of watercourses, for maximum water conservation, a foremost National
priority.
5. The Encouragement of Private Sector:
The economists envision the distinct roles and realms of government and the private
sector. They strongly believe that the private sector is not only the main engine of growth but
also the primary source of employment generation. To them, the private sector can produce,
distribute and trade goods and services more efficiently and at a lower cost than the government.
The government's role should only be in facilitating and creating an environment conducive for
the private sector to flourish. The government should, therefore, be committed to the vigorous
(active; robust) pursuit of the privatization policy.
6. Human Resource Development:
Human Resource Development is an imperative for socio-economic development.
According to experts, no nation can effectively progress without a strong human capital base and
education is central to overall Human Resource Development. The holistic approach of the
nation should aim at enhancing literacy levels, improving quality of primary and secondary
education and also giving a major boost to the quality of higher education. Thanks to God, the
present government has targeted 60 % literacy level by 2005 and over 90% by 2015 and
producing 1,500 PhDs each year, mainly in science subjects by 2009. The present percentage of
students entering higher education is to be enhanced from 2.6% to 5 % by 2009.

7. Gender Equity:
The cause of gender equity is very close to the prosperity of the nation. I firmly believe
that the route to women's emancipation is through political empowerment. Therefore, a series of
concrete measures should be taken to ensure adequate and effective representation of women in
the National decision-making institutions. It is encouraging that under the present government
their representation in local government bodies has been increased to a minimum of 33% of the
total seats. It is minimum, because women are at liberty to contest elections for general seats as
well. In the Senate, the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, women have been
guaranteed strong representation by reserving 17% of the total seats for them. This, of course, is
a quantum leap from the zero level of the past. With this initiative, over 40,000 women have
been politically empowered through the electoral process.

8. Peaceful Solution of International Disputes:

Being a peace-loving nation, we must show our predisposition to dialogue over
confrontation and finding just solutions to international disputes in accordance with UN
resolutions. The landmark strategy of Enlightened Moderation of the president of Pakistan is
reflective of his efforts to promote global peace and stability. The two-pronged strategy on the
one hand induces Ummah to introspect and address their deficits in social and economic
standards and on the other solicits from international community rejection of misconceptions
about Islam and the thesis of clash of civilizations. The developed world should not only support
Muslims in their efforts for socio-economic uplift but also help resolve international political
disputes in a fair and equitable manner.
At present, Pakistan is incurring a price tag of $110 million a year for pumping the insurgency in
Indian Kashmir and thereby earning the ire of the international community. Analysts prescribe a
more active "third party catalyst" role for the US to provide incentives for peace over Kashmir,
though how a superpower interested in running off democratic India against China can be
expected to be an honest broker over Kashmir is left for the reader's imagination. Faruqui's
reading of post-Cold War realities and US-China equation are confusing.

Economic aid, debt write-offs and conversion to zero-interest loans are also recommended to
encourage defense spending cuts in Pakistan and India. Faruqui makes assumptions that Indian
security is purely Pakistan-centric by adducing two-country game theory models to prove that
economic diplomacy works. Bilateralizing concentric multilateral threat perceptions is too
simplistic.

The Problem of Terrorism:

However, in the post-9/11 world, which is pre-occupied with the threat of terrorism, the
argument that carries weight in the developed world is the relevance of socio-economic
development to the war against terror. The mere appeal to humanity, and fairness did not seem to
attract resources from the developed countries to remedy backwardness and poverty. However,
the fear that economic deprivation may drive desperate people to take to terrorism is proving
more effective in attracting attention to the need for economic justice. The other root cause of
terrorism is the frustration caused by political injustice in Palestine, Kashmir and other parts of
the Muslim world.

The Extremism:
For developing countries like Pakistan, where the problems of poverty are exacerbated by
the rise of extremism that can turn into terrorism addressing the problem of poverty is the most
effective way to contain terrorism. President Musharraf, speaking at the Islamic Summit last year
in Malaysia, drew attention to the tendency in the West to link the phenomenon of terrorism to
Islam. He came up with the strategy of 'enlightened moderation", which would create a win-win
situation both for the West and the Islamic world.

The role of the Muslim world would be to eschew extremism and militancy, even for just causes,
and to adopt the path of socio-economic uplift. The West would provide economic and technical
assistance to remove poverty, and use its power and influence to help resolve the disputes in
which the democratic and human rights of the Muslims were being violated. This concept, which
the President also mentioned in his address to the UN General Assembly this year, won
considerable support.

The Strategy of Socio-economic Development

The strategy of socio-economic development to fight poverty as well as to contain
terrorism and militancy is being implemented in Pakistan. After the first five years, during which
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz helped lay the foundation for economic stability and growth,
attention is being turned to spreading the benefits to the common man, by addressing the
problems in the social sector. Education, health and technological skills are being promoted, with
increasing participation of the private sector, as well as the foreign agencies and governments

The Poverty Problem:

The poverty and not terrorism is the core problem of Pakistan.The government’s recent
figures that poverty witnessed 7 per cent decline in the country is baseless. Prices of goods have
increased manifold in the last decade, while 80 per cent of the employed people in Pakistan
still took salaries below Rs4,000 per month. The rulers don’t know the problems of the masses.
They don’t know how a poor man supports his family in Rs2,000 or Rs3,000 a month. Pakistan
is a country where the poor subsidize the rich because 80 per cent of the taxes are indirect and
the elite are exempted from many taxes.
The country is unable to even introduce a capitalist system let alone a social welfare state.
In US, where there is a capitalist system the one per cent elites paid 35 per cent of the overall
taxes. A study reported by the BBC about Pakistan as being among the tenth vulnerable
states is vigorously challenged by the government statistically. The tenth state is Afghanistan and
Pakistan comes ninth. It was said at the seminar on poverty in Islamabad that poor governance
hurt the poor more. That is true indeed, whether that be in the shape of corrupt and inefficient
policeman and a feeble or corrupt low judiciary. In addition what is promised to the poor in the
shape of more and better schools and hospitals is hardly ever delivered to them and the poor
man’s protest in this regard evokes little response unless he takes to violence. The debate
continues whether poverty is increasing or decreasing in the country. According to the
government officials, led by the prime minister, poverty is decreasing and prosperity is
increasing. For others, including President Musharraf, inflation, unemployment and
poverty are the problems that badly affect people and need greater attention from the
government.
Education System:
The government should announce education emergency in Pakistan because the country’s
education system was almost non- existent.

There is education Apartheid ( a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. )

in Pakistan, as a few elite educational institutions produced people, who controlled the affairs of
the country leaving zero space for the poor to come into powers and serve the nation.

Public Sector Development Programme:

The next public sector development programme will be worth Rs 245 billion, the
current year’s plan being Rs. 272 billion, to keep up the high rate of economic growth and
provide education infrastructure for industry and agricultural growth. But allocated 17 p-*er cent
more funds are not enough if the additional power and water needed are not available. Power
should hence have the top most priority.
-*
The Population Explosion:
The problem with Pakistan is its large population — 165 million of them. Too many
people have too little to share and too many privileged claimants among them. Apart from a
small number it is not a highly educated population with great skills. That reduces their
mobility and makes them confined to their roots as in Balochistan and Frontier province.
But not much time Pakistan can afford to waste in a highly competitive world. Even South Asia
is awake making rapid progress while Pakistan is grappling with some of the age-old issues. If
jobs are available in large numbers, there could be greater mobility and people move to other
regions.

Miscellaneous Problems:
Pakistan is also facing the problem of inadequate public services throughout the country,
with much of the population not having access to basic medical services, particularly outside of
urban areas; low levels of foreign investment and a 2005 inflation rate of nine per cent; and that
32 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line although the real number is
likely to be much higher.

The Energy Crisis:

Failure to build one of the large dams can cost the country four billion dollars per year,
says Dr Salman Shah, Advisor to the Prime Minister. And if the approved five dams were
built by 2015 they can add ten to fifteen billion dollars to the GDP of the country. He says
that with a $120 billion economy a new mega dam contributes 2.5 per cent to its GDP every
year.

Meanwhile, power is being made more costly as the Nepra has approved a 15 per cent
rise in power rates for KESC. Earlier, a 23 per cent rise was recommended by Nepra but was
ignored by the Government.
The UN report on Children:
According to another report of the United Nations Children Emergency Fund nearly half
the children of South Asia under the age of five are under weight and despite some progress, the
region is far from reaching the goal of halving hunger by 2015. They say that South Asia is
behind the target. But in case of Pakistan, officials say, that goal has already been achieved and
poverty already halved.

Conclusion:
In such circumstances they are promised reforms of the system but real reforms in practice
hardly ever come through, more so in the regions dominated by feudal lords and tribal chiefs.

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Outline:

• Introduction

• Problems Faced By Pakistan At The Time Of Inception

• Current Scenario

• Social Problems

i) Poverty
ii) Illiteracy
iii) Overpopulation
iv) Unemployment
v) Child Labour
vi) Corruption
vii) Poor Social Sector Including Health, Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation And Basic Infrastructure
viii) Women Are Not Empowered
ix) Human Rights Problem
x) Injustice
xi) Sectarianism, Extremism, And Target Killing
xii) Absence Of Rule Of Law

• Economic Problems

i) Economic Loss Due To War On Terrorism

ii) Energy Crisis
iii) Low FDI And Huge Debt Trap
iv) Poorly Managed Tax System
v) Low Export And High Import
vi) Inflation
vii) Influx Of Local People Fom War Ridden Areas And Their Rehabilitation
viii) Lack Of Tourism

• Suggestions

i) Ensuring Equal Distribution Of Wealth.

ii) Dispensation Of Free And Quick Justice
iii) To Curb Corruption At All Levels
iv) The Curriculum Of Schools Need Be Reviewed
v) Health Care Be Provided To All Citizens
vi) Provision Of Equal Rights To All Citizens
vii) Poverty Alleviation Programmes Be Initiated
viii) Population Growth Be Controlled
ix) New Dams Should Be Built
x) New Industries Be Set Up To Provide Employment.

Conclusion

People are the essential pillar of any country. It is the fundamental duty and responsibility of the country
to fulfil the basic needs of its people. Basic needs of man comprises of shelter, food and clothing. When
these needs are not fulfilled they bring about problems termed as socio-economic problems. Pakistan
has also been suffering from these problems. The real issue is not the presence of these problems in the
society. But the extent to which they are being paid attention and solved. When these problems are not
met timely and the grievances of the people are not redressed they turn out to be a menace for the
country. They assert a negative impact on society. The society deprived of basic necessities of life is
ignorant of its obligations towards the country. This results in deviant behaviour, drug abuse, smuggling,
corruption, poverty, illiteracy and many other social evils. The country beset with social crises and
problems fails to attract foreign investment. Low investment results in economic breakdown and causes
decline in export, low MNCs business, tumbling stock market and inflation.

Pakistan has been facing a lot social problems since its inception in 1947. In the start there were the
problems of lack of funds, rehabilitation of refugees, poor infrastructure and widespread poverty of
masses. Quaid-e-Azam tried his best to solve these problems and get the state machinery working.
Owing to his sudden death he could not eradicate these problems completely. Unfortunately, leaders
after him did not pay considerable attention towards the solution of various problems. Subsequently,
the problems have grown with the passage of time and become social evils.

Pakistan is a developing country and faces all social problems that developing countries face along with
political instability that aggravates the problems further. Currently, Pakistan has many challenges to face
in the form of social and economic problems.

Poverty has been one of the biggest problems that Pakistan faces today. It is rightly said that poverty
anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. 70 per cent of the population of Pakistan live in villages.
According to an analysis, poverty has increased roughly from 30% to 40% during the past decade. It
means that 40 per cent of the country’s population is merely earning their livelihood below the poverty
line. In such condition people are deprived of their basic necessities of life. Proper education and
medication are becoming distant from them. They are forced to think of their survival only.

Perhaps the greatest loss comes in the field of education. The inadequacy of quality education renders
our country incapable of dealing with the challenges of the 21st century. People marred by poverty are
unable to afford quality education for their children. In addition, government’s negligence is aggravating
the situation further. Despite various steps taken by different governments for the promotion of
education, literacy rate lingers at 56% over the decade. Pakistan is spending only a meagre amount of its
GDP on this vital sector. Owing to low investment, government run schools are deprived of basic
facilities like proper classrooms, water and sanitation facilities, electricity. Private sector is doing a
commendable job in this regard. But owing to money making objective of this sector, education has
been beyond poor’s reach. The primary completion rate in Pakistan given by UNESCO is 33.8 % in
females and 47% in males, which shows that people in the 6th largest country of the world are unable to
get the basic education.

Pakistan is facing the dragon of overpopulation. The growth rate of Pakistan is very high and is among
the highest in the world. Since 1947, the population has become more than triple. Pakistan is almost
touching 180 million mark. Population expansion has been a real issue of concern for all governments.
With limited resources it is very difficult to cater to the needs of growing population. There is a great
economic disparity among the people. Poor are committing suicides out of hunger while rich are busy in
amassing more and more wealth. These social problems directly affect the masses. The massively
increasing population has almost outstripped the resources in production, facilities and in job
opportunities.

Pakistan is poorly faced with the problem of unemployment. The existing unemployment rate is 15%.
Pakistan is confronting cyclical, technical, structural and seasonal unemployment. It is always considered
to be killing for an economy. The most horrible part is that it is rising every year which in long term will
demonstrate to be hazardous for the economy of Pakistan. It has negative impact on society. It creates
frustration and revengeful attitude. It leads to an increase in the incidences of crimes.

Owing to poverty and unemployment, parents instead of sending their children to schools, prefer child
labour for them. They make them do so to support their family and use them as earning hands from the
early age. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated in 2005 that there would be 10 to 12
million child workers in Pakistan by 2010-11.But according to an All-Pakistan Labour Force survey, this
number has doubled to about 21 million child workers. It shows the gravity of the situation. The main
reason is poverty, while the low literacy rate has also contributed to the problem to a large extent. Child
labour is a sort of deluge that is draining away our precious talent to be utilized in right place. Child
labour pushes them into a bad company and immoral activities such as use of drugs, crime.
Corruption is another huge social problem. Transparency International (TI) has ranked Pakistan 34th
most corrupt nation in the world. The menace of corruption has links to a multitude of vices. Its roots
are linked to injustice, mistrust, suspicion, extremism and terrorist activities. It creates a sense of
insecurity, exacerbates poverty and adds to the misfortune of the vulnerable segments of the society. It
also instils a sense of hopelessness and despondency and threatens the strength of good values which
have been established over centuries of civilized struggle.

Rising poverty in Pakistan necessitates that 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) be spent
on social sector including education, health, safe drinking water, sanitation and basic infrastructure to
achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. At present, Pakistan spends only three per
cent of its GDP on health and education whereas India allocates nine per cent for these sectors. Such a
meagre amount which is already insufficient to cater to the needs is further misappropriated. There are
less hospitals and medical centres. If there are any, the people are unable to afford their and their
children’s health expenses. So the health problems grow unchecked. It is very depressing that basic
health facilities are not available to the half of the population.

We have seen phenomenal changes in the world. But the status and fate of women has not changed
much in Pakistan. In Pakistan their situation has become worse. It comes as no surprise that we were
recently rated as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the way we treat women.
More than 60 years after independence, 80% of Pakistan women are still subject to domestic violence.
One in three has to endure villainy like rape, honour killing, immolation and acid attacks.

Pakistanis have suffered for decades because their human rights have not been protected in the
communities as well the courts. Whether they are women or children, Ahmedis or Christians, Shiites or
atheists, the rights of minorities are always threatened. Pakistan still struggles between the secular
British and religious Arabic laws and traditions. The violation of human right can easily be attributed to
the absence of timely justice to the masses.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Dispensation of timely justice is the core essence of a welfare society. It
is the duty of the state to promote justice. But in the case of Pakistan it has always been a day dream for
the poor masses. Since the independence judiciary has been captive at the hands of establishment.
Weak judiciary has been unable to redress the grievances of the masses. Under such conditions people
resort to violent actions and resolve their issues by extreme methods.

Religious differences such as Shia vs. Sunni are further adding fuel to the fire. Religious extremism that
took its roots in Pakistan after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 is proving venomous for Pakistan.
This religious extremism took a new shape of terrorism after 9/11. After the incident of 9/11 suicide
bombing in Pakistan has become a norm of the day. Target killing is another menace which is claiming
hundreds of innocent lives daily.

Owing to poor governance, the government is losing control over law and order situation. When
individuals put themselves ahead of institutions, they set a bad example. Suicide attacks, target killing,
robbery and other crimes have become norm of the day. And government seems helpless in this regard.
Social problems are interlinked with economic problems. Economic prosperity serves as a backbone for
the overall progress of a nation. One thing is common in all developed nations- they are economically
sound. When citizens of a country are freed from the worries of earning a livelihood to sustain their
lives, they divert their attention to more useful things. They focus on education, improvise healthcare,
develop technologies that make life easy and much more. Poor economic condition is the root cause of
so many problems that exist in a society. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s economic conditions are pathetic. As
if power crises, lack of foreign investment for the development of industrial zones, backward and out-
dated technology were not enough, Pakistan’s indulgence in war on terrorism served as a fatal blow to
the already crumbling economic state.

Terrorism has emerged as a monster for the world in general and for Pakistan in particular. Pakistan’s
involvement in War on Terror has proved a nightmare. The image of Pakistan as a peace loving country
has been tarnished. Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives while millions have lost everything they
had and are forced to migrate to relatively safer places. This war has destroyed our economy beyond
imagination. Terrorism is very closely linked to the declining economic conditions and high rate of
illiteracy prevailing in our country. The poor and illiterate become easy prey to the masterminds who
can train and use them in whatever they want. Pakistan’s economy has suffered on two accounts: first
large amount of money is being used on WoT, and second because we have lost many foreign investors
and markets.

Energy crisis has further crippled the already tumbling economy. It has almost jammed the industrial
wheel of the country. Owing to frequent outages many industrial units have been closed. Closure of
industries has caused a severe blow to economy. Energy starved economy fails to attract foreign
investment badly.

Poor economic condition of the country has not only kept the foreign investors away but the local as
well. When the conditions for industrial sector are not healthy in the country, the inflow of foreign
money to the country is checked causing decline in foreign reserves. Decline in foreign reserves compel
the country to seek loans from the other countries. Owing to fragile economy, FDI is shrinking on
account of terrorism and political instability. Another major problem is Pakistan’s huge debt and its
continued dependence on financial aid.
Moreover, tax system in Pakistan is also inefficient and unsatisfactory. Ratio of direct taxes is more than
indirect taxes. Tax evasion is common. The rich are reluctant to pay tax, while the poor are paying tax
even on the purchase of a match box.

With unhealthy conditions and decline in foreign reserves, the country is destined to face low export
and high import. It is also the case with our industrial sector. Due to inconsistent supply of electricity to
industrial sector, our industry fails to give required output. Not to speak of surplus production, our
industries are not able to meet the national requirement. The production of goods in lesser quantities
has affected export from our industrial sector. This makes our country to import goods, in order to meet
the needs of the masses causing inflation.
Inflation provides an important insight on the state of the economy and policies that govern it. Stable
inflation not only provides impetus for economic growth, but also helps uplift vulnerable strata of
society. Pakistan, in recent years has been in the grip of high inflation, which amongst other things has
adversely affected the economic health of the country. The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key
indicator of inflation, has swelled by 76% in the last four years, eroding the purchasing power of the
people as the overall economy has not performed in line with ever-increasing prices.

Moreover, local people of war-ridden areas are migrating to other areas of Pakistan. Country has seen
the largest migration since independence in 1947. These people have left their homes, businesses,
possessions and property back home. This large influx of people and their rehabilitation is an economic
burden for Pakistan. Unemployment is already prevalent and now the question of providing
employment to these migrants has also become a serious concern. This portion of population is
contributing nothing worthwhile to the national income yet they have to be benefited from it. This
unproductive lot of people is a growing economic problem of Pakistan.
Last but not least, lack of tourism is also a cause of the declining in economy. Northern areas of Pakistan
have been a place of great tourist attraction. The beautiful hills, the lush green valleys, shimmering lakes
and flowing waterfalls brought many a tourist from all over the world to Pakistan. This contributed to
foreign exchange. Tourism Industry was one of the booming industries of Pakistan. Besides attracting
foreign exchange, it also provided employment to local people. Also, tourist industry was a source of
friendly relations with other countries. Nevertheless, war on terrorism has served as a serious blow to
the tourism industry of Pakistan. Local as well as foreign media has projected Pakistan as a dangerous
and unsafe country. Its poor law and order situation has alarmed the tourist and thus Northern areas no
more receive many tourists.

For Pakistanis to make sure that Pakistan not only survives but also grows and thrives and joins the
modern world by becoming a progressive and democratic state, they need to take following steps:

• The gap between the rich and the poor must be decreased by ensuring equal distribution of wealth.
• Dispensation of free and quick justice be ensured by strengthening judiciary.
• There is a sheer need to curb corruption at all levels. The institutions of NAB and FIA should be made
more powerful to curb corruption
• The curriculum of schools need be reviewed so that children can receive scientific and secular
education in their mother tongue. In addition, there is need to develop critical and creative thinking.
• Health care education and free health care needs be provided to all citizens.
• Provision of equal rights to all citizens especially women and minorities be ensured.
• Poverty alleviation programmes be initiated to reduce poverty and child labour.
• Population growth be controlled by spreading awareness about the advantages of small families
among the masses through media.
• Energy crisis must be resolved on priority basis to revitalize the dying economy.
• New dams should be built and new methods of producing electricity should be utilized.
• Youth be equipped with technical education and new industries be set up to provide employment.

There are so many problems in Pakistan. There is only one thing that can help Pakistan in solving all the
problems that is the self-improvement of each and every Pakistani. All of us should be patriotic, honest,
and hardworking. Everyone should respect the laws of country and obey the laws. Only then we can
change our Pakistan's condition. There is a famous saying "God does not change the condition of any
country until the people of the country do not improve their selves. “It is true in the case of Pakistan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Socio-Economic Challenges Faced by Pakistan

by Rebel » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:22 pm

Socio-Economic Challenges Faced by Pakistan

Outline:
1. Introduction:
“Challenges are one of the foremost components in today’s advanced world. Every nation has its
own multiple challenges to deal with, either erupted internal or external. Pakistan, being a
developing country is also coping with some challenges among which social and economic
challenges are on top of list. Both short and long term measurements are needed to bring
Pakistan back from this mire to a prosperous state.”

2. Social challenges:
a. Illiteracy is adding in unemployed masses
b. Labor and employee exploitation
c. Over population & limited resources
d. Rampant corruption
e. Poverty knock
f. Terrorism-cum-extremism
g. Foreign cultural invasion
h. Scarcity of democratic norms in society
i. Extinction of moral values
3. Economic Challenges:
a. Rising circular debt
b. Aid based economy
c. Inflation and its effect on economy
d. Low FDI and portfolio investment
e. Currency devaluation
f. Energy crisis and its effect on Industries
g. High handedness of IMF & World bank
4. Effects of Socio-Economic Challenges
The social and economic challenges faced by Pakistan affects all and sundry.
a. Individual effects.
b. Overall effect
5. Solution:
a. Educational revolution
b. Zero tolerance policy of state against extremists and terrorists
c. Democratization of society
d. Effective steps to root out menace of corruption
e. Privatization to enhance performance and employment
f. Knowledge based economy will satisfy educated masses
g. Foreign loans should be discouraged
h. Short & long term measurements to meet energy requirements

6. Conclusion:
Pakistan is facing several challenges, and for keeping abreast with global World, solving them on
urgent basis is the need of time. The vast net of challenges ranges from individual challenges like
unemployment to overall economic challenges of the country like debts and crises. The foremost
need of time is national integrity along with patriotic attitude cum policies of the government.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Socio Economic Problems of Pakistan

Outline:

Introduction:
• A problem-free society; desire of every individual
• Defining social and economic problems
• Why they are a menace?

A. Social Problems
• Problems at the time of separation grew with the passage of time
• The current scenario
a. Poor law and order situation
b. Poverty
c. Illiteracy
d. Corruption
e. Unemployment
f. Child Labour

B. Economic Problems
• Power crises and war on terrorism, root of basic economic problems
• Loss of MNCs business
• Tumbling stock market
• Unprecedented Inflation
• Declining exports
• Loss of Foreign Exchange through Tourism Industry
• Influx of local people from war-ridden areas and their rehabilitation

C. Remedies
• Improved law and order situation
• Poverty alleviation
• Stern accountability
• Building new dams to curb energy crises

Conclusion

Socio Economic Problems of Pakistan

The most beautiful moment in the life of humans is when someone of their own blood calls them
‘mama’ or ‘papa’. Parents want to provide the newborn with the best of everything. He is
pampered, protected and taken care of. The blissful period of childhood soon gets over, and the
little human infant grows up to be an adult ready to face the challenges of the world he was born
in. He sees around him with a hope of finding the same perfection in everything which his
parents had provided him with. In no time, he realizes that the Utopian concept of a perfect
world should be confined to the fictional Island created by Thomas More in his widely renowned
novel only. That Utopia was far from reality and had nothing to do with the world around us. It’s
a world abound with countless problems- social, economic, legal, political, spiritual and the list
goes on.

Certain social and economic conditions become a menace for the society when they start
asserting negative influence on the society. Usually those social needs which persist in a society
for long period of time without being fulfilled owing to restrained budgetary scenarios, they turn
into socio-economic problems. The major problems of a society are linked with the providence
of basic necessities of life to the people making up the society. If the basic needs of man- shelter,
food and clothing are not fulfilled, the deprivation of these needs gradually transform into
different forms of social menaces. In the context of Pakistan, owing to the fact that it is a
developing nation, there is no wonder that it is engulfed with a number of social and economical
problems. The real issue is not the presence of these problems in society because, as stated
earlier, there is no concept of an ideal society in the world. Every country in the world has its
own set of socio-economic problems. The main issue is the extent and intensity of the socio-
economic problems of Pakistan which have soared to alarming levels. I will discuss some major
social and economic problems that are of serious concern for social scientists and political
economists.

A. Social Problems
Pakistan has been facing a lot of social problems since its inception in 1947. In the start there
were the problems of lack of funds, rehabilitation of refugees, poor infrastructure and widespread
poverty of masses. Quaid-e-Azam tried his best to solve these problems and get the state
machinery working but due to his sudden death, he could not eradicate these problems
completely. Subsequent governments didn’t pay considerable attention towards solution of
various social problems and thus they grew with the passage of time and became social evils.

At present the gravest problem that Pakistan is facing is its precarious law and order condition.
Terrorism has become a headache for federation and a nightmare for public. Government has
been helpless in eradicating terrorism despite beefing up security in metropolitan cities. Public
seeks answer to the question that what is their fault for which they are being punished by the
terrorists? People have become numerical figures, blown up in numbers every now and then.
Terrorists have not spared any place. Bazars, mosques, educational institutes, offices, hotels- you
name it and the place is not safe any more.

Besides terrorism there are other social problems which are older and more widespread. The
biggest of these problems is poverty. 70% population of Pakistan lives in villages. Most of them
don’t have access to adequate basic needs of life. They are struggling for bread and butter. A
large chunk of population lives below poverty line. They live in miserable conditions. Lack of
proper food, clothing and shelter, poor sanitation, unsafe and sometimes contaminated drinking
water are just some of their many problems. Poverty itself gives rise to various other social
problems. It deprives children of poor people to access education and healthcare. A sense of
deprivation manifests itself in form of various crimes. That is why every now and then we read
crime stories in newspapers that are characterized by lower orders of society who adopt illegal
channels to get the financial prosperity which they can not achieve otherwise.

Illiteracy is yet an other problem of Pakistan. The literacy rate lingers on 56% and ironically it
also includes those people who can read and write their name in Urdu. Over the decades, despite
decreasing, illiteracy rate in Pakistan has shown an upward trend. Not only that but enrollment
ratio of students at primary level has shown a decreasing trend. The fact that 50 percent of
children do not complete their primary education testifies this fact. Uneducated adults contribute
negligibly to the national exchequer. Despite spending millions on it, government has failed to
achieve literacy rates comparable to other countries in South Asia. Private sector is doing
commendable job for the promotion of educational culture in Pakistan, but its main objective is
money-making. Schools and colleges are opened as a business prospect and thus many of them
lack quality.

Corruption is another huge social problem. According to latest report of Transparency

International, Pakistan has been ranked at 42nd number among the most corrupt nations of the
world. From clerical staff to higher offices and bureaucrats, all are involved in corruption of one
kind or the other. Corruption in government departments is so much deep-rooted that a common
concept prevails that the system doesn’t let honest people to work peacefully. There is a lack of
accountability due to which wealthy people and those in power are sure that they can’t be held
responsible for their deeds. So they keep on looting the national treasures and find ways to
legalize their black-money. Many corrupt people don’t even bother to do that.

Unemployment is also regarded as a major social problem. Major portion of Pakistan’s

population consists of youth and a large number of young people who have the ability and are
willing to work are unemployed. Currently rate of unemployment as per official resources is
7.4% but according to some private estimates the arte of unemployment is 12%. There are many
reasons of unemployment like influx of machinery that has replaced manpower, lack of new
industries and defective education system. But the impacts of unemployment are more serious
and dangerous. People who don’t find work here migrate to other countries with better prospects.
Also, people tired of making both ends meet due to unemployment indulge in nefarious activities
and ratio of crimes increases.

Child labour is widespread in Pakistan. Whether in bigger cities or in small villages, we find
innocent malnourished children employed in various forms of labour. They are working as
welders, mechanics, plumbers, electricians and in industries like carpet-weaving, glass and
football making. Meager wages are paid to these children and no facilities for education are
provided. Media and NGOs have always condemned child labour. In past, some countries
refused to import those goods from Pakistan in whose making children were employed. But
despite all these factors, due to growing inflation and poverty, parents are bound to send their
children to work to light their stoves.

These are just few of the many social problems Pakistan is facing today. Population expansion
has been a real issue of concern for all governments. With limited resources it is very difficult to
cater to the needs of growing population. There is a great economic disparity among the people.
Poor are committing suicides out of hunger while rich are busy amassing more and more wealth.
These social problems directly affect the masses. Apart from these there are several economic
problems which have broken the backbone of national treasury.

B. Economic Problems
Economic prosperity serves as a backbone for the overall progress of a nation. One thing is
common in all developed nations- they are economically sound. When citizens of a country are
freed from the worries of earning a livelihood to sustain their lives, they divert their attention to
more useful things. They focus on education, improvise healthcare, develop technologies that
make life easy and much more. Poor economic condition is the root cause of so many problems
that exist in a society. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s economic conditions are pathetic. As if power
crises, lack of foreign investment for the development of industrial zones, backward and out-
dated technology were not enough, Pakistan’s indulgence in war on terrorism served as a fatal
blow to the already crumbling economic state.

Result is that all our important industries that once served as an important contributor to the
national GDP have been closed down. Sugar, cement and shoe industry is on its downfall while
textile industry is breathing its last. Foreign investors are not ready to setup their businesses in
Pakistan. They have their own set of problems which include painful and lengthy procedure of
getting licenses and work permits in Pakistan, power crises, terrorism and declining exports.
Multinational Companies are reluctant to open their offices and franchises in Pakistan. More than
70 MNCs have already packed up their business from Pakistan.

Stock Exchanges also depict a true picture of economic meltdown. Instable political system,
dictatorship in its worse form and non-effective democracy badly affect the rates of stocks listed
on the three stock exchanges of Pakistan. During this year, many times Karachi Stock Exchange
has plunged to its lowest point in the history of Pakistan. Local as well as foreign investors are
hesitant of investing large sums of money in stock exchange in fear of incurring unexpected loss.
Stock exchanges showed very poor performance throughout 2008. Situation was so precarious
that government had to freeze the market during last quarter of 2008. Also, recovery state of
stocks is alarming. Earlier when stock market used to plunge, it would recover in few days or
weeks. Now share prices take a nose-dive and take considerable time to generate profits.

Rate of inflation was never a two-digit figure in Pakistan, but in recent years it has seen an
unprecedented increase. Prices of all consumer products in general and food products in
particular are rocket high. Core inflation soared to 18.85% in first quarter of year 2009 until SBP
took steps to curb inflation through tight monetary policy. Cost of production increased due to
various factors. International increase in oil prices and Pakistan’s internal unfavourable business
conditions are two important factors responsible for high rates of inflation. Consumer Price
Index (CPI) as well as Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is at all-time high. In contrast, purchasing
power of masses is at an all-time low.

Northern areas of Pakistan have been a place of great tourist attraction. The beautiful hills, the
lush green valleys, shimmering lakes and flowing waterfalls brought many a tourist form all over
the world to Pakistan. This contributed to foreign exchange. Tourism Industry was one of the
booming industries of Pakistan. Besides attracting foreign exchange, it also provided
employment to local people. Also, tourist industry was a source of friendly relations with other
countries. Nevertheless, war on terrorism has served as a serious blow to the tourism industry of
Pakistan. Local as well as foreign media has projected Pakistan as a dangerous and unsafe
country. Its poor law and order situation has alarmed the tourist and thus Northern areas no more
receive many tourists.

Due to war on terror, local people of war-ridden areas are migrating to other areas of Pakistan.
Country has seen the largest migration since independence in 1947. These people have left their
homes, businesses, possessions and property back home. This large influx of people and their
rehabilitation is an economic burden for Pakistan. Unemployment is already prevalent and now
the question of providing employment to these migrants has also become a serious concern. This
portion of population is contributing nothing worthwhile to the national income yet they have to
be benefited from it. This unproductive lot of people is a growing economic problem of Pakistan.

C. Remedies
Successive governments have taken steps to solve various socio-economic problems. But these
problems are so deep-rooted that they have not been successful in putting an end to these
problems. The problem lies in the fact that government focuses on one factor and ignores the
others related to it. For example, much emphasis is laid on beefing up security in big cities in
wake of terrorism. But nothing serious has been done to seal the unlawful entrance of arms from
across the border. Acids and explosive materials used for destruction by atomic bombs are easily
available in market at cheap prices. Ministers and other government officials enjoy the facilities
of squads of armed body guards while public places like markets, roads, shopping centers, bus
stands etc are not adequately protected. To control terrorism, government needs to stop fighting
the proxy war on behalf of USA.

Secondly, there is a sheer need to curb corruption at all levels. The institutions of NAB and FIA
should be made more powerful to curb corruption. Culprits should not be allowed to escape out
of country. Rather strict punishments should be imposed on them. Not only they should be
strictly dealt with, but the wealth looted by them should be recovered and employed for the
welfare of people. Judiciary should be an independent institution. Currently Pakistan has
experienced a new era in the history of its judicial set-up. Judiciary is powerful but we have yet
to wait and see the results of independence of judiciary in Pakistan.

Thirdly, poverty reduction should be top priority of government. Cottage industry and self-
business should be promoted. Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. It should be
strengthened by providing loans to farmers. Free of cost educations should be provided to
children in villages. Overall standard of living needs to be improved and inflation should be
controlled.

Lastly, for economic development, energy crises should be controlled. New dams should be built
and new methods of producing electricity should be utilized.

Conclusion:
As stated in the start of essay, no country is free from socio-economic problems. These problems
are present in every country but the winners are those who overcome most if not all of them.
Though Pakistan is currently facing a lot of socio-political and socio-economic problems but it
doesn’t mean that it is going towards its end. Nations face multifarious problems but together
they work for towards the solution. The same is the need of hour. Government as well as every
single citizen of Pakistan has to play its own specific role to bring about a positive change.

THE END

Role of Media.

1: Creation of awareness
2: Formation of Public opinion
3: Promotion of Tolerance
4: Providing raw materials for decision making
5: Facilitating Legislation
6: Strengthening of democracy
7: Educating People
8: Rights and Duties determination
9: Highlighting grievances, problems & Challenges
10: Social Amalgamation
11: Strengthening foreign relations
12: Good source of advertisement
13: Entertainment.

Media as Fourth Pillar of the state:

Positive Aspects of Media:

Effective Political Agent

Vital role in economic sphere

Social Sphere

Religious Sphere

Negative Role of Media:

1: Propaganda Tool
2: Political Gimmick
3: Social evils
4: Religious impression
5: Yellow journalism

Challenges for Media to counter:

To counter international propaganda

Improvement of country’s image
Work beside dictatorship, Bureaucratic control, judicial crisis.
Media and its authenticity
Presentation of facts
Religious/Sectarian harmony

SUGGESTIONS

1: Accountability and responsibility

2: Able media person’s appointment
3: Internal check and balance system
4: Work for stabilizing national institutions
5: Create a pride in our glorious past
6: Neutralization of frustration and deviant tendencies
7: Factual representation
Conclusion:

OUTLINE:

 Introduction

 What Is Media?

 Functions Of Media

• Creation Of Awareness
• Strengthen Democracy
• Promotion Of Tolerance And Understanding
• Attract The Attention Of Policy Makers
• Strengthen Relations With Other Countries
• Entertainment

 Effects Of Media

• Positive Effects

i) Political Analysis
ii) Economic Debate
iii) Social Awareness
iv) Religious Clarification

• Negative Effects

i) Political Gimmick
ii) Social Evils
iii) Deteriorating Religious Impressions

 Media In Pakistan

 Challenges To Media In Pakistan

 Causes Of Controlled Media

 Suggestions

 Conclusion

It is often said that world has become a global village. It is media that has shrunk the world into a village.
Telecommunication, TV, radio, and now computers have reduced distances and brought the countries of
the world closer to each other. Free media is the integral part of democracy. It acts as the custodian of
democracy and facilitates the decision-making process. It has become the voice of the masses. Indeed, it
is instrumental in shaping the public opinion. A society with restricted media is just like stagnant water.
Such society breeds only ignorant minds. People remain ignorant of events, ignorant of their rights, their
duty tot eh state, their needs and the role that they can play for the betterment of the society. Macaulay
called the Press as the fourth pillar of the state. With the advent of new technology the media has
gained new dimension and great strength. It has transformed the present age into information
explosion.

Communication channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, promotional messages
are disseminated are called media. Media includes broadcasting and narrowcasting channels such as,
TV, radio, telephone, newspapers, magazines, billboards, fax and internet.

Negative Aspects

• Blackmailing by the media persons to get personal gains.

• Sensationalism of news to get cheap popularity.
• To show one as evil and other as liberator continuously repeating the comments and visuals.
• Vulgarity due to inflow of foreign culture. The English and Indian channels are affecting the moral of
the youth.
• Time wastage due to constant watching the dramas.
• Simplicity is diminishing due to more materialism.
• Generation gap is increasing.
• Weakening religious impression due to foreign culture.

Challenges

• In violence stricken areas like FATA and Baluchistan, the journalists are terribly vulnerable for example
in 2008, 12 journalists were killed and 6 in 2009. It has curbed the free flow of information.
• Pakistan is facing a conflict between conservative and secular approaches. Therefore, media is
cautious in debating on such sensitive issues.
• The government indirectly restricts media by withholding advertisement.
• PEMRA frequently threatens to cancel the licence. Other agencies of the government also pressurize
the media.
• Monopoly of media by big groups is thwarting the expansion of smaller channels.

Causes of Controlled Media

• In Pakistan, not only the dictators but also the civilian took unconstitutional steps and covered their
own corruption along with their associates. Internal corruption of judiciary all was only possible with a
curbed media.
• Media has been the fear of every dictator after taking over the government.
• The illiterate masses are exerting zero sum pressure on policy makers.
• If a party or institution invests in the media, it wants to see its own vested interests to be reflected.
The views projected by the media are not necessarily of the public or of the employers. Rather, the
views of the investors are reflected.
• Corporate barons who have a large chunk of the Pakistani media obey the official orders to get
monetary benefits.
• Journalists have been intimidated and humiliated by the occupants of power. Everyone wants the
journalists to obey their orders.
Government must realize the importance of media in this modern age. She should ensure the freedom
of media. Article 19th of the constitution of Pakistan, 1973, guarantees the freedom of speech,
expression and the press. Government must use media as a source to promote good governance.

Suggestions to neutralize negativity in media

Here are some suggestions to be followed:

• Let the media introduce an internal and external checks and balances.
• Accountability of media be ensured.
• The aim of media activism should be to strengthen the weak and vulnerable segment of society.
• Media must help stabilizing the national institution and socio-economic, political and administrative
structure by pointing out drawbacks and appreciating the good works done by government.
• There is a cultural invasion from the West and Indian TV channels and cable TV networks. Our values
are being attacked and are in danger. Media must build our confidence and faith in our values.
• We as viewers must mend ourselves, so that we may not be carried away with the media hype.
• Media must help sustain confidence in our national institutions such as parliament. armed force and or
social structure.
• The feelings of despondency, frustration and deviant behaviour need to be neutralized. Only an
effective media can do this.
• The sudden boom in the media has led to serve shortage of trained manpower, so people must be
appointed to the positions with more journalistic experience than they really have.
• The print and broadcast media must make every effort to ensure that their coverage is factual,
balanced and informed. Live pictures must be responsibly broadcast.

To summarize, media can help stabilize and strengthen the country by playing educational and
informative role. It can impart knowledge to the masses as knowledge is power and only a well-
informed society can develop a positive approach towards life. The objective of media freedom can be
realized only when public trust and confidence reposed in the media is respected and protected. Media
itself can act as a true watchdog and keep an eye on the government on the behalf of the public.

“Freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, of assembly, is among the very fundamentals of

democracy and all of them would be nullified if freedom of the press be successfully challenged.”
maintained US president Roosevelt.

Functionally, the media in Pakistan can be regarded as a fragment of global media. Its details are as
follows: 121 TV channels (six PTV channels, 89 private channels and 26 foreign TV channels with landing
rights); over 500 regular dailies and over 800 periodicals; 138 commercial FM radio channels; 64
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) stations, and 34 PBC-owned FM channels; and 31 million
internet users, and among them are about 11 million Facebook users, two million Twitter users and
hundreds of thousands of bloggers.

‘Shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law,
social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and
association, subject to law and public morality.’

Even in the darkest days of the worst kind of military rule, it has been the Pakistani media that had kept
the hope for the country and its future alive. No other institution in the country, neither the political
parties nor the civil society, not even the judiciary could make such a claim. When every other door had
been shuttered, it had been the media and media alone that had crashed open alternatives for the
willing to come out and take on the worst dictator. —M Ziauddin, media law activist associated with
Internews

1992-2013 74 journalists
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature to
describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance
is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not
implemented)".[1] The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local
governance[1] or to the interactions between other sectors of society.

The concept of "good governance" often emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies
or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies.[2] The concept centers around the
responsibility of governments and governing bodies to meet the needs of the masses as opposed
to select groups in society. Liberal democratic states, concentrated in Europe and the Americas,
are often used to set the standards to compare to other states' institutions when talking about
governance.[2] Aid organizations and the authorities of developed countries often will focus the
meaning of "good governance" to a set of requirements that conform to the organization's
agenda, making "good governance" imply many different things in many different contexts.[3][4][

The United Nations emphasizes reform through human development and political institution
reform.[9] According to the UN, good governance has eight characteristics.[1] Good governance is:
[1]

 Consensus Oriented
 Participatory
 following the Rule of Law
 Effective and Efficient
 Accountable
 Transparent
 Responsive
 Equitable and Inclusive

Challenges of Good Governance

The nation celebrated this 'Pakistan Day' in a significant and unconventional manner. It was a
noteworthy occassion in history of Pakistan this time for the challenges facing in maintaining good
governance are yet to appear in coming days for government in place. The leaders of Pakistan adopt the
course and principles which had been conveyed by the founder of Pakistan to make a true enlightened
moderated state which ensures basic rights of people, secures the prosperity of Pakistan. Their deeds
and actions would determine in future either their policies are in accordance with the sayings of Quaid-
e-azam or deviation from his golden principles.

The elements including failure of Civil and military rule, change in global politics, hesitation towards
delivering change are the major reasons in augmenting problems. Such basic facts are underscoring the
credibility of political stability and result in weakening economic structure. Uprising poverty,
continueous descending literacy rate and torture in society are playing proactive role in undermining the
writ of the government.

"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free
expression should be our first objective"
----- JEFERSON
Growth of political middle class, progress in private sector, civil society expanison and contribution of
media in the betterment of mass wisdom have paved off the way in polishing modern way of
governance. But the national politics seem to be lacking in objective oriented tactics and political leaders
are living in the past. Instead of political agitation of past, the issues which direct in establishing
prosperous future should be addressed.

Political crisis in Pakistan is long awaiting pure leadership which is ready to take profitable initiatives.
Steps in achieving the genuine targets can not be possible without planning and neglecting these issues

It is important to take into account the following 3 basic norms which fulfill the aim of good governance.
1- Policies should be generated in best interest of the people which primarily address the issues
confronting a common man. The complex decisions must be put on to win the confidence of masses and
are beneficial in acion.

2- Restoration of economy, rehabilitation of democracy and reinstitution of security for lasting political
consensus.

3- Reformation and structuring of institutions so that they might bear fruits through their role in
important state`s policies.

Such steps are enormously bearful in the present scenario and their impacts would be equally
progressive in eradicating the agitation. Not only strengthening the machinary of government in a
positive way but also combating those obstacles which persist in the smooth running of state affairs.

Democracy is diret self government, over all the pople, by all the people.
----------THEODORE PARKER
The politics of confrontation does not allow political leaders attention to keep an eye on issues which
are meaninful in progress and political stability of the country. The consequences of Pakistan People's
party parliamentarians (PPPP) led government of allies have obsecure images of incipid control of
governance and restrictions are present which does not let the true political agenda to flourish.

The policy must be revised for further delay might complicate the situation gradually. A roadmap must
be defined through proper legislation and durable methodology equipped with stauch directional
policies of government must be engaged.

The execution of law is more important then making of them.

------- JEFFERSON

The recent crisis in Punjab has provided strong grounds that government without taking people's will on
board might fail in achieving its goals. The government was purely focussed on posing its self driven
agenda but later on had to retreat. The fact was revealed after a meeting with Nawaz Sharif by the
Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and was convinced that politics of confrontation is harmful for both
parties e.g PPPP and PML(N) and would derail the process of reconciliation.

Both the leaders in their statement were of the opinion that all politicak matters would be sorted out by
reconciliation and in best interest of the state.The centre is already surrounded by dense clouds of
danger from inside and outside. It is near to the orbit of perils that is near to approach. The discussions
between both leaders ended in furnishing support and to find solution of the issues jointly. By adopting
this, it is not difficult for the opposition to maintain the true spirit of politics and in promoting national
interest. So that the mandate which was offered through the voters would be honoured and guarantee
basic human rights of citizens.

The Prime minister and the President have different sets of opinion in possession; therefore, it is truely
the responsibility of PML(Q) and its followers to recongnise circumstances rightly and effectively. The
roots of political stability can only be nurtured if the atmosphere of reconciliation allow the common
man to avail that relief. Hinderances are avoided with patience and wisdom. The note worthy of these is
17th amendment. Currently, the status quo is irreversible and environment of trust can only be backed
by implenting the charter of democracy(CoD).

The stance of Prime Minister to stand firm on process of reconciliation and maintaing consensus is a
positive step in overwhelming its goals. The speech of Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, leader of PML(N) on
23rd March 2009 that our party would entirely support the government is admissible but issues relating
to power sharing must be resolved as early as possible. The balance of power and exercising authority
between President and Prime minister require immediate attention for the resolution of these issues
would assist in bring about issues in connection with folks.

The at stake security and progress of country need tremendous review. As a first step concerete action
must be taken to support the triggered economy. The economic stress can be avoidable by employing
mutual political consent and reconciliation policy.Beside these measures, the 1 points resolution passed
by the parliament in October 2008 must be pragmatically implemented with its true spirit. By this
means, the growing militancy from Swat to Fata could be minimised to get rid of emerging ever
devastating situation.

The policy with the mutual consent of Obama's administration should be adopted by the government
clear in its objectives and result oriented. The policy should not only be based on guaranteeing the
national security but also portray a picture of the people of Pakistan as a responsible nation to protecct
her homeland from hostile circumstances.

Born in inquity and conceived in sin, the spirit of nationalism has never ceased to bend human
institutions to the service of dissention and distress
-------- VEBLIN
The Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani after special envoy of U.S.A Richard Holbrooke and chairman joint
chief of staff Mike Mullen visit must cakk upon session consisting of all political forces and take them in
confidence. Both the higher ranks of America have discussed the policy with prime minister of Pakistan
in the days to come.

The third element for good governance is practical reforms action in institutional framework. Two
aspects are further contributing. One, development of institutions on better grounds. Second, personal
liking or perception must be dropped. Important issues among these are collection of tax from the state
by the government; in turn provide the lasting peace, stability and guarding territorial borders.

Nothing is far achieving if state impose her basic policies without delay and forthwith. Good governance
is a heritage of strong institutions and economic prosperity in the country.

Leadership is undergoing an examination where the characters would be judged by political deeds. It is
need of the hour to think above the personal interest and collective thought can deliver the most in
coping facing challenges. It is essential to take notice of those factors that ponder Pakistan an abortive
state; a state lack in competent and intellectual leadership.

When we think we lead we most are led

------- BYRON

Good Governance in Pakistan.

OUTLINES:
1. Introduction
2. Definition of Governance
3. Governance in Pakistan.
4. Failures of Governance in Pakistan
5. Causes of failures:
1. Political commotion
2. No democratic setup
3. Military intrusion
4. Feudal indulgence
5. Massive Corruption
6. Constitutional crises
7. Institutional clashes
8. Mismanagement of resources
9. Lack of Accountability
10. Over Exploitation of funds
11. Restrictions on media
12. Ethnic conflicts
13. Secterianism
14. Extremism
6 Essentials of Good Governance (Essentials should come before Causes)
1. Public Participation
2. National Integration
3. Political stability
4. Constitutional supremacy
5. Institutional supremacy
6. Unrestricted media
7. No military intervention
8. Socio economic development
9. Independent judiciary
7. Good governance and Islam( i think no need to put this coz we are talking about good governance
in Pakistan)
8. Distinction between Good governance and bad Governance( no need to put this as well)
9 Parameter of good governance
.Responsibility
.Accountability
.Rule of law
Legitimacy
.open administrative system
Good relationship between ruler and ruled
Definition of bad governance
.Arbitrary policies of ruler
.Irresponsible attitude
No rule of law
Unjust legal system
Closed administrative system( these bold points are rather extra ordinary coupled with not suitably
placed)
10.Impacts of good Governance( If you are talking about governance in Pakistan then it is very bad in
our country so you need to put the impacts of bad governance rather than good governance).
 Individual Life
Social life
Political life
Economic life
11. Good Governance and democracy( needless to include this)
12. Conclusion.
”

Crisis of Good Governance in Pakistan

By Dr. Quratul Ain Malik (ITG)

INTRODUCTION
Good governance is a prerequisite for social harmony, public order, political stability, economic
prosperity and certainty about future. It delivers the fruit of progress and development evenly to all
and sundry. Good governance is required at all levels of society and state.

ESSENTIALS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

    Promotion of national cohesion
    National integration

    Institutional supremacy

    Independent judiciary

    Constitutional supremacy

    Rule of law

    Political stability

    Educational opportunities

    Socio-economic development

    Equal distribution of resources
    Welfare state with provision of social securities
    Strong writ of the government on all fronts

SITUATION OF GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN

    Forces of disintegration -- stronger than forces of cohesion
    Weak writ of the government

    Absence of independent judiciary

    No rule of law

    Political instability

    Interprovincial conflicts

    Unequal distribution of resources

    Pakistan presenting a picture of extreme bad governance on all national fronts
 CAUSES
Political causes
    Parliament, a toothless tiger
    Political instability due to constant military interference

    Issue of provlncialisrn on revenue, resources and demand of provincial autonomy

Administrative causes
    Bureaucratic hold on all institutions
    Political interference on bureaucracy
3.     Corruption, mother of all evils
4.     Absence of culture of accountability
5.     Mismanagement of resources
6.Pakistan, a soft state because of inability of implementation of policies due to lack of consensus

Economic causes
1.     Fragile economy - FDI shrinking on account of terrorism and political instability
2.     Crisis of energy, food, water
3.     Corruption from top to bottom creating burden on the government exchequer
Social causes
1.     Poverty - 40 per cent population living below the poverty line (UN reports)
2.     Over population -16.6 crore ( Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009)
3.     Illiteracy leading to socio-economic backwardness
REMEDIES
1.     Pakistan is in dire need of truly capable leadership
2.     Strong anti-corruption campaigns strengthening National Accountability Bureau
3.Strict accountability of all government servants in particular and common masses in general
4.     Investment in socio-economic development
5.     Allocation of seven per cent GDP for education
6.     Three per cent for population control
7.     Three per cent for poverty alleviation
8.     Generation of new employment opportunities
9.Equal distribution of resources 10. Ensuring freedom of press
 Administrative causes
    Bureaucratic hold on all institutions
    Political interference on bureaucracy
3.     Corruption, mother of all evils
4.     Absence of culture of accountability
5.     Mismanagement of resources
6.Pakistan, a soft state because of inability of implementation of policies due to lack of consensus

Economic causes
1.     Fragile economy - FDI shrinking on account of terrorism and political instability
2.     Crisis of energy, food, water
3.     Corruption from top to bottom creating burden on the government exchequer
Social causes
1.     Poverty - 40 per cent population living below the poverty line (UN reports)
2.     Over population -16.6 crore ( Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009)
3.     Illiteracy leading to socio-economic backwardness
REMEDIES
1.     Pakistan is in dire need of truly capable leadership
2.     Strong anti-corruption campaigns strengthening National Accountability Bureau
3.Strict accountability of all government servants in particular and common masses in general
4.     Investment in socio-economic development
5.     Allocation of seven per cent GDP for education
6.     Three per cent for population control
7.     Three per cent for poverty alleviation
8.     Generation of new employment opportunities
9.Equal distribution of resources 10. Ensuring freedom of press
Education in Pakistan

“Education is the third eye of a man”

Education is only the weapon by which one can fight and conquer the battle
of life. The education has been a very essential part of the different
civilization of the world in historical perspectives. In olden times, cave men
had no ideas regarding communicating themselves with one another; the
first step was taken in this regard was the formation of language, and it had
become the very inceptive source of communication in the earliest history of
mankind. They came to know that they had already been bestowed upon a
tongue as a source of communication by the Allah Almighty, and now, it was
their emphatic job to be civilized and moral etiquettes were required to be
shaped.
Then, the early sages made a format of alphabets and thoroughly worked on
philology. Thus, gradually grammar was made up, in which, different
bifurcations were made; as, man could easily operate the language as a
source of communication.

Since then, the world has witnessed the outflow of knowledge that has
crossed the boundaries of the different regions and made a world like a
global village in recent times, all it was done by the untiring efforts of
mankind that has been imparting valuable contributions in different walks of
life especially ‘EDUCATION’.

Here, it is necessary to focus on the system of education in Pakistan; and

how long this department has been a victim of negligence by the people from
different strata of our society and it will be observed, being an individual,
who is responsible for the downfall of education in the country.

Before independence, in 1875, a Primary School was established at Ghazipur,

(India) by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, later a High School was established at
Aligarh by the same mighty man. But through out India, Muslims were
denigrated and the basic needs of life were denied to them by the English.
Keeping this in view, Sir, Syed Ahmed Khan aimed at to open a college for
the Muslims of India so that they may be able to get the best in higher
education. In 1876, Mohammadan Anglo College was established at Aligarh
as to meet the demand of education of Muslims of India.

The college was affiliated to the Culcuta University; degrees were conferred
upon the graduates by Culcuta University for about 43 years, and in 1919,
the colleges was upgraded upto a university level and renamed as ‘Aligarh
University’. The university produced thousand of graduates who spread
throughout India and started to champion the cause of un-educated and
fought for the freedom for a separate homeland.

The Muslims of India, of course, were backward in education than their

Hindu counterparts. The Muslim could not follow the way that was directed
by the English and the Hindus, as, it was against their religion. The poor type
of education made the Muslims unable to get good jobs in English offices;
hence, they remained out of politics for they had the scarcity of
consciousness. This came to them through the light of education and they
went successful in getting the freedom of Pakistan.

Standard of Education in Pakistan:

In Pakistan, unfortunately the people have been introduced the double

standard of education. The one, which prevails through out the country is
related to public sector and the other is an out come of private investors.
Let us examine that how far the public sector has fulfilled the requirement of
the people of Pakistan by providing them in education. The country had got
independence 58 years ago, since then, the contribution imparted by this
sector is a little bit worth to be mentioned. The result produced by the sector
is very poor and the quantity has outdone quality as far as the contribution
and creation is concerned. The education system in Pakistan faced enormous
problems after independence. A little attention was paid in this respect. The
education has remained an orphan child in our society by facing double
standard and has created an atmosphere of frustration among the young
ones.

Government has established schools, colleges and universities throughout

the country that have been imparting education in different respects and
studies of life. The students from these departments are wandering due to
lack of opportunities. Everywhere they are denied services because they bear
a label of government academies. Now one can imagine that why the
government system of education is being neglected throughout the country
and why the establishment has allowed private sector with its tails up to
introduce another standard of education.

Parents are scared about their children and they even do not allow their
children to be admitted in public sector school, they prefer their child to get
education in private sector as, it suits them more. This does not mean that
public sector schools are not producing the cream of the future, most of our
genius and sages who are imparting their valuable services, are out come of
public sector schools. The only submitted reason by their parents is lack of
management in public sector schools. The well management is offered at
private schools.
The relation between teacher and student is sacred. Children are taught
social and moral etiquettes with more comfort at private schools, the
behaviour of teachers is quite frank and the student can come in direct
contact to their teachers. On some scale, this is true that contact between
learner and learned lacks in public sectors but the thing they are learning
must be the same for both sectors, I mean the curricula. The Curriculum
Board has been established but it has allowed private sector to run their own
syllabus. Now, the degrees are same but the scope of knowledge got by the
two is too different to be compared. Here, students face many complications
by studying under different curricula. This has created a big rift between the
two sectors.

Causes of Downfall:
There are enormous causes for the downfall of education in Pakistan which
are discussed under different sub-headings.

Economical Negligence:

Since its inception, Pakistan has remained a weak economy of the world for
it has got nothing in its just assets that were aggressively snatched by India.
The conflict between the two countries over Kashmir issue has hardly
allowed the government to consider and allocate funds in budget for other
sectors, the education is not an exception in this regard. Still, only 2% of
GDP is allocated for the welfare of education, which is quite inappropriate to
meet the demands of education. And it is worth to note that this allocation
budget is too not spent for educational purposes, the whole money is taken
away by using unfair means by the concerned officials. All these funds are
not given through a proper channel so that a false audit report is submitted
that the utilization of funds has been spent on requisite purposes.

Rapid growth in poverty:

According to 2002 Economic Survey of United Nations, “Most of the

inhabitants of Pakistan are poor and 40% of them live under poverty line,
about 70% of its population dwells in villages. About 300,000, young ones
are jobless. They have no access to good education”. The reports shows that
how much difficulties and troubles have been faced by this poor and
suppressed class of the country. Their main occupation is agriculture and its
yearly out put cannot meet their daily and basic needs of life. It is worth to
note that only 1% landlords hold almost 95% of lands in Pakistan. This
unjust division of land further creates economical problems not only for the
poor but also the government does not get the lion’s share in this respect.

Political Negligence:

“If you want to destroy the future of any nation, no need to wage war with
them; defunct their education, they will remain no more live on the map of
the world.”
No politician has paid attention in improving the standard of education so
far, as far as the question of history of development of education in Pakistan
is concerned. In case of Sindh, in early 1970s, lingual riots took place and a
new cancer of copy culture was introduced and boosted up by politicians to
prevail among the people. No official steps were taken in curbing this fatal
disease. Now, the result is that throughout the country Sindhi students are
understood the out come of copy culture and basic rights in every walk of life
are denied to them, because however, they may be genius and creators but
the fact remained that they lack in management and unable move the
economy of the country just because they bear a title of COPY CULTURE. It
was a political conspiracy based on totally bias. Being a Sindhi, I do not
favour Sindhis that they are not given a proper share in different walks of
life, whatever is happening to them is the only out come of wrong and misled
policies which have been blindly followed up by them. Patriotism is the very
hinge for all virtues, living in the same country every one at first is Pakistani
then Sindhi, Punjabee, Balochee and or Pathan, respectively. So, now it is our
turn to turn a new leaf and pace with our other provincial brothers to
improve the management of our beloved country Pakistan, believing in
“united we stand, divided we fall”. Education has become a question of
survival for us; less developed man cannot bring the change in improving the
skills that are vital for the uplift of the education.

Irrelevant Induction of Staff:

It has been a dilemma of our educational system that it has embodied

irrelevancy in inducting its staff; broadly speaking, I personally have come
across enormous experiences in my minute observation, as it has been
generally observed that if a person has some specialization in some
particular subject but he seems to be teaching something else. More openly,
if some one has got his/her masters in English Literature, he seems to be
teaching Mathematics to his/her students. The fact remains that students
cannot learn first hand and ground information regarding their subjects.
Nepotism is kept on priority while inducting staff, the induction of staff on
quota system has made impotent the working format of the education
system, ministers choose their relatives for induction without thinking that
either they could serve better or will create complications for others.

Misconception of Purpose:

It is also a dreadful fact that today’s young ones have changed their motives
pertaining to acquiring education. Actually, “the education should be for the
purpose of getting education” as it has been wisely said; but, we have
changed the slogan, “education should be for the purpose of getting jobs”. If,
we keep on remaining this theory in mind then we will be digressed from our
way and education will be out of our reach. By getting education we come to
the ways that how we could be able to lead our lives in the best and a
possible way.

Unemployment:

Unemployment is on full swing throughout the country. Country has been

facing huge economical setbacks since its independence. The poor economy
of the country cannot meet at once the demand of employment of the
countrymen at once. On the one hand the disappointed youth, keeping their
degrees in hand, wander the whole day in search of job but ‘No-Vacancy’ sign
boards inflate their disappointment on the other. This situation creates
negative creation of thoughts in their minds; concluding, they come out as
dacoits to waylay and let their names to be enlisted in criminal list; and
society faces much more troubles through this kind of misshapenness.

Remedies:

Every one of us takes things differently, so there is a room for different

suggestions. All of us should aim at to abreast and pace ahead to take the
task of improving the education system in a systematic way by
implementation different programmes. Awareness should be created
amongst un-aware fellows, the importance of education must be expounded
in real terms but in an easy way, different literacy programmes should be
commenced throughout the country in order to provide assistance pertaining
the impediments faced by the poor. Government should take an active eye
and spend much more money for

Essay : Education System In Pakistan

Education is a systematic process of establishing the pillar of society. It brings up an empty
mind with discourse tongue of awareness. The literal meaning of education and
supplementary definition particularly on the ground of Pakistan poses an alarming
condition. Sine the birth of newly independent state Pakistan, education lagged behind due
to deliberate negligence of parochial feudal and state politician in particularly and
bureaucracy in generally. From the emergence of Pakistan there has been centered censure
by conscious group of common people and civil society, finally both influence over the
government to think over seriously on their discussing point In the dilemma of
authoritarian long regime and fragile civil government, education has been neglected
because elite group from ruling class whether in military or so called civil representative,
did not seriously boost the level of education through sound education policies. Instead of,
political uncertainty, nepotism culture, thirst of power perpetuated the level of education in
dregs of glass.

Pakistan inherited the system of education from British but after that no significant
changes has been brought in education system of Pakistan. Consequently, the literacy rate
have become less than the regional countries which got independence abreast of Pakistan.
According to the Education Report 2009, it shows overall figures on education, literacy rate
rose to 67 pr cent in 2009-10 than it was 57 per cent at the period of 1998-99. Out of
literacy rate, male literacy stood 68 per cent and female 58 per cent in 2009-10. Female
literacy rate was 57 per cent in 2008-09. Therefore, a slight one per cent increase was
recorded during the period of 2009-10.

Literacy rate is measured from the prevailing level of education in the country. There are
five education levels are operating in Pakistan, primary, middle, high schooling,
intermediate and university education. Unfortunately, the policy maker of education has
been determined and focused only on higher education. Through such policy, an
independent body of Higher Education Commission ( HEC) was established to look after
overall universities education through code of conduct and various allocations of budgeting
the universities including foreign scholarships in various programs.

To improve the quality of higher education, primary education has been ignored since the
independence of Pakistan. Although the primary level of education do have a founding role
of developing the nation in every walk of life. Some Asian and almost every Western
developed countries hold the reign of education and developed their economies from the
utilization of modern education. In contrast, country like Pakistan’s education witnesses of
dilapidated condition by terms of structural and management problems. There are 154000
primary schools with 420000 teachers do exist in both the urban and rural areas of
Pakistan. Majority of them are two or three classes of school buildings where nursery to
five class education is given. One can assume the running of such schools in squeezed class.
Result as, a bulk of incompetent students are being produced for upcoming level of
education. One side the education condition is like that and on other side the schools with
out teachers, having no furniture, schools are being used as guest house by landlords are
other factors to mar the quality of education.

Middle school (vi-viii) is too reflects as the primary one with out guided steps by the
government of Pakistan. All efforts to increase the quality of higher education on negating
the gross root education have produced anarchy in education system of Pakistan; because,
a country with heavy population along with expanding rate of unemployment with lack of
education is threat even to democracy. The reason of expired middle education system is
followed by the primary education. Moreover, feudal system, extreme poverty, lack of good
governance, no effectual procedure of poverty scholarships demoralized the already
shabby society to reluctant on educating their children when above problems knock the
door of poor families. Consequently, a sharp decrease of enrolment (0.2 %) in middle
school from 5.426 million in 2007-08to 5.414 million in 2008-09. It was also estimated to
decrease the enrolment of middle school to (0.6 %) during 2009-10.
Secondary education, after the passing of middle education the students are required to
pass national exam under the divisional control of Board of Intermediate and Secondary
Education (BISE). There are 24322 schools with 439316 teacher are functional. Despite,
such huge numbers of middle schools and teachers have not improved the quality of
education.

There are 8 per cent of Pakistanis are graduates. Male contribution is (6.3%) and (3%) of
female. The 8b per cent of graduates are subdivided to age cohort between 57-67, 47-57, 37-
47 and 21-37. Hence the university enrolment is recorded 10.319 million despite pivotal of
education policy. A country with 180 million people, 01 million figures shows the
backwardness of country men.

One side the illiteracy rate in Pakistan is enlarging day by day in account of rapid growth
of population, and on other side the gulf between poor and rich is also increasing. The
factors responsible for reinforce the class conflict, education is the foremost contributor. In
result of, private education system came on gloomy horizon in providing the qualitative
education only those strata who afford high fee structure. Such heavy fee structure badly
hit the poor strata, result as they could not equip modern education to their children.
Comparatively, private leaner lag behind public learner in competitive exams and avail of
high official jobs. Therefore poor become more poor and rich become more richer.

The third system responsible for aggravating education system of Pakistan is Madarsah
school system. Such religious schools are being operated by religious scholars on their
creative way of teaching having no interference or directions from government. Madaresah
schools only provide religious education according to their cult and creed on expulsion of
western education. In 1882 Deoband school under the leadership of Muhammed Qasim
Nanativi openly negated Sir Syed Ahmed khan’s Ali Garh college. Later unprecedented
events proved Sir Syed’s doctrine correct to acquire western education, which is not
against Islam, mostly propagated by religious clergy. But a rift between two important
institutions devised the Muslim Umma in groups. Same the case is being contested by
Pakistani Government since its independence. Certainly, a country with multi-educational
policies procures chaos in a country. Pakistan is a land of such chronic diseases.\

Ideally, a unanimous and monotones education policy is prerequisite to achieve satisfactory

literacy rate. A ten or more than ten years time period is allocated to overcome hurdles
with good governance. In Pakistan, there has been a problem of good governance. Every
successive government comes up with new education policy on expulsion of previous.
Thereupon, repercussion of each government is Pakistan have marred the structure of
education since 1947. Although article of 38(d) in Constitution of Pakistan guarantees of
free education is a right of every citizen and respected government is bound to take
measures to provide basic education to intermediate. Article 38 (b)…. To remove illiteracy
and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period. In
spite of, constitutional guarantee in the constitution in Pakistan, the government is openly
violating the constitution. The current coalition Government led by PPP brought new
education Policy 2009. Although the features of education policy 2009’s are remarkable
but, despite it seems impracticable, because lasing mind set of politician and bureaucracy.

Comparatively, the education budget of Pakistan in terms of Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) is less than the regional countries. The current education budget of Pakistanis just
2.5 % of GDP whilst Nepal 2.7%, Srilanka 3.2%, India 3.5% and Bangladesh is 3.5%. The
low education budget shows the negligence of education. Remember, 95 per cent of
education budget is incurred on salaries and maintenance.

Outdated examination system is another point of discussing the standard of education in

Pakistan. The primary to middle examination system is splendid for increasing the role of
teacher in its class. Such school teachers are responsible to seek exam from the course they
cover in class. Hence students are acquainting of how to prepare for exam. Irrespective of
primary-middle examination, IV to XII examination process has been enlarged from class
teacher to board’s selective teachers. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education
(BISE), a divisional board has a significant role to rule out the syllabus for IV to Xii
respectively; and keep right to form a exam paper in its own supervision. This rationale of
conducting exam is excellent but lack of communication system between school and college
authority and concern officers of board have created uncertainty among students about the
extracting paper for the exam. The following are the flaws in examination system.

I. Ineffective communication between school/college authority and BISE board. It is seen

that teacher do not complete the assigned course to its students. Hence the quality and
standard of examination vulnerable for students.
II. But it is obligation of the board to form exam paper according to the course.
III. Political or absent teacher in regular classes have further spoil the examination process
IV. No modernization in exam system are the keywords found in the current exam system.

Basically, from last two decades, all importance has given to standardize higher education
or university education; for this purpose, another two universities are established from 132
to 134. An independent body Higher Education Commission (HEC) was formed to regulate
the universities of Pakistan. On some extent, the HEC has succeeded in towards it purpose,
but after the 18th amendment, HEC was dissolved and to be made the education a
provincial subject.

In quest of to boost the higher education, the gross root or primary education was entirely
ignored which provides the foundation of quality education. Thus, ignoring the primary
education, the level of illiteracy further increased. Therefore, Millennium Goal for 2015 in
education policy 2009 seems impracticable. Along with primary education, technical
education of woman vocation and poly technical education has been set aside of no
importance. Basically, technical education play vital role to decrease the rate of
unemployment on immediate basis. There are numbers of technical institutions are in
ready position to provide technical education but due to mismanagement these liable no
beneficial since their structural presence.

One side in advanced countries, the respected government has described the system of
teachers training as to equip modern techniques of teaching method to their teachers.
Consequently, they are now are the champions of modern civilization in science, art,
philosophy, literature. In contrast, Pakistan too launched same pattern for training their
teachers, but inefficiencies almost succumb to outstanding process. On other side, teachers
too have failed to attend regular classes on available old culture of teaching method from
primary to college level in rural and urban areas. The Education department is not taking
stern measures against these elements due to political reconciliations.

In result of present scenario, government itself provided an opportunity to teachers to

gather on one plate form and form teachers union to protect the rights of teacher if any
official matter may arise to his/her. In these days, the teacher union has appeared a
resisting force in front of government machinery. There are many unions of teacher
according to its level, such as, primary, middle, secondary and universities. Such
associations have started politics in their affairs. Eventually, education department can not
regulate with out consultation associations of teachers. It too has deteriorated the
education.

No proper mechanism of scholarship program to deserved students and financial assistance

to poor students is another factor responsible to limiting the education only accessible to
affordable families. There are number of international agencies providing education
funding to provinces of Pakistan as to eradicate illiteracy from the country. Such agencies
are World Bank, Asian Development Bank and United Nation’s agencies, but due to
corruption in education department, no considerable achievement carried out.

Remedies

Good governance is a first pre-requisite factor to embark on the every essence of policy to
build up society through key education. The Quaid-e- Azam rightly emphasized the
acquirement of education on addressing in” All educational Conference at Karachi, Nov,
27,1947, said,” The importance of education and the right type of education can not be over
emphasized. If we are to make any real, speedy and substantial progress, we must earnestly
tackle this question ad bring our educational policy and programme on the lines suited to
the genius of our people, consonant with our history and culture, and having regard to the
modern conditions and vast developments that have tken place all over the World.”

Good governance leads ruling class or chosen representatives to take very steps that have
far reaching impact on the socio- economic position. In Pakistan, there have been gaps
towards attainment of qualitative education in account of weak administration. Hence it is
necessary to re-shape administrative machinery as to rightly deliver the founding
education to its people.

The second very step after good governance is to increase education budget from 2.5 % of
GDP to 8% of GDP. To increase education budget it means the government will have no
constraint of financing but, instead of, government will be able to meet cope education
matters according to its need. The third required step to improve education, a sound and
unanimous education policy is indispensable. Though, after passing of 18th Amendment
Bill in the Constitution of Pakistan, education ministry ultimately became a provincial
subject. The province needs to call on joint meeting of MoE to draft and agree upon one
education policy as to bring all systems of education under strict check.
The forth needed step of implementation is of government’s regulation in education.
Through administrative strictness it could be ensure that the writ of state is accessible,
therefore no compromised can be tolerated in case of inefficiencies in regard to
implementation.

The fifth element is to implementation of education Policy 2009. According to the education
Policy 2009, the Government of Pakistan declares that it will ensure education for all and
will increase literacy rate from 67 to 87% till the end of 2015. Further says that university
enrollment will be brought to 1.5 million from 01 million.

Conclusion

All constraints in education system in Pakistan require sincere efforts to resolve

administrative and management problems by the effectiveness of the government of
Pakistan. Pakistan experiences a country of religious intolerance and much more multi-
crisis land. War on terror since 2001; have revealed the administrative flaws in the
administrative machinery of Pakistan. It is time that the current Government of Pakistan
must tackle education problem because illiteracy is even threat to democracy.

Nelson Mandela said; if you want o change the World, remember education is the only way
o change the World

Impact of Globalization on Trade and

Employment
Globalization is the process by which the world is interconnected through technology and
powerful infrastructure for the purpose of communicating and managing resources. Globalization
seems to talk about several vibrant phenomena which ensure two major components. Firstly,
they function across national boundaries and secondly, they result in higher incorporation or
interdependence of human societies. It is therefore one aspect of development that affects the
world in general, from every point of human view.
There are numerous ways in which globalization has impacted the world today. Some of these
include modification of worldwide environment in investment, management, machinery, policy-
making, economics, and societal conditions, which shaped breaks aimed at the entrepreneurial
initiatives to develop global trades at tremendous speed. These would encourage more trading
and employment opportunities for individuals across the globe.

Globalization offers a boundless opportunity for business endeavors to develop their trade all
over the world. Ways in which trade can be linked to globalization. The first way may include
the exceptional progress of foreign direct investment. This has been enabled by ease of internet
accessibility all over the world. Secondly, there could be increased competitive advantage,
through specialization and division of labor, as different countries can specialize on what they
can produce best. The growth of technology innovation has also been influenced by trade on
globalized scale. Additionally, service industries, which includes financial, managerial, legal and
information, has also been growing to the advantage of globalization.

On employment, globalization has impacted differently in different parts of the world. For
instance, through activities such as off-shoring services, numerous jobs are created in developing
countries, while the decrease has been felt on developed countries. The job structures are altered
since new jobs linked to different activities are introduced while others tend to disappear.
Research and development jobs are increasing, especially in the developed world, while the
production industries are carried out abroad, more specifically to developing world. Job earnings
are also improved in a way to suit particular individuals. In the developing countries, payment
are becoming better by the day, while in the developed world, the gap between qualified skilled
workers and under qualified skilled works tend to be widening. Other influences of globalization
in employment include increase in migration and improved working conditions.

Globalization is therefore an important development in human development. It is therefore

important to embrace it. Through the support of local governments, big organizations, and
universal organizations, entrepreneurial initiatives are capable of taking advantage of
globalization and economic liberalization, to advance their effectiveness in the universal market,
as well as enhanced service to the overall customers. Globalization has therefore had a positive
impact on the lives of people around the globe with minimum disadvantages.

1309 Words Essay on Global Warming:

Causes, Effects and Remedies

Global warming is the greatest challenge facing our planet. It is, in fact, the increase in the
temperature of the earth’s neon- surface air. It is one of the most current and widely discussed
factors. It has far-reaching impact on biodiversity and climatic conditions of the planet. Several
current trends clearly demonstrate that global warming is directly impacting on rising sea levels,
the melting of ice caps and significant worldwide climate changes. In short, global warming
represents a fundamental threat to all living things on earth.

Global average temperature rose significantly during the past century. The prevailing scientific
view is that most of the temperature increases since mid-20th century has been caused by
increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations produced by human activity. Most
scientists agree that planet’s temperature has risen 0.5 degree Celsius since 1900 and will
continue to increase at an increasing rate. As a result, the world is getting warmer. The year 1990
was the hottest year in the last century.

Together with 1991, the years of 1983, 1987, 1988 and 1989 have been measured to be the
warmest six years in the last hundred years. The year 1991 was the second warmest year of the
past century. The consequences of the rise in temperature is being felt all over the globe the
findings of scientific research done in this field reveal that the temperature of the earth is likely
to rise from 1.4°C to 5.8°C within a period of 100 years.

Unfortunately, the imbalance which we have created between our life and earth is already
showing the signs disasters in the form of flood, cyclones, landslides, tsunami, drought, etc. If
the imbalance continues to rise, one day this will pose a question mark on the existence of this
planet. Carbon dioxide (C02) which is an important constituent of environment is causing a
warming effect on the earth’s surface.

It increases the evaporation of water into the atmosphere. Since water vapour itself is a
greenhouse gas, this causes still more warming. The warming causes more water vapour to be
evaporated. The C02 level is expected to rise in future due to ongoing burning of fossil fuels and
landuse change. The rate of rise will depend largely on uncertain economic, sociological,
technological and natural developments. Other gases such as methane, CFCs, nitrous oxide,
tropospheric ozone are also responsible for global warming. Increases in all these gases are due
to explosive population growth, increased industrial expansion, technological advancement,
deforestation and growing urbanisation, etc.

Trees play a significant role in the global carbon cycle. They are the largest land-based
mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the air. Deforestation is checking these positive
processes. It is the second principle cause of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation is
responsible for 25 per cent of all carbon emissions entering the atmosphere, by the burning and
cutting of 34 million acres of trees each year. Everyday over 5500 acres of rainforest are
destroyed. As a consequence of massive loss of forests, global CO, levels rise approximately 0.4
per cent each year, the levels not experienced on this planet for millions of years. As we know
the forests are the great absorbers of CO,,.

There is a close relation between global warming and population growth. Today the large
population on earth is using the technologies which are destructive for the earth. Approximately,
80 per cent of atmospheric C02 increases are due to man’s use of fossil fuels either in the form of
coal, gas or oil. A large portion of carbon emission is attributed to the burning of gasoline in
internal-combustion engine of vehicles. Vehicles with poor gas mileage contribute the most to
global warming. Besides, the sulphur group gas is the most harmful for this. Its contribution is 30
per cent in global warming. This gas is also emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.
Increase in global temperatures will cause rise in sea level.

It will lead to melting of glaciers, changes in rainfall patterns, increased intensity and frequency
of extreme weather. As per the latest survey report the rate of melting of glaciers has seen sharp
increase in recent times. Even those glaciers are affected from global warming which have been
considered permanent. The shrinking of glaciers is going to pose a major problem of drinking
water.

The sea levels as a result of melting of glaciers have risen from 0.35 mm to 0.4 mm. Scientists
have warned in their reports that most of the glaciers will disappear within a period of 15 to 25
years. It will create problems of drinking water and food grains in most of the North American
countries. India is not unaffected from it. The Himalayan glaciers have shrunk about 30 per cent
after 1970.

The rise in sea levels is a major cause of concern. A large number of cities located in coastal
areas will submerge in the sea. Besides, many island countries will ultimately “lose their
existence and will be washed away from the surface of the earth. The damage of rising sea levels
is diverse. Buildings and roads close to the water could be flooded and they could suffer damage
from hurricanes and tropical storms. Experts believe that global warming could increase the
intensity of hurricanes by over 50 per cent. In addition, as the sea rises, beach erosion takes
place, particularly on steep banks.

Wetlands are lost as the level rises. Rise in atmospheric temperature will lead to the outbreak of
air¬borne and water-borne diseases. It would also contribute to the rise in death caused by heat.
The problem of drought would be frequent. Consequently, malnutrition and starvation will pose
serious challenge before humanity.
Global warming is a great threat to the flora and fauna of the earth. A large number of species of
them may become extinct.

The expanse of desert would increase. Low rainfall and rising temperature could add to the
intensity and frequency of dusty storm. This in turn will immensely affect the quality of
agricultural land, ultimately causing adverse effect on agricultural produce. It would have far-
reaching socio-economic impact.

In Indian context, the impact of global warming is a matter of grave concern. As is well known,
India is mainly an agricultural country and agriculture here is gamble of the monsoon, e.g.
largely depending on rainfall. Though it is to affect the whole country, the worst likely impact
would be on central and northern India which is high-yielding parts of the country. These are the
regions which produce the largest agricultural yield. The rise in atmospheric temperature and fall
in rain would naturally result in decline in crop production. Moreover, it would have great effect
on biodiversity as well.

The growing concerns over global temperatures have led to the nations, states, corporations and
individuals to draw out a plan of action to avert the situation. As a result the world’s primary
international agreement on combating global warming was reached in Kyoto in 1997 which
came to be known as Kyoto Protocol. However, ten years have passed; the situation does not
appear to be very changed. It seems that the member countries are not very serious about its
devastating effects.

In addition, forestation can be of great help in this regard. Planting more trees and reducing
timber cuts worldwide will help restore the imbalance. Secondly, we must follow on
environmental policy of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, i.e. promoting the reuse of anything. Thirdly,
the use of fuel-efficient vehicles should be promoted as these vehicles have lower emissions of
harmful gases. Fourthly, every individual should be aware of the importance of the protecting
environment. Besides, eco- friendly technologies must be promoted, and must be substituted
with the technologies which cause great emission of global warming gases. Public awareness
campaign can be of great help in this regard because unless each and every individual is aware
only governments’ effect cannot bring desired difference.

ESSAY POVERTY AND ITS ERADICATION(for BA  for all universities)

OUTLINE:

1. What is poverty? An international issue.

1. Situation of Pakistan. A grim picture of circumstances.

1. Causes of poverty; illiteracy; overpopulation; energy crisis; terrorism etc.

1. Necessary steps to eradicate  poverty.

 

1. Conclusion.

Poverty is a serious problem of the world which has made the life a constant pain for the most of
the human beings. Millions of people living on this planet are in such a state of mind that they do
not know what to do and where to go to make both ends meet. In simple words the number of
people larger than their food requirements is called over population. According to a report of
World Bank the person earning less than 1.25 will be below the lowest line of poverty. It is
alarming that the46 percent of the world population is facing  poverty at this time. The
conditions in Pakistan are even worse. The greater part of our population which lives in villages
is facing this curse whereas being an agricultural country the main source of the income depends
on them. Now we are going to ponder over the causes of poverty.

The main cause of poverty is tremendous increase in population. Now people living  on this
planet are more than ever before. It is becoming more and more difficult for the inhabitants of
the world to make both ends meet. A large number of people sleep hungry all the night and
wanders here and their in search of a job in the day which may satisfy their appetite.

Another big cause of poverty particularly in our country is illiteracy and ignorance. It is an open
secret the nations who acquired knowledge especially of science and technology have become
advanced and modern but on the other hand uneducated nations are lagging far behind them.

Abnormal conditions of some countries have also added to the poverty of there such as terrorism,
disputes with other nations, floods, epidemics and diseases etc.

Power crisis is also another serious cause of poverty in the related countries as it is in Pakistan
these days. It is harmful to almost all the resources of the country. It not only makes the
government unstable but also makes the masses poorer and poorer.

Now some steps to eradicate the poverty are suggested as disappointment is not the solution of
any problem rather it in itself is another big problem. They say,  where there is a will there is a
way but prior to creating will power the realization of the seriousness and intensity of the
situation is essential.

Serious efforts to check the rapid growth of the population must be made on the part of the
government and that of every sensible citizen of the country. Unless  this  dangerous rate of
increase in population is checked no effort to eradicate poverty can succeed.

Our educational system produces only clerks, teachers and such other servants who can do only a
specific type of job. Now the government cannot provide jobs to all the educated people so it is
need of the hour to open teaching institutes for the technical  and professional education . In this
way the successful students will be able to earn a respectable living after completion of their
technical education.
The government should take immediate steps to eradicate poverty from the country. Jobs may be
provided to jobless youth. Easy may given to the jobless to run their own business .Farmers may
also be helped in shape of subsidy and agricultural loans and law and order may be restored to
encourage foreign investors  to invest in the country/ if all these steps are taken sincerely the
poverty can be eradicated and the march to the destination of prosperity can be started.

Essay about globalization and world changes

First of all I should mention that the title of this essay does not hit the point of typical essay. As I
started to write I found myself in a dilemma between the characteristic attributes of an essay and
the overwhelming amount of the material I could work with. Anyway, “back to topic”, as
someone could have posted on an internet forum at that point in my work.

First I will start to analyse the forces involved in the process which influences its (globalization
process) change. There are three general forces that I could think of. The first two of them have
existed before globalization developed. They influence this process with the same constant
amount of power.

At first there are general forces which are now representing the expansion of globalization.
The most important ones are the curiosity of human beings combined with our requirement to
possess and discover more and more. The economy which is working with restricted resources
aims to overcome this narrow pass. Virtual goods for our leisure time like games and cyber sex
can already be consumed in an endless and global way. I could not deny that they may
overlap many times with non-virtual goods.

The second kind of general forces are forces which slow down the globalization process. Even if
we can hardly realise their (or its: “its kind” , “their forces”) effects today. There are still a lot of
problems waiting for a solution. There can be named: Different cultures, pollution and countries
(yes, this is part of these forces!). I’m thinking of the song “Imagine” written by John Lennon. It
is exactly this liberal and anti-authoritarian movement that is characteristic of globalization.
However cause and effect must not be mixed up. This movement arose
with the rise of globalization and not the other way round.

The third general force came with the mental development of human beings,science and
technical progress. I’d say this force is a general advancement of science. This force developed
progressively in the course of history and accelerated the speed of globalization enormously.
There were many developments in the fields of communication and transportation which allows
us to conquer the world on a large scale and turn it into a global village. The first and the third
 force are striving for discovery of new concepts, ideas, technologies etc.. At this point I have
to mention that in many scientific fields this curiosity is determined by the commercial pressure
on science which is based on human greed. Nevertheless this curiosity is a decisive factor.

These three forces come together and determine the course of globalization. The advancements
of science will forfeit their importance for globalization when it (the globalization) has reached a
high stage and the first two forces level off at a balance between unlimited freedom and
individualism.

essay - Future of Democracy in Pakistan

Future of Democracy in Pakistan

      I.        Quaid’s vision of Democracy

    II.        United Nations and democracy

         United Nations Democratic Fund

         UN charter endorses democracy
         Article 21 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights highlights democratic values
   III.        Democratic states-a universal standard form of human society
  IV.        Origin of democracy
    V.        Contribution of different cultures for evolution of democracy
  VI.        Varieties of democracy
 VII.        Islam and democracy

         Islamic form of government is close to democracy

         Islamic democracy slightly differs from western secular democracy
Main Body:
i.              Political history of Pakistan:
         Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, 1951
         Martial law of Ayub Khan, 1958
         Transfer of power to General Yahya Khan, 1969
         Dismemberment of Pakistan, 1971
         Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Civilian Martial law Administrator
         Martial law of General Zia UL Haq, 1977
         Restoration of so-called democracy, 1988
         Martial law of General Pervaiz Musharraf, 1999
         Restoration of democracy, 2008
ii.             Causes of failure of democracy in Pakistan:

         The spirit of unity evaporated after emergence of Pakistan

         Egocentric politicians
         Military involvement in politics
         Dictators choose the worst lot of politicians every time
         Corruption
         Strengthening of bureaucracy
         Feudal cum politicians
         Leadership void
         Lack of education
         Lack of economic development
-       Paul Collier-$2,700 per capita income as the threshold to democracy
         Mutual squabbling of politicians
         Personality-driven politics
         Weak independent institutions
         Constitutional crisis
         Concentration of power with the president
         Extremists illusion that democracy is un-Islamic

iii.            Impact of failure of democracy:

         Terrorism
         Fanned separatist movements
         Economic deterioration
         Failure to form independent foreign policy
         Weaker government institutes
         Writ of the government is not all encompassing

iv.           Steps for  restoration of true form of democracy:

         Military should stop interference
         Reformation of the judiciary
         Accountability
         Mature political leadership
         Abolition of 'Jagirdari' and feudal Systems
         Provide opportunities to common man to being elected as parliamentarian
         Strengthen public institutions
         Keep the constitution intact
         Educate the masses
         Media should play a positive role
         International community should help to strengthen democratic system
         Will and determination of all the stakeholders
Conclusion:
         Democracy-the only remedy
         True democracy is the panacea for Pakistan
         The future of democracy may seem bleak but through determination it can be made
bright

“Cheshire-Puss,” Alice began… ” would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care
where.” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter much which way you go… ” said the Cat. Lewis
Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.
The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned the newly
independent Muslim state’s foreign policy to be of “peace with all, and enmity with none”
Functionally, the Quaid’s also expected the nation’s irrevocable commitment to the ideals of
democracy, pluralism, market economy, social justice, communal harmony and egalitarian order.
He visualized a Pakistan that would be stable politically and strong economically where its
people could live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from the fear of violence,
oppression and injustice, and where they and their future generations could also live free from
hunger, disease, and illiteracy.
The Quaid’s vision woefully remains unfulfilled. What a tragedy and an irony that a country
which on its birth was considered “twentieth century miracle” of a state should today be
struggling for a place among the “peaceful nations” of the world. For more than half a century,
Pakistan has been wallowing in political and economic uncertainty and has had neither domestic
stability nor peaceful borders. Its post-independence political history is replete with endemic
crises and challenges that perhaps no other country in the world has experienced.
We as a nation have not only failed to grapple with these challenges but are in fact living
remorselessly with these problems as an “integral” part of our society. Governments and the
Assemblies have been part of the problem rather than solution. Aversion to the rule of law is
endemic. Poor governance has been our  national hallmark. Crime and corruption remained
rampant and galore both in scope and scale. Our country is today the classic example of
ingenuities for bribery, exchange of favours and illegitimate perquisites. “You scratch my back
and I’ll scratch yours” is the common approach followed by public officials, be they
parliamentarians or civil and military officials. The culture of perks and privileges has been
growing at the expense of the state. 

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No
one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the
worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time -
Sir Winston Churchill

Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the
people. Though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', but eminent scholars
have ensured democracy as equality, fair play and freedom. Even the United Nations endorses
the democratic form of government and has established the “United Nations Democracy Fund”
to strengthen democratic institutions and practices around the world. The democratic values were
highlighted in the Charter of the United Nations, as well as in the Article 21 of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. It has been speculated that the aforementioned trajectory followed
by the world will eventually lead this world to the point where liberal democratic nation-states
will become the universal standard for human society.
Democracy is good, I say this because all other systems are worse—Jawaharlal Nehru
                Democracy has its origins in Ancient Greece. However other cultures have
significantly contributed to the evolution of democracy such as Ancient Rome, Europe, and
North America. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and
institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and in
the American and French Revolutions. The right to vote has been expanded in many
Jurisdictions over time from relatively narrow electorates, with New Zealand as the first nation
to grant universal suffrage for all its citizens in 1893.
 There are several facets of democracy like Direct democracy, Representative,
Anticipatory, Non-partisan, Westminster, Soviet or Council democracy.  Islam as we believe is a
complete code of life, in some areas it grants due freedom to its believers, as in the political
sphere the decision for choosing the form of government has been left for the people, provided
that the described requirements for vicegerency are met and the sovereignty lies with Allah
alone. Secondly, the Islamic government is never theocratic. It is formed by mutual consent, and
conducts most of its affairs by consensus and consultation.  

 It is rather more imperative to fulfill the conditions of vicegerency than contemplating on
how the government should be formed. The original concept of Islamic rule is closer to
democracy. It is an anti-thesis of monarchial, theocratic, and autocratic forms of government. It
slightly differs from the western secular democracy and lays more stress on sovereignty of GOD,
equality, justice and fair play, and does not allow any form of exploitation. Hence, in essence and
soul democracy is not un-Islamic. All are equal but some are superior on behalf of piety.

Exploring the last 63 years of Pakistan, democracy is taken as a comic relief between military
regimes. Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first elected Prime Minister, was in fact the demise of
democracy in Pakistan. Since then, the balance of power tilted in the favor of the military. A comparison
depicts this shift. From 1951-57 India had one Prime Minister and several army chiefs while during the
same period Pakistan had one army chief and several Prime ministers. The same army chief, Ayub Khan
promulgated the first martial law in 1958. General Ayub Khan could not withstand a popular national
movement and transferred power to General Yahya Khan in March 1969. Under him Pakistan lost its
half, which is now known as Bangladesh. Power was then transferred to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the first
civilian martial law administrator. Bhutto pursued an independent policy, but he was charged for
compliance in murder, and hanged by the next martial law administrator, General Zia UL Haq. Hanging
of an elected Prime Minister perturbed the whole world. The general died in a mysterious plane crash.
Then came a ten years fad of the so-called democracy. During this period, none the elected government
completed its term on account of being ousted by the special discretionary powers of the president. An
end to this ten-year spell came with a new general, who ousted the incumbent elected government. This
time the Prime Minister was charged for conspiring against the state and was expatriated from the
country. Democracy was again restored in 2008 and now it has been hijacked by the dictatorial
democrats.
The spirit of unity, cohesion and commitment shown during Pakistan movement evaporated just
after the emergence of Pakistan, and self centered knavish politician indulged themselves in the fiendish
politics that was against the true spirit of democracy. Having ascertained the weakness and egocentric
attitude of the politicians, the military-bureaucratic nexus crawled out of the woodwork and took the
de-facto control of the country. Since then military-bureaucratic establishment directly or indirectly
governed the country. Army generals usurp power at their own convenience and quit only when they
are forced to quit by mass political movements or by a sudden unexpected death.
It is a dilemma that they came up to uproot corruption and social evils but actually they weeded
out the seeds of democracy. Disgruntled by the ostensible democracy, the people started to believe in
the forthcoming miracles of some incoming Messiah from the ranks of soldiers. In the end, they always
found themselves more disappointed by the 'short-sighted' Generals than by the 'corrupt' politicians. In
order to prolong their rule, dictators try to establish a controlled democracy and more often, they
choose the worst lot of politicians. This covert or overt influence of army is the greatest impediment to
the evolution of a stable democratic system in Pakistan.
In addition to this, the military rulers strengthened the bureaucracy for securing their own
rule. Having established a permanent role in the establishment, the bureaucrats and generals
preferred to compromise with the feudal system. The military rulers were thought to curb them in
the beginning but instead of nipping them in the bud they also compromised with them to
prolong their own rule. Similarly, the feudal cum politicians avail opportunities to beguile the
gullible masses. In such circumstances, even universal suffrage could not be effective and non-
political powers began to play a more assertive role. Consequently, the leaders and politicians
become the brainchild of the military and bureaucratic nexus and since Quaid’s demise, no true
leader could rise to fill the void.
Democracy presupposes an understanding of issues. The sine qua non for a Western-style
democratic system is education, which means that the people must be educated to a level to
understand the issues so that they can make a meaningful choice. Unfortunately, literacy rate in
Pakistan is a mere fraction, even the most optimistic estimates believe it to be less than 50 percent. An
illiterate person is like an aimless wanderer, who lacks a clear vision, consequently fells an easy prey to
the caste related vote canvassing.  Moreover, Pakistani society is divided along the fissures and faults of
caste and sects that has retarded it to act like a cohesive unit and concentrate only on issues. Under
such circumstances, caste, sect and creed sentiments are exploited by the unscrupulous politicians. 
Paul Collier in "5 myths about the beauty of the ballot box" has cited $2,700 per capita income
as a threshold to democracy. Researchers have found democracies to be more effective and less prone
to violence above this threshold, but below that, less effective and more violent. The same study shows
that election misconduct is more likely in countries with low per capita incomes, rich in natural
resources, and a lack of institutional checks and balances. Pakistan has a nominal per capita income of
just $1, 067 and about one-fifth of population lies below the poverty line that struggles more for earning
sustenance rather than concentrating on the political issues, and if they ever do, they believe more in
the conspiracy theories rather than underlying issues.  Consequently they are oblivious of major
developments and prove to be credulous masses.
Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of
opportunity—Irving Kristol

 The political leaders lack a clear vision and they never had the capacity to alleviate the status of
democracy and strengthen it, in fact the mutual squabbling of the political leaders excited the other
players to assume a role. Moreover, in Pakistan the politics is more personality-driven rather than
issues-driven, which has an overall negative impact on the evolution of independent institutions and has
fanned the vested interests. Political parties are mere puppet in the hands of different families and party
elections are considered taboo and it seems that political parties have dictatorship at their own core!
 Another important cause has always been the constitutional crisis and absence of rule of
law apparatus. Similarly, the several amendments in the constitution concentrated power in the
President, which was against the democratic soul. There is still need for intact constitution.
Interruption in the democratic process has never allowed democracy to form a base. Even with
its flaws, the elected government has a right to complete its tenure without any hurdles.

Last but not least, the current stream of extremism and terrorism has brought forth a new
ideology. The bearers of this new ideology of governance consider democracy as non-Islamic.
They only harbor the westernized concept of democracy and they misguide people by pleading
them to abandon democratic system and demand for imposition of Sharia, they are unmindful of
the fact that a democratic system can flourish under the aegis of Sharia.

The aforementioned transgressions of different institutions, vested interests of different

stakeholders and cavalier attitude on part of the general masses have ruined the state structure of
Pakistan. Under the direct military rule, only the elite benefited from the system and this gave
rise to economic disparity, while no benefit was being passed over to the general public. History
is witness to the fact that Pakistan has lost territory while under direct military rule. The
dictators’ hawkish attitude has fanned various separatist movements across the country. Absence
of Democracy is a significant reason for nurturing terrorism in a country. A democratic
government is supposed to represent the people and provide political means to voice grievances,
hence essentially providing a sphere where terrorism has no place. Democracy is necessary to
peace and undermining the forces of terrorism—Benazir Bhutto.  For this reason, in theory,
there 'cannot' be an aggrieved group that is not adequately represented; but absence of
democracy and areas outside the realm of democratic setup in Pakistan has proved conducive to
terrorism.
 Democratic setup through different checks and balances ensures transparency, fair play
and good governance. But these characteristics do not pop out with just the imposition of
democratic system rather these evolve over time. Since democratic setup was de-railed again and
again, so these fruits of democracy were never seen in Pakistan and consequently, the institutions
are underdeveloped and resultantly sporadic democratic periods were infested with bad
governance. With the weak institutions and rampant interference in other institutions’ portfolios
have resulted in massive corruption, which is a peculiar stigma to democracy in Pakistan. As an
outcome of these mal-practices, national economy has gone virtually bankrupt and national
budget has become dependent on foreign aid.
  In true democracy, political leaders derive their power from the people thus they are
intrepid and assume more audacious visions, consequently the respective country forms an
independent foreign policy that best suits its interests but feeble democracy is devoid of these
characteristics. Pakistan has so-far failed to furnish its independent foreign policy, with faint
support in their own country; political leaders are swayed by the world powers, thus they
undermine the national interests and sovereignty of the country. Wiki-leaks speaks high of their
sincerity and caliber in this regard.
All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy- Alfred E. Smith (42nd
governor of New York)

 Though democracy has failed many times to establish its firm roots in Pakistan, but every dark
cloud has a silver lining, all these failures actually provide us an insight into what went wrong and how
democracy can be preserved from de-railing next time.   The first essential step seems to stop interruption
in the democratic process and the elected government must be allowed to complete its tenure in any case.
Secondly, a major chunk of the population wants greater Islamic character in the democratic setup and
legislation. Incorporating true Islamic injunctions will lead to a more cohesive civil society and will foil
any attempts by the extremists to paint that democracy is antithesis to Islamic form of government. We
must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 There is a need to reform the judiciary, in the presence of an independent judicial

system, the discrepancies are kept in check thus it ensures enduring democracy. Reforming the
judiciary and incorporating the Islamic laws can also soothe the deprived and poor masses which
have been manipulated by the extremists. Moving on, corruption and selfish attitudes is eating
away the institutional structure of our country and such mal-practices never allowed democracy
to flourish. There is a need to engineer an accountability mechanism, so that these wrong-doings
are kept in check.

Common man was compelled by the existing setup to stay away from contesting an
election. Hitherto it was a prerogative of the affluent and feudal classes; such practices are
against the moral, democratic and Islamic principles. The necessary ingredient for the success of
democracy in Pakistan is the emancipation of the rural areas from the clutches of the local
landlords, i.e. to take steps for the abolition of 'Jagirdari' System. The criteria of merit; the right
of freedom and equal progress for common people should be promoted. Young and morally
upright persons should come forward and actively take part in democratic setup and elected
member must be nurtured with the notion that they have to serve the nation and they have to bail
out this nation.  A leader is a dealer in hope—Napoleon Bonaparte

There is a dire need to strengthen the public institutions, in order to ensure the supremacy
of law so that rules govern the country rather than the personalities. The glaring example of
many European countries may be quoted, where institutions enjoy the ultimate powers.
Democracy in actuality can only be achieved through such measures. Our constitution has been a
source of constant controversy. Now onward, no one in power should be allowed to change it for
prolongation of rule or appeasing any particular section. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The credulous masses were an easy prey to the mercenary politicians, had they been
educated, they must have asked the elected members for their rights denied, opportunities
curtailed and for defrauding the tax-payers money. Imparting education on a national scale will
galvanize the masses to form a check on political leadership. The political energy in Pakistan is
extravagantly wasted on inter-provincial squabbling. There is a dire need to get the nation out of
the rut of provincialism, so that they feel proud on being Pakistani and strive for the cause of
Pakistan thus strengthening the institutions and democracy in the country.

 In a democratic state, media has rightly been called the fourth pillar of the state. It can
play a more vibrant, positive and constructive role rather than becoming another compromised
institution. Information is the currency of democracy—Thomas Jefferson
 Finally, the strategic position and now the war against terror has brought Pakistan in the
limelight of the international community, so international community should help Pakistan in
establishing a workable democratic system or should at least stay away from anointing the
dictators, but it is only possible through the visionary and sagacious approach of the media.

 The world has ultimately come to a conclusion after having experimented different
forms of government like Monarchy, Oligarchy, military or civil Dictatorships etc. These
governments failed despite sincere wishes of the individual leaders who came to the fore through
any of these Processes. In line with the lessons of history and despite all its past experiences of
failure, there is no other messianic way out to lead Pakistan toward a progressive state except to
establish the roots of democracy firmly. Democracy is not only a form of government; it is a
philosophy which encompasses all aspects of rights and freedom. In Pakistan, however, the
already difficult situation has been aggravated by constant failures which never let democracy to
survive. The positive change is still slow, but a bleak past or murky present in no way means a
foredoomed future as well. However, colossal efforts at every level are required for democracy
to take root. In all this hopelessness, there must be a desire for moving forward. The future of
democracy may be doubtful but it not at an end yet.
The road to democracy may be winding and is like the river taking many curves but
eventually the river will reach the ocean—Chen Shui-Bian(10th and 11th-term President of
the Republic of China)

No wonder, decades of domestic political chaos and projected external vulnerability have kept
our national priorities lop-sided with more than one-third of our annual budget being used for our
“defence expenditure.” Fractured institutions and strong personalities continued to scamper
around and speak directly to the leadership in different voices. This led to no or a confused
policy.
Our foremost priority is to fix the fundamentals of our governance. We need domestic
consolidation through democracy based on constitutional supremacy, institutional integrity and
independent judiciary, rule of law, accountability & good governance. We must not make any
compromise on principles & national interests. We need to regain and preserve our sovereign
independence.
Our leaders must give-up the Macro Polo culture. We should also do away with the system of
perks and privileges for civil-military officials and parliamentarians. No more distribution of
state land or plots for anyone. No begging. We must opt for self-reliance and national dignity.
No more blind faith in the so-called “friends of Pakistan.” Lets be our own friends. Let’s
ourselves take care of Pakistan.
We need a low profile foreign policy formulated through institutional rather than personal
approach with greater focus on domestic political, economic and social consolidation. In doing
so, we could best serve our interests by following Hafiz Shirazi’s advice for “Kindness to
friends”, “courtesy to enemies” with equal faith in Allama Iqbal’s message of “self-pride, self-
confidence and self dignity.”
               
                Let us hope for a bright future for:
                “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.”
Or as Shelly says in his poem,
“Ode to the West wind”
“The trumpet of a prophecy! O wind’
If winter comes, can spring be for behind!”  

Why Pakistanis lost faith in democracy?

Murtaza Haider | 11th July, 2012
38

A recent poll of six Muslim countries revealed that Pakistanis by far were the least likely to
favour democracy. Compared with Turkey, where 71 per cent of the respondents favoured
democracy, only 42 per cent of Pakistanis held the same view.
A recently released report by the Pew Research Centre showed that unlike Pakistan, the
overwhelming majority of respondents in the other five Muslim majority countries preferred
democracy.  And while Pakistanis demonstrated a half-hearted appreciation for democratic
principles, an overwhelming majority (82 per cent) expressed preference for the laws to follow
the Quranic injunctions. In comparison, only 60 per cent of Egyptians wanted their laws to
follow Quran.
These statistics may lead some to believe that Pakistanis may be following the fundamentalist
Taliban or al Qaeda. This, I would argue, will be an erroneous conclusion, which ignores the
complex socio-economic realities of Pakistan.
Given that the democratic rule and institutions have been in place in Pakistan since 2008 and that
the democratic forces have, more than once, prevailed over military dictatorship in Pakistan, the
lack of enthusiasm from democracy amongst Pakistanis should be a concern for all.  At the same
time one wonders why the remaining 58 per cent Pakistanis no longer see democracy as the
preferred system of governance.
‘It’s the economy, stupid’
A careful review of the Pew survey offers hints of why democracy is no longer favoured by most
Pakistanis. It appears that James Carville’s adage “It’s the economy, stupid” also holds true for
Pakistan where 58 per cent of Pakistanis preferred strong economy over a good democracy (34
per cent). While I see the two as not mutually exclusive, still Pakistanis appear more prudent to
prefer bread, clothing, and shelter over empty promises of the same from the beneficiaries of the
electoral processes.
The Zardari government, which came to power in 2008, is partially responsible for people losing
faith in democracy in Pakistan. Their mismanagement and poor governance has made the lives of
ordinary Pakistanis difficult who now live in a country where water and power supplies are
intermittent at best, law and order do not exist, and unemployment amongst the youth has
reached unprecedented highs.
In 2007, when Pakistan was ruled by a military dictator, 59 per cent of Pakistanis expressed faith
in the nation’s economy. A mere 9 per cent of Pakistanis today are optimistic about their
economic outlook. Pakistan’s civil bureaucracy and political leadership of all stripes must
wonder why most Pakistanis were confident about the state of the nation’s economy under a
military dictator and why more than 90 per cent of Pakistanis have no faith in the nation’s
economy when the electoral democracy prevails in the country. In fact, 43 per cent Pakistanis
today believe that the economic situation in the country will worsen over the next year; hardly a
reason to celebrate democracy in Pakistan.

-Source: Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.

Is the fundamentalist Islam the answer?
If democracy is not their preferred model of governance, do Pakistanis favour a Taliban style
fundamentalist Islamic state? After all, 62 per cent of Pakistanis, up from 46 per cent in 2010,
would like to see Islam play a major role in politics.
These numbers may give some comfort to the leaders of Pakistan Defence Council (PDC).
However, their optimism in these numbers will be extremely misguided. An overwhelming
majority of Pakistanis is distressed about the sorry state of economic affairs. Given that PDC has
nothing more to its credit than holding rallies and marches, the electorate is unlikely to handover
the government to clerics who have nothing to show for economic plans.
Pakistanis, unlike the respondents in other Muslim majority countries, deserve a lot of credit for
not becoming entangled in the rhetoric of the fundamentalist groups. Note that only 13 per cent
of Pakistanis holds a favourable view of al Qaeda and the Taliban. In comparison, one in five
Egyptians holds a favourable view of al Qaeda and the Taliban. At the same time, 39 per cent of
Egyptians and 44 per cent Jordanians hold a favourable view of Hamas and one in every two
Tunisians also favours Hamas.
What then, explains the enigma that 82 per cent of Pakistanis want to have their laws adhere to
the Quran, but only 13 per cent support the Taliban and others who champion similar causes. 
The answer to this question is rather complex. I am of the view that Pakistanis see Islam as a
benevolent religion and by following its principles they believe they may be able to restore
justice and prosperity in the country. This may be the reason that while being religious, still an
overwhelming majority of Pakistanis do not conform to the orthodoxies portrayed as the religion
by al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Do Pakistanis recognise democracy?
I wonder at times if Pakistanis understand what democracy truly entails. Is it merely the electoral
outcomes that constitute democracy in their minds or is it the all-encompassing manifestation of
respect, freedom, and equity that one would associate with the very idea of democracy.
Pakistanis appear rather confused about even the electoral manifestation of democracy.  Consider
that in the Pew survey 52 per cent of Pakistanis believed that the Saudi Arabian government
supported democracy in the Middle East. It is rather absurd to think that the Saudi government
promotes democracy in the region while it shuns the same practice at home and even denies
women the right to drive a car.
Consider also the fact that 63 per cent of Pakistanis believe holding free and fair elections to be
very important, yet only 28 per cent of Pakistanis value free media. The rest would rather see
print and electronic media censored. At the same time, only one in five Pakistanis supports
unbridled access to the Internet. Democracy rests on having free and unbridled access to, and
exchange of, ideas and information. If the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis would rather
censor media and the Internet, and therefore prevent open debate, their desire to hold free
elections may remain an unrealised dream.
Whereas Pakistanis continue to hold conflicting objectives for democracy they also suffer from
the Messiah syndrome. Instead of striving to build democratic institutions, a large number of
Pakistanis would prefer to wait for a strong leader who may one day turn their fortunes around. 
When asked to choose between a democratic government or a strong leader, 61 per cent of
Pakistanis opted for a strong leader over democracy. This is hardly productive. No one man can
fix the nation, especially when democratic principles are not embedded in the social fabric.
Democracy will prevail in Pakistan if and when the democratic and human rights of women and
other disenfranchised groups are recognised and protected. This, however, is not the case today.
Consider the fundamental human right of women to choose their own spouse, which (according
to the Pew survey) is supported by a mere 11 per cent of Pakistanis. The remaining 89 per cent
believe that the family should choose the spouse for the woman. This is dictatorial to say the
least, resulting in a direct conflict between what is desired at the household level and what is
preferred for the nation.
 As long as Pakistanis (mostly male) continue to dictate choices for their daughters, sisters, and
other women in the family or in the neighbourhood, they continue to be part of the microcosm of
dictatorship, which when aggregated to the national level will never transform into true
democracy.
The challenge therefore is to embrace democracy in all its manifestations rather than cherry-
picking the democratic norms that conform to the tribal practices.

Murtaza Haider, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of research and graduate programs at the
Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. He can be reached by
email at murtaza.haider@ryerson.ca

CSS Exam 2013

Thursday, November 15, 2012
essay - Future of Democracy in Pakistan

Future of Democracy in Pakistan

      I.        Quaid’s vision of Democracy

    II.        United Nations and democracy

         United Nations Democratic Fund

         UN charter endorses democracy
         Article 21 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights highlights democratic values
   III.        Democratic states-a universal standard form of human society
  IV.        Origin of democracy
    V.        Contribution of different cultures for evolution of democracy
  VI.        Varieties of democracy
 VII.        Islam and democracy

         Islamic form of government is close to democracy

         Islamic democracy slightly differs from western secular democracy
Main Body:
i.              Political history of Pakistan:
         Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, 1951
         Martial law of Ayub Khan, 1958
         Transfer of power to General Yahya Khan, 1969
          Dismemberment of Pakistan, 1971
         Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Civilian Martial law Administrator
         Martial law of General Zia UL Haq, 1977
         Restoration of so-called democracy, 1988
         Martial law of General Pervaiz Musharraf, 1999
         Restoration of democracy, 2008

ii.             Causes of failure of democracy in Pakistan:

         The spirit of unity evaporated after emergence of Pakistan

         Egocentric politicians
         Military involvement in politics
         Dictators choose the worst lot of politicians every time
         Corruption
         Strengthening of bureaucracy
         Feudal cum politicians
         Leadership void
         Lack of education
         Lack of economic development
-       Paul Collier-$2,700 per capita income as the threshold to democracy
         Mutual squabbling of politicians
         Personality-driven politics
         Weak independent institutions
         Constitutional crisis
         Concentration of power with the president
         Extremists illusion that democracy is un-Islamic

iii.            Impact of failure of democracy:

         Terrorism
         Fanned separatist movements
         Economic deterioration
         Failure to form independent foreign policy
         Weaker government institutes
         Writ of the government is not all encompassing

iv.           Steps for  restoration of true form of democracy:

         Military should stop interference
         Reformation of the judiciary
         Accountability
         Mature political leadership
         Abolition of 'Jagirdari' and feudal Systems
         Provide opportunities to common man to being elected as parliamentarian
         Strengthen public institutions
         Keep the constitution intact
         Educate the masses
         Media should play a positive role
         International community should help to strengthen democratic system
         Will and determination of all the stakeholders
Conclusion:
         Democracy-the only remedy
         True democracy is the panacea for Pakistan
         The future of democracy may seem bleak but through determination it can be made
bright

“Cheshire-Puss,” Alice began… ” would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care
where.” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter much which way you go… ” said the Cat. Lewis
Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.
The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned the newly
independent Muslim state’s foreign policy to be of “peace with all, and enmity with none”
Functionally, the Quaid’s also expected the nation’s irrevocable commitment to the ideals of
democracy, pluralism, market economy, social justice, communal harmony and egalitarian order.
He visualized a Pakistan that would be stable politically and strong economically where its
people could live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from the fear of violence,
oppression and injustice, and where they and their future generations could also live free from
hunger, disease, and illiteracy.
The Quaid’s vision woefully remains unfulfilled. What a tragedy and an irony that a country
which on its birth was considered “twentieth century miracle” of a state should today be
struggling for a place among the “peaceful nations” of the world. For more than half a century,
Pakistan has been wallowing in political and economic uncertainty and has had neither domestic
stability nor peaceful borders. Its post-independence political history is replete with endemic
crises and challenges that perhaps no other country in the world has experienced.
We as a nation have not only failed to grapple with these challenges but are in fact living
remorselessly with these problems as an “integral” part of our society. Governments and the
Assemblies have been part of the problem rather than solution. Aversion to the rule of law is
endemic. Poor governance has been our  national hallmark. Crime and corruption remained
rampant and galore both in scope and scale. Our country is today the classic example of
ingenuities for bribery, exchange of favours and illegitimate perquisites. “You scratch my back
and I’ll scratch yours” is the common approach followed by public officials, be they
parliamentarians or civil and military officials. The culture of perks and privileges has been
growing at the expense of the state. 

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No
one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the
worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time -
Sir Winston Churchill

Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the
people. Though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', but eminent scholars
have ensured democracy as equality, fair play and freedom. Even the United Nations endorses
the democratic form of government and has established the “United Nations Democracy Fund”
to strengthen democratic institutions and practices around the world. The democratic values were
highlighted in the Charter of the United Nations, as well as in the Article 21 of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. It has been speculated that the aforementioned trajectory followed
by the world will eventually lead this world to the point where liberal democratic nation-states
will become the universal standard for human society.
Democracy is good, I say this because all other systems are worse—Jawaharlal Nehru
                Democracy has its origins in Ancient Greece. However other cultures have
significantly contributed to the evolution of democracy such as Ancient Rome, Europe, and
North America. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and
institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and in
the American and French Revolutions. The right to vote has been expanded in many
Jurisdictions over time from relatively narrow electorates, with New Zealand as the first nation
to grant universal suffrage for all its citizens in 1893.
 There are several facets of democracy like Direct democracy, Representative,
Anticipatory, Non-partisan, Westminster, Soviet or Council democracy.  Islam as we believe is a
complete code of life, in some areas it grants due freedom to its believers, as in the political
sphere the decision for choosing the form of government has been left for the people, provided
that the described requirements for vicegerency are met and the sovereignty lies with Allah
alone. Secondly, the Islamic government is never theocratic. It is formed by mutual consent, and
conducts most of its affairs by consensus and consultation.  

 It is rather more imperative to fulfill the conditions of vicegerency than contemplating on
how the government should be formed. The original concept of Islamic rule is closer to
democracy. It is an anti-thesis of monarchial, theocratic, and autocratic forms of government. It
slightly differs from the western secular democracy and lays more stress on sovereignty of GOD,
equality, justice and fair play, and does not allow any form of exploitation. Hence, in essence and
soul democracy is not un-Islamic. All are equal but some are superior on behalf of piety.

Exploring the last 63 years of Pakistan, democracy is taken as a comic relief between military
regimes. Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first elected Prime Minister, was in fact the demise of
democracy in Pakistan. Since then, the balance of power tilted in the favor of the military. A comparison
depicts this shift. From 1951-57 India had one Prime Minister and several army chiefs while during the
same period Pakistan had one army chief and several Prime ministers. The same army chief, Ayub Khan
promulgated the first martial law in 1958. General Ayub Khan could not withstand a popular national
movement and transferred power to General Yahya Khan in March 1969. Under him Pakistan lost its
half, which is now known as Bangladesh. Power was then transferred to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the first
civilian martial law administrator. Bhutto pursued an independent policy, but he was charged for
compliance in murder, and hanged by the next martial law administrator, General Zia UL Haq. Hanging
of an elected Prime Minister perturbed the whole world. The general died in a mysterious plane crash.
Then came a ten years fad of the so-called democracy. During this period, none the elected government
completed its term on account of being ousted by the special discretionary powers of the president. An
end to this ten-year spell came with a new general, who ousted the incumbent elected government. This
time the Prime Minister was charged for conspiring against the state and was expatriated from the
country. Democracy was again restored in 2008 and now it has been hijacked by the dictatorial
democrats.
The spirit of unity, cohesion and commitment shown during Pakistan movement evaporated just
after the emergence of Pakistan, and self centered knavish politician indulged themselves in the fiendish
politics that was against the true spirit of democracy. Having ascertained the weakness and egocentric
attitude of the politicians, the military-bureaucratic nexus crawled out of the woodwork and took the
de-facto control of the country. Since then military-bureaucratic establishment directly or indirectly
governed the country. Army generals usurp power at their own convenience and quit only when they
are forced to quit by mass political movements or by a sudden unexpected death.
It is a dilemma that they came up to uproot corruption and social evils but actually they weeded
out the seeds of democracy. Disgruntled by the ostensible democracy, the people started to believe in
the forthcoming miracles of some incoming Messiah from the ranks of soldiers. In the end, they always
found themselves more disappointed by the 'short-sighted' Generals than by the 'corrupt' politicians. In
order to prolong their rule, dictators try to establish a controlled democracy and more often, they
choose the worst lot of politicians. This covert or overt influence of army is the greatest impediment to
the evolution of a stable democratic system in Pakistan.
In addition to this, the military rulers strengthened the bureaucracy for securing their own
rule. Having established a permanent role in the establishment, the bureaucrats and generals
preferred to compromise with the feudal system. The military rulers were thought to curb them in
the beginning but instead of nipping them in the bud they also compromised with them to
prolong their own rule. Similarly, the feudal cum politicians avail opportunities to beguile the
gullible masses. In such circumstances, even universal suffrage could not be effective and non-
political powers began to play a more assertive role. Consequently, the leaders and politicians
become the brainchild of the military and bureaucratic nexus and since Quaid’s demise, no true
leader could rise to fill the void.
Democracy presupposes an understanding of issues. The sine qua non for a Western-style
democratic system is education, which means that the people must be educated to a level to
understand the issues so that they can make a meaningful choice. Unfortunately, literacy rate in
Pakistan is a mere fraction, even the most optimistic estimates believe it to be less than 50 percent. An
illiterate person is like an aimless wanderer, who lacks a clear vision, consequently fells an easy prey to
the caste related vote canvassing.  Moreover, Pakistani society is divided along the fissures and faults of
caste and sects that has retarded it to act like a cohesive unit and concentrate only on issues. Under
such circumstances, caste, sect and creed sentiments are exploited by the unscrupulous politicians. 
Paul Collier in "5 myths about the beauty of the ballot box" has cited $2,700 per capita income
as a threshold to democracy. Researchers have found democracies to be more effective and less prone
to violence above this threshold, but below that, less effective and more violent. The same study shows
that election misconduct is more likely in countries with low per capita incomes, rich in natural
resources, and a lack of institutional checks and balances. Pakistan has a nominal per capita income of
just $1, 067 and about one-fifth of population lies below the poverty line that struggles more for earning
sustenance rather than concentrating on the political issues, and if they ever do, they believe more in
the conspiracy theories rather than underlying issues.  Consequently they are oblivious of major
developments and prove to be credulous masses.
Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of
opportunity—Irving Kristol

 The political leaders lack a clear vision and they never had the capacity to alleviate the status of
democracy and strengthen it, in fact the mutual squabbling of the political leaders excited the other
players to assume a role. Moreover, in Pakistan the politics is more personality-driven rather than
issues-driven, which has an overall negative impact on the evolution of independent institutions and has
fanned the vested interests. Political parties are mere puppet in the hands of different families and party
elections are considered taboo and it seems that political parties have dictatorship at their own core!
 Another important cause has always been the constitutional crisis and absence of rule of
law apparatus. Similarly, the several amendments in the constitution concentrated power in the
President, which was against the democratic soul. There is still need for intact constitution.
Interruption in the democratic process has never allowed democracy to form a base. Even with
its flaws, the elected government has a right to complete its tenure without any hurdles.

Last but not least, the current stream of extremism and terrorism has brought forth a new
ideology. The bearers of this new ideology of governance consider democracy as non-Islamic.
They only harbor the westernized concept of democracy and they misguide people by pleading
them to abandon democratic system and demand for imposition of Sharia, they are unmindful of
the fact that a democratic system can flourish under the aegis of Sharia.

The aforementioned transgressions of different institutions, vested interests of different

stakeholders and cavalier attitude on part of the general masses have ruined the state structure of
Pakistan. Under the direct military rule, only the elite benefited from the system and this gave
rise to economic disparity, while no benefit was being passed over to the general public. History
is witness to the fact that Pakistan has lost territory while under direct military rule. The
dictators’ hawkish attitude has fanned various separatist movements across the country. Absence
of Democracy is a significant reason for nurturing terrorism in a country. A democratic
government is supposed to represent the people and provide political means to voice grievances,
hence essentially providing a sphere where terrorism has no place. Democracy is necessary to
peace and undermining the forces of terrorism—Benazir Bhutto.  For this reason, in theory,
there 'cannot' be an aggrieved group that is not adequately represented; but absence of
democracy and areas outside the realm of democratic setup in Pakistan has proved conducive to
terrorism.
 Democratic setup through different checks and balances ensures transparency, fair play
and good governance. But these characteristics do not pop out with just the imposition of
democratic system rather these evolve over time. Since democratic setup was de-railed again and
again, so these fruits of democracy were never seen in Pakistan and consequently, the institutions
are underdeveloped and resultantly sporadic democratic periods were infested with bad
governance. With the weak institutions and rampant interference in other institutions’ portfolios
have resulted in massive corruption, which is a peculiar stigma to democracy in Pakistan. As an
outcome of these mal-practices, national economy has gone virtually bankrupt and national
budget has become dependent on foreign aid.
  In true democracy, political leaders derive their power from the people thus they are
intrepid and assume more audacious visions, consequently the respective country forms an
independent foreign policy that best suits its interests but feeble democracy is devoid of these
characteristics. Pakistan has so-far failed to furnish its independent foreign policy, with faint
support in their own country; political leaders are swayed by the world powers, thus they
undermine the national interests and sovereignty of the country. Wiki-leaks speaks high of their
sincerity and caliber in this regard.
All the ills of democracy can be cured by more democracy- Alfred E. Smith (42nd
governor of New York)

 Though democracy has failed many times to establish its firm roots in Pakistan, but every dark
cloud has a silver lining, all these failures actually provide us an insight into what went wrong and how
democracy can be preserved from de-railing next time.   The first essential step seems to stop interruption
in the democratic process and the elected government must be allowed to complete its tenure in any case.
Secondly, a major chunk of the population wants greater Islamic character in the democratic setup and
legislation. Incorporating true Islamic injunctions will lead to a more cohesive civil society and will foil
any attempts by the extremists to paint that democracy is antithesis to Islamic form of government. We
must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 There is a need to reform the judiciary, in the presence of an independent judicial

system, the discrepancies are kept in check thus it ensures enduring democracy. Reforming the
judiciary and incorporating the Islamic laws can also soothe the deprived and poor masses which
have been manipulated by the extremists. Moving on, corruption and selfish attitudes is eating
away the institutional structure of our country and such mal-practices never allowed democracy
to flourish. There is a need to engineer an accountability mechanism, so that these wrong-doings
are kept in check.

Common man was compelled by the existing setup to stay away from contesting an
election. Hitherto it was a prerogative of the affluent and feudal classes; such practices are
against the moral, democratic and Islamic principles. The necessary ingredient for the success of
democracy in Pakistan is the emancipation of the rural areas from the clutches of the local
landlords, i.e. to take steps for the abolition of 'Jagirdari' System. The criteria of merit; the right
of freedom and equal progress for common people should be promoted. Young and morally
upright persons should come forward and actively take part in democratic setup and elected
member must be nurtured with the notion that they have to serve the nation and they have to bail
out this nation.  A leader is a dealer in hope—Napoleon Bonaparte

There is a dire need to strengthen the public institutions, in order to ensure the supremacy
of law so that rules govern the country rather than the personalities. The glaring example of
many European countries may be quoted, where institutions enjoy the ultimate powers.
Democracy in actuality can only be achieved through such measures. Our constitution has been a
source of constant controversy. Now onward, no one in power should be allowed to change it for
prolongation of rule or appeasing any particular section. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The credulous masses were an easy prey to the mercenary politicians, had they been
educated, they must have asked the elected members for their rights denied, opportunities
curtailed and for defrauding the tax-payers money. Imparting education on a national scale will
galvanize the masses to form a check on political leadership. The political energy in Pakistan is
extravagantly wasted on inter-provincial squabbling. There is a dire need to get the nation out of
the rut of provincialism, so that they feel proud on being Pakistani and strive for the cause of
Pakistan thus strengthening the institutions and democracy in the country.

 In a democratic state, media has rightly been called the fourth pillar of the state. It can
play a more vibrant, positive and constructive role rather than becoming another compromised
institution. Information is the currency of democracy—Thomas Jefferson
 Finally, the strategic position and now the war against terror has brought Pakistan in the
limelight of the international community, so international community should help Pakistan in
establishing a workable democratic system or should at least stay away from anointing the
dictators, but it is only possible through the visionary and sagacious approach of the media.

 The world has ultimately come to a conclusion after having experimented different
forms of government like Monarchy, Oligarchy, military or civil Dictatorships etc. These
governments failed despite sincere wishes of the individual leaders who came to the fore through
any of these Processes. In line with the lessons of history and despite all its past experiences of
failure, there is no other messianic way out to lead Pakistan toward a progressive state except to
establish the roots of democracy firmly. Democracy is not only a form of government; it is a
philosophy which encompasses all aspects of rights and freedom. In Pakistan, however, the
already difficult situation has been aggravated by constant failures which never let democracy to
survive. The positive change is still slow, but a bleak past or murky present in no way means a
foredoomed future as well. However, colossal efforts at every level are required for democracy
to take root. In all this hopelessness, there must be a desire for moving forward. The future of
democracy may be doubtful but it not at an end yet.
The road to democracy may be winding and is like the river taking many curves but
eventually the river will reach the ocean—Chen Shui-Bian(10th and 11th-term President of
the Republic of China)

No wonder, decades of domestic political chaos and projected external vulnerability have kept
our national priorities lop-sided with more than one-third of our annual budget being used for our
“defence expenditure.” Fractured institutions and strong personalities continued to scamper
around and speak directly to the leadership in different voices. This led to no or a confused
policy.
Our foremost priority is to fix the fundamentals of our governance. We need domestic
consolidation through democracy based on constitutional supremacy, institutional integrity and
independent judiciary, rule of law, accountability & good governance. We must not make any
compromise on principles & national interests. We need to regain and preserve our sovereign
independence.
Our leaders must give-up the Macro Polo culture. We should also do away with the system of
perks and privileges for civil-military officials and parliamentarians. No more distribution of
state land or plots for anyone. No begging. We must opt for self-reliance and national dignity.
No more blind faith in the so-called “friends of Pakistan.” Lets be our own friends. Let’s
ourselves take care of Pakistan.
We need a low profile foreign policy formulated through institutional rather than personal
approach with greater focus on domestic political, economic and social consolidation. In doing
so, we could best serve our interests by following Hafiz Shirazi’s advice for “Kindness to
friends”, “courtesy to enemies” with equal faith in Allama Iqbal’s message of “self-pride, self-
confidence and self dignity.”
               
                Let us hope for a bright future for:
                “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.”
Or as Shelly says in his poem,
“Ode to the West wind”
“The trumpet of a prophecy! O wind’
If winter comes, can spring be for behind!”  

(Words 3876)

Why Pakistanis lost faith in democracy?

Murtaza Haider | 11th July, 2012
38

A recent poll of six Muslim countries revealed that Pakistanis by far were the least likely to
favour democracy. Compared with Turkey, where 71 per cent of the respondents favoured
democracy, only 42 per cent of Pakistanis held the same view.
A recently released report by the Pew Research Centre showed that unlike Pakistan, the
overwhelming majority of respondents in the other five Muslim majority countries preferred
democracy.  And while Pakistanis demonstrated a half-hearted appreciation for democratic
principles, an overwhelming majority (82 per cent) expressed preference for the laws to follow
the Quranic injunctions. In comparison, only 60 per cent of Egyptians wanted their laws to
follow Quran.
These statistics may lead some to believe that Pakistanis may be following the fundamentalist
Taliban or al Qaeda. This, I would argue, will be an erroneous conclusion, which ignores the
complex socio-economic realities of Pakistan.
Given that the democratic rule and institutions have been in place in Pakistan since 2008 and that
the democratic forces have, more than once, prevailed over military dictatorship in Pakistan, the
lack of enthusiasm from democracy amongst Pakistanis should be a concern for all.  At the same
time one wonders why the remaining 58 per cent Pakistanis no longer see democracy as the
preferred system of governance.
‘It’s the economy, stupid’
A careful review of the Pew survey offers hints of why democracy is no longer favoured by most
Pakistanis. It appears that James Carville’s adage “It’s the economy, stupid” also holds true for
Pakistan where 58 per cent of Pakistanis preferred strong economy over a good democracy (34
per cent). While I see the two as not mutually exclusive, still Pakistanis appear more prudent to
prefer bread, clothing, and shelter over empty promises of the same from the beneficiaries of the
electoral processes.
The Zardari government, which came to power in 2008, is partially responsible for people losing
faith in democracy in Pakistan. Their mismanagement and poor governance has made the lives of
ordinary Pakistanis difficult who now live in a country where water and power supplies are
intermittent at best, law and order do not exist, and unemployment amongst the youth has
reached unprecedented highs.
In 2007, when Pakistan was ruled by a military dictator, 59 per cent of Pakistanis expressed faith
in the nation’s economy. A mere 9 per cent of Pakistanis today are optimistic about their
economic outlook. Pakistan’s civil bureaucracy and political leadership of all stripes must
wonder why most Pakistanis were confident about the state of the nation’s economy under a
military dictator and why more than 90 per cent of Pakistanis have no faith in the nation’s
economy when the electoral democracy prevails in the country. In fact, 43 per cent Pakistanis
today believe that the economic situation in the country will worsen over the next year; hardly a
reason to celebrate democracy in Pakistan.
-Source: Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.
Is the fundamentalist Islam the answer?
If democracy is not their preferred model of governance, do Pakistanis favour a Taliban style
fundamentalist Islamic state? After all, 62 per cent of Pakistanis, up from 46 per cent in 2010,
would like to see Islam play a major role in politics.
These numbers may give some comfort to the leaders of Pakistan Defence Council (PDC).
However, their optimism in these numbers will be extremely misguided. An overwhelming
majority of Pakistanis is distressed about the sorry state of economic affairs. Given that PDC has
nothing more to its credit than holding rallies and marches, the electorate is unlikely to handover
the government to clerics who have nothing to show for economic plans.
Pakistanis, unlike the respondents in other Muslim majority countries, deserve a lot of credit for
not becoming entangled in the rhetoric of the fundamentalist groups. Note that only 13 per cent
of Pakistanis holds a favourable view of al Qaeda and the Taliban. In comparison, one in five
Egyptians holds a favourable view of al Qaeda and the Taliban. At the same time, 39 per cent of
Egyptians and 44 per cent Jordanians hold a favourable view of Hamas and one in every two
Tunisians also favours Hamas.
What then, explains the enigma that 82 per cent of Pakistanis want to have their laws adhere to
the Quran, but only 13 per cent support the Taliban and others who champion similar causes. 
The answer to this question is rather complex. I am of the view that Pakistanis see Islam as a
benevolent religion and by following its principles they believe they may be able to restore
justice and prosperity in the country. This may be the reason that while being religious, still an
overwhelming majority of Pakistanis do not conform to the orthodoxies portrayed as the religion
by al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Do Pakistanis recognise democracy?
I wonder at times if Pakistanis understand what democracy truly entails. Is it merely the electoral
outcomes that constitute democracy in their minds or is it the all-encompassing manifestation of
respect, freedom, and equity that one would associate with the very idea of democracy.
Pakistanis appear rather confused about even the electoral manifestation of democracy.  Consider
that in the Pew survey 52 per cent of Pakistanis believed that the Saudi Arabian government
supported democracy in the Middle East. It is rather absurd to think that the Saudi government
promotes democracy in the region while it shuns the same practice at home and even denies
women the right to drive a car.
Consider also the fact that 63 per cent of Pakistanis believe holding free and fair elections to be
very important, yet only 28 per cent of Pakistanis value free media. The rest would rather see
print and electronic media censored. At the same time, only one in five Pakistanis supports
unbridled access to the Internet. Democracy rests on having free and unbridled access to, and
exchange of, ideas and information. If the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis would rather
censor media and the Internet, and therefore prevent open debate, their desire to hold free
elections may remain an unrealised dream.
Whereas Pakistanis continue to hold conflicting objectives for democracy they also suffer from
the Messiah syndrome. Instead of striving to build democratic institutions, a large number of
Pakistanis would prefer to wait for a strong leader who may one day turn their fortunes around. 
When asked to choose between a democratic government or a strong leader, 61 per cent of
Pakistanis opted for a strong leader over democracy. This is hardly productive. No one man can
fix the nation, especially when democratic principles are not embedded in the social fabric.
Democracy will prevail in Pakistan if and when the democratic and human rights of women and
other disenfranchised groups are recognised and protected. This, however, is not the case today.
Consider the fundamental human right of women to choose their own spouse, which (according
to the Pew survey) is supported by a mere 11 per cent of Pakistanis. The remaining 89 per cent
believe that the family should choose the spouse for the woman. This is dictatorial to say the
least, resulting in a direct conflict between what is desired at the household level and what is
preferred for the nation.
As long as Pakistanis (mostly male) continue to dictate choices for their daughters, sisters, and
other women in the family or in the neighbourhood, they continue to be part of the microcosm of
dictatorship, which when aggregated to the national level will never transform into true
democracy.
The challenge therefore is to embrace democracy in all its manifestations rather than cherry-
picking the democratic norms that conform to the tribal practices.

Murtaza Haider, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of research and graduate programs at the
Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. He can be reached by
email at murtaza.haider@ryerson.ca

Why Fragile Democracy in Pakistan?

31 days ago by Sajjad Shaukat Senior analyst Comments Off
5
by Sajjad Shaukat

Democracy which has displayed its success in the

west has proved the fragile form of government in Pakistan. Therefore, it is generally said that
“any instrument can be misused.”
Although various mal-practices such as horse-trading, nepotism, bribery, illegal obligation etc.
are very common in Pakistan’s politics, yet corruption of our politicians has exposed on October
19, this year when in its judgment in the Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan case (The curious case of the Mehran
Bank scandal, which is now commonly known as the Asghar Khan case has taken an important position in Pakistan’s judicial history. Air Marshal Asghar
Khan, in 1996, had written a letter to then Chief Justice Nasim Hasan Shah against former army chief, General Mirza Aslam Baig, former ISI chief
Lieutenant General  Asad Durrani and Younis Habib of Habib and Mehran Banks, relating to the disbursement of public money and its misuse for
political purposes. On the basis of Asghar Khan’s petition, Lieutenant General (Retd.) Asad Durrani took the stand in the Supreme Court
and provided an affidavit that the army had indeed distributed Pak Rs. 140 million to anti-PPP political candidates
only a few months before the October 1990 general election.) , the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the
government to take action against former Army Chief Gen. (r) Aslam Baig and former Chief of
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Asad Durrani for distributing millions of rupees among anti-
Pakistan People’s Party politicians in the 1990 elections. The Court ordered that investigation
should be initiated by the FIA against all the politicians who received money which should be
recovered. The court also ruled that former Mehran Bank chairman Younas Habib should also be
dealt in the same manner.
In this regard, former head of Mehran Bank, Younis Habib had disclosed before the Supreme
Court on March 8, 2012 that former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former Army Chief Gen.
Mirza Aslam Beg pressurised him to arrange Rs. 1.48 billion, out of which Rs. 400 million were
distributed among anti-PPP politicians to influence the elections of 1990. Habib claimed that the
bank account numbers in which the money transferred was also provided by Gen. Aslam Beg.
Younis Habib had revealed that Rs. 340 million were given to form Islami Jamhuri Ittehad (IJI)),
and Rs. 3.5 and Rs. 2.5 million were given to Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif respectively, and
to Jamaat-e-Islami Rs. 5 million including Aftab Sherpao who was given a “bigger amount.”
Besides, during the Mehrangate investigations, Younis Habib had disclosed that other political
figures also received money.
He stated that the money paid to the politicians was nothing less than a bribe, admitting that
taking or giving bribe was a sin—“Bribe leaves no trace behind.”
Former ISI Chief Gen. Asad Durrani on March 10 also admitted before the Supreme Court that
on the instructions of Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg, he distributed money among politicians of IJI to
counter the PPP.
However, as regards the Mehran Bank money case, ISI simply obeyed the orders of the then
head of the government by opting to obey the lawful command.
Despite the evidence and recent verdict of the apex court, leaders of all the mainstream parties
and almost famous political figures denied the receipt of money, but this new development has
clearly exposed the corruption of country’s politicians who claim to be representatives of the
people in the national and provincial assemblies. Now a debate has opened over the media,
showing as to how leaders get votes and deceive public mandate.
Another major cause of weak democracy in Pakistan is that rival political leaders always raise
allegations and counter-allegations against each other. In the present situation, while campaign
has almost started for the forthcoming elections, the rulers of the PPP have said that other major
parties, especially the PML-N rigged the elections 1990, and they should deposit the amount in
the national exchequer as received by them. On the other side, PML-N and other anti-PPP
leaders are emphasising President Asif Ali Zardari regarding the corruption in relation to the
NRO-Swiss bank accounts. In this context, Chairman Imran Khan of PTI has been targeting both
the PML-N and PPP as corrupt parties.
Baseless blame game of the politicians could be judged from the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Syed Masood Kausar who allegedly stated on October 27 that the Punjab government had covert
links with terrorists.
Notably, while speaking about Memogate case, on December 22, 2011, the ex-Prime Minister
Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, without naming army and ISI, presumed that conspiracies were being
hatched to topple the democratically elected government. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-
N had also stated that martial law would not be accepted in the country.
In that backdrop, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani stated on December 23, “The
Pakistan Army has and will continue to support democratic process in the country.” On March 6,
2008, Gen. Kiyani had clearly remarked, “The army would stay out of the political process.” He
is still acting upon the principle of non-interference in political affairs.
Nevertheless, without grasping realities, our politicians have manipulated every issue like the
Memogate case, Mehrangate verdict, NRO scandal, missing persons of Balochistan, military
operation in Waziristan, incident of Malala Yousafzai etc., not only to disrepute country’s key
security intuitions, but also against each other so as to misguide the common men to increase
their voting lists.
Feeble democracy in Pakistan is also due to some other factors. In this respect, a blind dedication
to ones own race, tribe, creed and community creates hatred in one group against the other,
which ends in violence. Regional and provincial political leaders exploit these disparities which
have hindered the smooth working of democracy.
Concentration of wealth in few hands has created a privileged class of landowners and
industrialists who contest elections winning the same against each other again and again. By
dominating the political parties, they have dominated the politics of the country and have always
sacrificed national interests for their personal gains. During the election campaign, they employ
all means, fair or foul to defeat their opponents and capture political power. They mislead the
general masses through, false propaganda and exaggerated speeches.
It is our misfortune that our political parties have worked on undemocratic principles like
hostility for the sake of hostility, formation of alliances and counter-alliances to win the
elections. Much time is wasted in retaliation against the previous government instead of fulfilling
the promises, made with the voters during election campaign. While perusing the politics of
revenge, they forget the real aim of public mandate by resolving the economic and social
problems of the masses. In this regard, they also misguide the general masses by forming
extreme opinion among them towards their opponents. Therefore, people who support these
political leaders as a symbol of success of their favourite parties, feel pleasure at the failure of
their rival parties. Past experience displays that very soon an alliance of different parties is
formed to launch a mass movement against the elected government, ultimately leading to
military rule in the country.
Unlike the western democracies, it is owing to the lack of pr-conditions for the success of
democracy like education, good citizenship, active role of people in public affairs, external
vigilance and political consciousness among general masses that they become an easy prey to
shrewd politicians who use them for their own self-interests.
Particularly, on our media, most of the TV channels conduct controversial debate between
politicians and commentators by exploiting every issue without bothering for the integrity of the
country.
At this critical juncture, Pakistan is facing multi-faceted crises such as soaring prices,
loadshading, unemployment, crimes, lack of health facilities etc. Besides, the country has
perennially been facing subversive activities in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi
including other cities as arranged by the foreign secret agencies like CIA, RAW and Mossad.
While country’s security forces are coping with militants in some tribal areas in wake of
terrorists’ assaults on their ceckposts, which killed several personal of Pak Army. In this context,
our politicians and media analysts opine as to what the people want, but conceal as to what
people actually need?
Instead creating a selfless unity among all the segment of society including cooperation with the
security agencies, regrettably, our political entities are further complicating all the related-
problems to increase their vote bank in the coming elections—also unintentionally assist the
external enemies of Pakistan.
Nonetheless, despite the ambitions of people who nourished democratic ideals, we could not set
up this system on a strong footing due to irresponsible approach of our political entities. Hence,
democracy remains fragile, working in uncertainty.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Failure of Democracy in Pakistan: Causes and Solution

14 December, 2011

By Sajid Mahmood Sajid

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 Do you think, Mid-term election is the only solution to present political

crises?

Pakistan came into being before 60 year almost but still endeavoring to develop the institution of
politics in its society. The founding father of this country, Mr. Jinnah, achieved this country
democratically and constitutionally. Unfortunately destiny did not give enough time to him to draw the
socio – economic, religious and political map of newly born state. During early 21 years of its life -
1947 to 1969 - Pakistan was governed by civil – military bureucracy under oligarchic and authoritarian
traditions. This was first chapter of dictatorship. Second and third one were during 1979 to 1988 and
1999 to 2007 under military dictators.

First democratic election held in 1970 and a uninanimous constitution was passed by parliament in
1973 in which, democratic parliamentary government system was introduced. So here started first
democratic phase (1970 – 1979) under the inspiring leadership of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Second and
third phases of democracy were between 1988 to 1999 and 2007 to the present date. So democratic
era in Pakistan is almost 24 years. During this time, elected leaders proved themselves as a
comprehensive failure and they were and they are failed to deliver to the public. Why democratic
traditions are not developed in Pakistan up till now? What were and what are the major causes behind
failure of democracy here? Now I will explain it. 

Causes of failure of democracy in Pakistan lies in our socio - political system. Feudalism, illiterate and
apathetic people, self – imposed leaders and inherited politics are a few salient features of this
system. It's a feudal state where we are living and most of our political leaders are just feudal lords
and they and have assumed and established their identity as political leaders. Feudalism has been
leading towards the traditions of inherited politics as well in this country. In this feudal culture,
millions of people are landless and illiterate peasants and their social status is not more than a slave .
In addition to this, such landless peasants community is living in acute poverty. Auctoritas of this
community is not even accordance with the minimum standards of human rights. How can such
impoverished, deprived and economically marginalized peasants community can express their will
freely in a democratic process? The essence of democracy lies in the general will of the public. So
during election, such community is supposed to express the will of the feudal lords. May be due to
their lack of knowledge or the fear of the landlord, landless peasants do so. In such circumstances,
can we expect from landless rural peasants that they are able to evaluate the credibility of their so –
called leaders and the manifesto of political parties before voting? I don't think so they are able to do
this. Almost 70% population of Pakistan leading life in such feudal and rural traditions. Consequently,
general election becomes a selection of a few based upon the will of a few who are powerful and
leading a privileged life. In this way, democracy has been reduced to oligarchy and aristocracy in our
country. 

In our democratic set up, our elected leaders even visit their constituencies for a for a few times as
they have no any concern with the welfare of the deprived communities. As a result, firstly they don't
want to know about community problems at grass root level and secondly, they are unable to find out
solutions of them. 
So far as illiteracy is concerned, it is also a major root cause behind the failure of democracy in
Pakistan. Literacy is the very first and the most important pre – requisite for democracy. Accordingly
the Census of 1998, literacy rate of Pakistan was 43.92%.and literacy rate among rural community of
Pakistan was 33.64% in 1998. But these are official and manipulated statistics which are unable to
paint the real picture of our population. Actual literacy rate is even below than these figures
particularly in rural areas. So maximum part of our population is still suffering in the vicious cycle of
illiteracy and they are unable to contribute anything towards the development of Pakistan. Illiteracy
also leads to poverty. An illiterate and economically impoverished community has only concern with
bread and butter and they cannot comprehend and follow the true spirit of democracy. As a result,
such community gives guns in the hands of monkeys by electing irrelevant persons who are not
competent enough to cope with the contemporary national and international challenges. On the other
hand, our leaders are always busy in pillaging the national resources and throwing dust into eyes of
ignorant and slave people. Another beautiful manifestation of illiteracy is that most of our politicians
contest election on the base of fake degrees. In such morally corrupt and illiterate nation, how
democracy can flourish and become functional here?

I discussed two major causes of failure of democracy in Pakistan. So far as current democratic
government is concerned, it has been failed comprehensively to deliver as well. Democracy is here
now but in a failed and a flopped form. It has become just a slogan of exploitation in Pakistan and
nothing else. A democratic government is required to do provide justice, social welfare and security to
the public. But in the present setup, government has not perceived or made any such integrated
package for the nation. On the other hand, corruption and embezzlement are in full swing now. There
is no security for the citizens and people are being killed like rats on the name of target killing. Suicide
due to poverty and unemployment has become so common now. Now in 2011, in Pakistan, maximum
population comprising youth. But there is no jobs and employment for them and they are being
underutilized. The sovereignty of our country and land has been simply auctioned to the Uncle Sam
and Pakistan has been reduced to a colony of Ammerica. In such a way, all the state departments and
institutions have been failed from bottom to top. When Pakistani public is fed up with the governance
of corrupt democratic government, then sometimes they propagate that there was enough prosperity
during previous military regimes and there is no doubt, military coups of the past were the
consequence of failed democratic governments.

But issue is that our democratic rulers are not divine and we as a nation elect them. How we can
challenge their aunthticity? Yes we cannot and they are our representatives. When general public will
be socially impoverished, deprived and illiterate, it will produce incompetent, opportunist and corrupt
leadership. Such leaders just exploit people and they secure their vote bank on the name of
democracy. Our leaders assert that they are for the people but actually, they entertain their vested
interest only. Provision of social welfare, education and justice is not their priorities. The priorities of
our gluttonous leadership are to secure Swiss Bank Accounts, flats in London and Saray Mahal only.
Unfortunately such attitude has become modus operandi of our politicians. 

At the end, I want to give some recommendations and accoutrements which are inevitable to make
democracy a successful saga in Pakistan and to strengthen the fraternity of the nation in general.
Sweatshops of feudalism should be closed and traditions of inherited politics must be abolished.
Education and social liberty should be given to the all nation in general and to the rural community in
particular. There should be social equality, justice and rule of law across the country. Irrespective of
their social status and level of wealth, all the citizens should be considered equally accountable of their
deeds. Youth must be promoted and young, energetic and educated people should be encouraged in
every sphere of life. When our nation will be literate and social freedom will be there, then genuine
and competent leadership will emerge from bottom of our society and it will focus on the social welfare
and security of general public and sovereignty of our land. A successful execution of all these
pragmatic measures may can lead towards a strong democratic Pakistan in true sense and this task is
not insurmountable. Otherwise game of Chess between politicians and Military will continue as it was
in the past.
Why is democracy not delivering for Pakistan?
By Shahid Javed Burki
Published: June 24, 2012

The writer is a former vice-president of the World Bank and a former caretaker finance minister of Pakistan
I will begin by stating a number of simple yet important premises: that democracy is good for
development and sustainable economic growth; for a more equitable distribution of the fruits of
growth; for giving people with diverse and seemingly irreconcilable interests and objectives the
opportunity to resolve their differences; for providing the citizenry with the outlets they can use to
express their frustrations; and it helps those states that practice it to live in peace with their
neighbours. If these are self-evident truths, one would expect Pakistan to have benefitted in several
different ways from the return of democracy. The move from a controlled political system dominated
for long by the military, to one that is more open and in which the making of public policy is
entrusted to the chosen representatives of the people should have produced greater human welfare.
But it does not seem to be working out that way.
Out of the five benefits of democracy listed above — and there are many more — that should flow
once it is adopted as the preferred form of governance, only two have produced satisfactory results
for Pakistan thus far. After decades of wrangling with India, Pakistan has begun to develop better and
less adversarial relations. These may result in an arrangement that puts greater emphasis on
producing economic benefits for both sides. Most citizens, today, are worse off than they were four
years ago, when the political system began to change. But there is no widespread rebellion against
the state. The other three positive outcomes from the above list have not been evident since the
beginning of 2008, when the country began to pull away from military rule. As the country prepares
to hold another general election in late 2012 or early 2013, the present rate of growth has slowed to a
point where it is slightly greater than the rate of increase in the population. Meaning, not much is
being added to the national product so that those who occupy the lower rungs of the income
distribution ladder cannot draw benefits from the little economic change that is occurring. In fact, the
distribution of income has worsened since 2008. Does this mean that democracy has failed in
Pakistan; that for some reasons peculiar to the make-up of the country, democracy has not delivered
what it is supposed to provide to those who chose it as the preferred form for their governance?   The
short answer to this question is ‘no’. But the question needs a longer answer as to why democracy
seems to be failing and cannot provide the expected benefits in Pakistan. We can pick some clues
from the large and growing literature dealing with the workings of democracy around the globe.
Political scientists have been investigating this subject for decades. They have approached it from
many different angles — by carrying out comparative country analyses and by tracing the evolution
of democracy over time. The historical perspective has yielded as many insights into the impact of
democracy on economic development as did country comparisons. The main conclusion most
analysts have reached is that it takes time — several decades, sometimes even centuries — before
democracy is fully established. Only then can its full benefits be realised.
Even economists have moved beyond the comfort provided by their much more rigorous discipline to
introduce new factors other than capital and labour for producing growth. They have now expanded
their production functions to include a number of essentially non-economic contributors. The list of
these contributors keeps growing and now includes the development of the available human resource,
technological advancement and development of institutions. It is the inclusion of institutions as one
of the explanatory factors that brings democracy into the economic growth equation. There is a
developing consensus among those who work in this discipline that a political order that allows
participation to the people – or ‘economic agents’ as they are sometimes called by economists —
helps economies to make progress.
In sum, while it is fully understandable why despair is the most common sentiment in evidence in the
country today, what is also needed is patience. This advice is easy to give but hard to receive, in
particular by those, who are burning in the heat in many parts of the country because of the failure of
the state to provide a steady flow of electric power. That said, alternatives — a widespread rebellion,
hope for system change etc. — are much worse.
Published in The Express Tribune, 25 th, 2012.

Democracy in Pakistan
By: Mohammad Tariq Bucha | May 07, 2012 . 0
Today, the most deceptive and magical slogan is democracy. But what is it and where is it
needs to be appraised and seriously debated. If we sincerely probe it in the essence of its
definition, it is practically nowhere to be seen any more. The concept of the government of the
people, by the people and for the people has been pushed aside and transformed into
‘government of few people , on all people, and not for people’. This transformation of the
western type of democracy is proving far more destructive than the dictatorial form of
government for the world in general and the Muslim world, in particular. But how?
We must understand that in personal or dictatorial form of government people are ruled by
one person and in normal circumstances all decisions are taken with his consent. When a
specific party assumes power as a result of obtaining majority in elections, the form of
government that follows is branded as democratic, but it is also personal as majority of its
decisions are taken and implemented by the leader of the elected house in consultation with a
select few (cabinet) and no one dare refuse or dissent. In our case, if anyone differs he or she
is branded to have joined the opposition. In the general practical and administrative terms,
leader of the house acts sometimes as a leader while mostly as the ordering authority. In fact,
this cluster of people i.e. the Parliament is also subservient to the leader of the house i.e. the
Prime Minister. Parliament is a group of members, yet this group is one known as the treasury
benches who dare not oppose their leader, therefore they jointly become one person to take
decision. Whatever law is passed though it is done collectively yet it is approved by majority
decision. But no one goes against   the will of the leader of the house. Therefore, practically
there is no significance of an individual’s opinion, only majority decision is considered valid
and proper. So as explained above being subservient to the will of the leader of the house this
collective opinion can easily be an order and by no means a consensus. So in fact while in
dictatorial regime rule is by one or single person; in the democratic system rule is by a single
party; all the rest are are subservient to that party, e.g. assertive decisions based on
democratic authority such as non development expenses and discretionary financial powers
make them squander country’s wealth at will considering these to be OPM, other people’s
money. Such practices might suggest that one man’s rule is better than the rule of hundreds.
However, whether the rule is of one or many, practically there is little freedom in either of the
systems. One cannot do what one wishes to do as absolute freedom will result in chaos in the
world.
In the personal or dictatorial rule decisions are based on hereditary, family considerations,
affiliations or personal whims. In a democratic system elections are held as per term allowed
by the constitution of a country. In third world countries, elections result in chaos, enmities,
and scuffles leading to murders, besides entailing economic perils. All this results in
uncertainty as has been often evident in the subcontinent. In the dictatorial rule there is no
precondition of ability and capability. Similarly the person irrespective of ability or capability
gets elected on the basis or obtaining maximum votes in a democratic system. Both in
dictatorial and democratic system leaders could be good or bad.
The so called advantage of democracy is that it is considered to be the real rule of the people.
If there is a consensus on anything good or bad the democratic governments are bound by
that decision. Morals and ethics have no value or consideration nor are the decisions
necessarily in consonance with any type of sharia. The decisions in a democratic system are
based upon only the will of the majority present in parliament where the opinion of an honest,
well meaning and capable person has no value. Allah Kareem commands in Holy Quran:
“Thus We have sent it down, being a command in Arabic, And if you follow their desires, after
the knowledge that has come to you there shall be neither a friend for you against Allah, nor a
saviour
–  (Sura Al Rad ,Part 13,Ayat 37)
One of the most glaring example is of the decision of the majority in western democracy to
legalize sodomy though despised even in their and other societies.
Thus In a democratic form of government decisions are not always based on logic; common
sense has no value. Allah Kareem regarding the will or desire of the majority of people,
commands in Quran,

ُ _‫ك_ َع_ ن_ َس_ بِ_ي_ ِل_ ٱ_هَّلل ِۚ__‌ إِ_ن_ يَ_ت_َّبِ_ ُع_و_ َن_ إِ_اَّل ٱ_ل_ظ_َّ َّن_ َ_و_ إِ_ ۡ_ن_ هُ_ ۡ_م_ إِ_اَّل يَ_ ۡ_خ_ ُر‬
١١٦E( _‫ص_ و_ َ_ن‬ _ِ _ُ‫ڪ_ ثَ_ َر_ َم_ ن_ فِ_ ى_ ٱ_أۡل َ_ ۡ_ر_ ضِ_ ي‬
َ _‫ض_ ُّل_ و‬ _ۡ _َ‫ط_ ۡ_ع_ أ‬
_ِ _ُ‫َ_و_ إِ_ن_ ت‬

 Surah Al-Anaam
If thou obeyedst most of those on earth they would mislead thee far from Allah's way. They
follow naught but an opinion, and they do but guess. (116)

 
“ O Muhammad (pbuh), if you obey the majority of those on earth, they will make you lose the
way of Allah. They follow nothing but whims and they do nothing but make conjectures.”
– (Sura Al Anaam, Part 8,Ayat 116)
In the present day democracy, the law making is done by the ruling party, though other
parties in parliament also play their role, but because of the majority of the ruling party they
have very little say. It is natural, therefore, that in enacting laws personal objectives,
inclinations and vested interests might be of primary importance, which, though, might be
devoid of justice and equality. The other parties accept them like a bitter pill because they
have no choice. This results in continuous bickering mutual running down of each other. As
soon as the government changes in a third world country all that has been done is scrapped;
the newly elected majority party has its own objectives and motives.
The party in power becomes the master of the country’s fate and through different actions
becomes the recipient of state benefits, while the people stand deprived of   them. And at times
the ruling party might become absolute and dictatorial in nature and actions.
In one way, the right of appeal of the people is usurped and the ruling party’s decisions are
enforced since no one could successfully challenge the government. In other words, this
becomes Democratic Martial Law. The only difference being that instead of a single person’s
absolute rule, it becomes absolute rule by a collection of persons who have little regard for the
law. The case in point is MNAs, MPAs, Senators, etc. Our democratic leaders blatantly flout
the law considering it their democratic right to use cars without registration and/or display
only their party flags or their parliamentary position.
It seems axiomatic to say that where western democracy becomes fully entrenched,
corruption, bad governance and mutual discords ensue. It is thus evident that democracy
based on the opinion and support of the majority results in certain evils; for example, man
and woman living together without wedlock and legalising sodomy.
In the modern day democracy a new type of trade has emerged i.e. in some cases even for a
single vote hundreds of millions are paid to win favour. Because of this no honest or cash
strapped can win election. At this I just remember one supplication;
“ O Allah do not force such rulers on us who do not have mercy on us.”
Thus, it clearly shows that if shortcomings of a dictatorial rule are present in democratic
system as well, some solution has to be found? In my opinion, it is not Western democracy,
but Islamic form of governance or in other words ‘Islamic Democracy’ that should become the
norm. But it is easy to say or call for Islamic democracy but rather difficult to define in the
modern world’s context?
Islamic form of governance or Islamic Democracy
Islamic form of governance means governance of society based on rules of equity and justice
in which the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak are all treated and dealt with
equally. Islamic government is free from the ills and evils of modern day democracy. Although
it is somewhat similar to personal or one man rule yet Islamic Democracy is far better than
modern day democracies because…
In Islamic Democracy every citizen of the country can question the top leadership whereas in
today’s democracy only the elected and that also an opposition member can raise his or her
voice.
In Islamic democracy very ordinary citizen can stop the ruler/s in doing an illegal or anti
sharia act , whereas in modern democracy it is neither possible nor accepted. Once having
cast the vote the nation has to wait for the next elections to counter or check the ruling
government.
Thus in Islamic democracy there is personal rule of the old days. The modern day democracy
claims that the rule is of the people; while factually once in power the people are totally left at
the mercy of the illiterate, uncouth and selfish rulers who can reject their opinion on the
strength of majority.
In Islamic form of government you are only required to obey the ruler/s till their actions and
orders are in consonance with sharia, but in modern day democracy the rulers supported by
the decision of the elected majority, can enforce any law even if it is against the rights or
welfare of the people.
Religion of state
There is no government in the world which does not follow any religion. The American, the
British, the Europeans follow Christianity, the Russians’ religion is communism, Islamic
countries follow Islam and India despite claiming to be following secularism, Hinduism.
Therefore today, if we follow rules of governance purely based upon Islamic principles there is
no reason why we cannot introduce such governance which is based on high principles that
help the needy and the weak living in Pakistan. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to adopt
the golden principles taught to us in the Holy Quran and explained to us by the Holy Prophet
and his companions.
n    The writer is President Malik Khuda Bakhsh Zarai Foundation.
Democracy in pakistan(Seniors Plz check my essay)

DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN
OUTLINES
1. Introduction
2. What is democracy?
3. Nature of democracy.
4. Beginning of democracy
5. Democracy since creation
6. Causes of failure of democracy
7. Impacts of democracy
8. Measures for the survival of democracy
9. Conclusion
“The essence of democracy is its assurance that people should so respect himself and should be
so respected in his own personality that he should have opportunity equal to that of every other
human being to show what he was meant to become.”
Ana Garlin Spencer
Democracy is the most powerful foam of government. It is also regarded as the decisive foam of
government. It requires active participation of people in the decision making process. Without
public collaboration, democracy cannot flourish properly. It is the most favorable foam of
government as well.
The great personality of entire subcontinent Quaid-a-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the
staunch supporter of public participation in formulating government. He was the promoter of
democracy in Pakistan.
According to Abraham Lincoln, “Democracy is the foam of government for the people, by the
people, and through the people”
Dr Hassan Askari rightly defines “democracy in the precise and appropriate manner. According
to him, It is a process which people initiates by conscious decision and sustain by subscribing to
its principle by theory and practices.”
Here the question arises, what is the nature of democracy? The nature of democracy is
evolutionary. It is not achieved at once. It is the long process. It needs strong collaboration. The
birth place of democracy was England. Sir Robert Walpole became Prime minister in
1722.Parliamentray democracy started in England first. Before industrial revolution,
concentration of wealth was under the control of feudal lords, which was disastrous for the
promotion of democracy. Feudalism was a threat for democracy. History clearly reflects that
feudal class was great threat for the establishment of democratic practice. After Industrial
revolution wealth was divided and distributed. Middle class came to forefront which promoted
ideal foam of democracy in different countries. Democracy first finds ground in India after
England. Jawaharlal Nehru Comprehended the entire scenario of feudalism. He did not give
chance to feudalism to hold ground. These initial efforts brought tremendous change in India. It
laid down the foundation of strong democracy. Active participation of people has been viewed in
India.
Pakistan as a sovereign state came into existence on 14 august 1947.The initial years of Pakistan
was encircled with multitudes of crises. Bundles of crises have not given smooth path for the
establishment of strong democracy. Since independence Pakistan has been facing a lot of
turbulences in the path of democracy. Utter failures have been viewed since independence. It
creates a sense of self deprivation among masses. Active participation of people has not been
viewed since independence.
The main causes of failure of democracy in Pakistan are summarized as follows: Overdeveloped
state structure, political instability, military intervention, massive corruption, lack of
accountability, weak infrastructure, feudal dispensation, institutional crises, constitutional crises,
strong bureaucracy, low level of political socialization, extremism, weak civil society and
absence of mature leadership.
Presence of these causes is always considered as a menace to democracy. Now let’s have a
cursory look on the elaboration of the following causes.
Overdeveloped state structure causes a great hurdle in the path of democracy. Pakistan has been
facing this challenge since independence. The monopolization and centralization of power have
creating a lot of problem for Pakistan. It creates hurdles in the way of smooth democracy.
Political instability is the main threat to democratic process. It creates unnecessary barriers in the
process of democracy. Pakistan has been facing this menace since independence. Because of this
problem democracy is always facing difficulties.
Military intervention in the democratic path was regarded as a dead blow in the way of
democracy. In Pakistan, democracy faced four military intrusions, which was the menace for
democracy.
Massive corruption paved the way for military to intervene in the internal affairs of country.
After independence, massive corruption started to great extent. It gave path to military elite to
rule Pakistan.
Lack of accountability is known as threat for any institution. In the absence of accountability no
country can maintain its strong foothold. It causes a lot of trouble. Since inception, Pakistan has
been facing the challenge of lack of aacountability.this is main reason of democratic downfall.
Weak infrastructure of Pakistan has been creating a lot of issues. Massive corruption make
infrastructure weak and futile. In the presence of corruption and absence of accountability make
infrastructure weak. Weakness of infrastructure is creating constraints in the path of democracy.
Feudalism is threat to democracy. After emergence, feudal class had more power and wealth.
This class created barriers in the way of democracy.
Since independence, institutional crises have been viewed. Clash between judiciary and
executive class is a threat to democratic practice. Lack of consensus is making commotion.
A constitutional crisis is regarded as a definite threat to democratic procedure. After
independence Pakistan took long seven year in drafting constitution. Certain pitfall also aroused
in the path of drafting constitution.
After emergence Pakistan faced strong influence of bureaucracy. In the initial year of
establishment only two institutions were powerful to face the challenge of early establishment.
Quaideazam gave chance to military elite and bureaucrats to complete the task of establishment.
Soon after completing the task, they maintained strong control over the state institution which
created a lot of problem for Pakistan.
Low level of political socialization in Pakistan has been viewed since independence. For
democratic achievement political socialization is necessary.
Weak civil society is a menace for democracy. It creates a big gap in the establishment of
democracy. Both are dependable on each other.
Extremism has been spreading like ulcer in Pakistan. It has deep roots in the past history. It
creates a lot of hurdles in the development process. How can democracy flourish in the presence
of trouble makers?
Dynamic leadership is missing in Pakistan. After the death of Powerful leader Quaideazam
Pakistan has been facing democratic vacuum. No leader is like Father of nation.Quaideazam
proved to be marvelous. Since independence no leader has proved himself as mighty
Quaideazam.
Now let’s have a cursory look on the impacts of democracy. Democracy puts positive impacts on
individual life, social life, political life and economic life.
Democracy flourishes individual life to great extent. Public say has been promoted in the
presence of democracy. It provides massive opportunity in the development process. Demands of
people have been viewed. Opportunities have been given to people regarding job.
Society blooms in the presence of democracy. Every department whether government or private
work in an organized manner.
Democracy puts positive impacts on political life. If political parties work with sincerity in the
establishment, and then it proves to be gain. Embezzlement of funds creates hurdles in the path
of democratic process. Political stability has been needed in the establishment of democracy.
Democracy gives very smooth path to economic development. Both are interconnected. Funds
have been utilized in the socio economic development which paves the way for successful
establishment.
Now let’s have a look on the measure for the survival of democracy in Pakistan. Uninterrupted
democratic process, curtailment in the role of army, efficacious accountability, breakage in
power accumulation, judicial reformation, role of media, limited international interference and
political socialization.
UN interruption in democratic process should be enforced. This can play very effective role in
the establishment of democracy.
Since independence, army intrusion has been viewed which created hurdles in the path of
democracy. Massive intrusion in the democratic process should be controlled.
Corruption should be controlled. Proper system of accountability should be launched to eliminate
this illegal activity. Accountability is necessary for the proper working of institutions.
Breakage in the power accumulation process has paved the way for democracy. Feudal class has
been engage in the accumulation of power. They are power lusty. This power must be snatched
from them for proper flow of democracy in Pakistan.
Judicial reforming is very important for the establishment of democratic practices. Judiciary is
very powerful branch of government. It needs reformation in its own spheres.
Media is known as the fourth pillar of state. It is now become more powerful than nuclear. It is
powerful way of expression. It gives boost to democracy.
Limitation in international interference is needed. Massive international interference is a threat to
Pakistan sovereignty. It is also a menace to democracy in Pakistan.
Political socialization is needed. Awareness and mass consciousness about politics has been
required for the strength of democracy. It is the most powerful way of promoting democracy in
our country. Political awareness in needed in every walk of life. Poor population is easily
cheated by shrewd politician. Awareness can only be promoted by media.
Thus it is clear that democracy is the most viable and effective foam of government. It gives
platform to general masses in the decision making process. It creates a bridge between
Government and people. Massive role of people has been welcomed in democracy. It creates
consciousness among masses.
In a nutshell, it is a very long way to achieve democracy in true foam in Pakistan. It requires
sincerity and efforts in the establishment. Democracy is not only foam of government but it is a
complete philosophy which covers all aspects of rights and freedom. It needs public
collaboration in true sense.

Democracy in Pakistan

Sehrish your effort has one really important aspect, that is whatever you wrote, you wrote boldly.
This quality of boldness is critically important in papers like essay. Myself i have experience,
when i was sitting in essay paper. I had nothing to write on any of the given 10 topics even after
a 30-40 minute brain storming. But you will not believe, i scored well in essay and passed that
ALHAMDULELLAH.
Your effort has many things to be appreciated, yet, it's a fact, there is always room for
improvement. So let us talk about "Democracy in Pakistan" in following brief outlines.

A. Introduction.

B. What is democracy (An attempt to define it, and try to elaborate the definition. Elaboration
shall be nothing but an extraction of definition).

C. Democracy and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

D. Causes of failure
i) Political Factors (leadership crisis, constitutional dilemma, military rule, political parties'
failures, inter-institutional rift, political desparity, political hatred, lack of political consensus,
rigging in elections.. etc)
ii) Administerative Factors (Political influence, lack of consistency in policies, corruption, lack
of accountability and transparency, mismanagement, bad governance, voter's registration
dilemma, inefficient legal system, favouratism, infrastructural mess.. etc)
iii) Social Factors (poverty, illiteracy, lack of awareness, feudal nature, women status, nepotism..
etc)
iv) Economic Factors (lack of funds, aid-ridden budgets, inflation leading to mistrust in
democracy.. etc)
v) Religio-cultural Factors (agenda and propaganda of socalled supporters of islamic
emirate/caliphate system, indus valley culture-->historically unaware of democratic life style..
etc)

E. Present Scenario
i) A democratically elected govt--> heading towards completion of it's term succesfully....
ii) Pseudo-independent judiciary--> creeping towards complete independence....
iii) Freedom of Press/Media and it's rule.
iv) Mature attitude of military establishment.
v) Increasing consensus in political parties for protection of democratic process.
vi) Increase in literacy rate
vii) Heightening social awareness
viii) Emerging new political powers
ix) International support to democracy in pakistan.

F. Suggestions (Note: for suggestion i will suggest that take the "causes of failure" one by one
and give your own workable suggestions to address them all)

G. Conclusion
__________________
"Your 1% is enough for me as a reason to share my 99%."

DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN--- A Sample Essay

Democracy In Pakistan :

Democracy and participatory governance are popular political notions in today’s world. Fair and free
elections are the key pre-requisite of democracy. However, democracy lacks substance unless the
electoral
process is coupled with the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law, and civil and political rights
and
freedoms for the people. The state must practice the principle of equal citizenship irrespective of
religion,
caste, ethnicity and regional background. It must also ensure equality of opportunity to all for
advancement in social, economic and political domains and guarantee security of life and property of its
citizens.
While it easy for the rulers, political leaders and parties, and others to pronounce their commitment to
these principles, the real challenge lies in making them operational. The key question is how does one
create and sustain institutions and processes that reflect the spirit of democracy and participatory
governance? A large number of states are unable to fulfill these conditions. The commitment of many
rulers, leaders, and organizations to democracy is merely rhetorical or they view democracy as an
instrument to achieve power and then implement a partisan non-democratic agenda. Others selectively
employ some aspects of democracy to create a façade. Still others hold elections, establish elected
legislative bodies and install elected governments but do not empower these institutions and the people
holding key positions in them. Power is thus exercised by an elite group while a semblance of democracy
is
created to legitimize its rule. These operational realities create the problem of quality and substance of
democracy.

Professed Values and Operational Realities:

In Pakistan, the rulers, political parties and leaders and the civil society groups support democracy at the
normative or conceptual level. The politically active circles demand representative governance and
participatory decision making in the political and economic fields. They highlight fair and free electoral
process, the rule of law, socio-economic justice and accountability of those exercising state power as the
pre-requisites for a political system.
However, there are serious problems with these principles at the operational level in Pakistan. Power
structure and style of governance often negated these principles. Most rulers, civilian and military,
pursued personalization of power and authoritarian style of governance, assigning a high premium to
personal loyalty and uncritical acceptance of what the ruler or the party chief decides. .This was coupled
with partisan use of state apparatus and resources, and an elitist and exploitative socio-economic
system.
A conflict between the professed democratic values and the operational realities of authoritarianism
and
non-sustainable civilian institutions and processes is the main feature of Pakistani political experience.
The
redeeming feature of this conflict is that despite the long spells of authoritarian and military rule, the
theoretical commitment to democracy and participatory governance has persisted in Pakistan. None of
the
two political trends has been able to overwhelm each other. If democracy could not function on a
continuous basis, the authoritarian and military rule did not get accepted as a normal or legitimate
political system. This engenders the hope that the over all commitment to democracy would continue to
persist as one of the most cherished norms in the polity and a governance system that falters on
democracy would not be able to cultivate voluntary popular support.
The failure to institutionalize participatory governance has caused much alienation at the popular level.
A good number of people feel that they are irrelevant to power management at the federal and
provincial
levels. The rulers are so engrossed in their power game that they are not bothered about the interest
and
welfare of the common people. Such a perception of low political efficacy is reflected in the declining
voting percentage in the general elections. A good number of voters maintain that their vote does not
matter much in the selection of the rulers. Invariably they express negative views about the rulers as
well
as those opposing them. Despite all this, the people have not given up on democracy. While talking
about
their ‘helplessness’ with reference to changing the rulers, they continue to subscribe to the norms of
democracy and participatory governance and emphasize the accountability of the rulers. They are
therefore vulnerable to mobilization for realization of these norms and values.
The political system of Pakistan is characterized by intermittent breakdown of constitution and political
order, weak and non-viable political institutions and processes, rapid expansion of the role of the
militarybureaucratic elite, military rule and military dominated civilian governments, and authoritarian
and
narrow-based power management.
Pakistan’s political history can be divided into different phases with reference to the dominant style of
governance and political management:
1. Civilian political government: August 1947-October 1958
December 1971-July 1977
2. Direct Military Rule: October 1958-June 1962
March 1969-December1971
July 1977-December 1985
October 1999-November 2002
3. Selective use of Democracy by the Military (Post-military rule)
June 1962-March 1969
March 1985-November 1988
4. Military’s influence from the sidelines on policy making under civilian governments
December 1988-October 1999
5. Military’s direct involvement in power management after the end of military
rule; constitutional and legal role for the military

Historical Overview:

Pakistan, like India, adopted the Government of India Act, 1935 with some changes to meet the
requirements of an independent state as the Interim Constitution, 1947. It provided for a parliamentary
system of government, although the governor general enjoyed special powers and the federal
government
exercised some overriding powers over provinces. Pakistan’s early rulers did not pay much attention to
democratization of the political system because their major concern was how to ensure the survival of
the
state in view of internal and external challenges. The fear of the collapse of the state reinforced
authoritarian governance and political management.
Pakistan faced serious administrative and management problems caused by the partition process These
included the division of civil and military assets of the British Indian government between India and
Pakistan, communal riots and the movement of population to and from Pakistan, and the troubled
relations
with India, including the first war on Kashmir, 1947-48. Pakistan had to set up a federal government in
Karachi and a provincial government in Dhaka at a time when it lacked experienced civil servants and
military officers.
While Pakistan was coping with initial administrative and humanitarian problems, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah,
the father of the nation, died in September 1948, thirteen months after the establishment of Pakistan.
This set in motion the political trends that undermined the already weak political institutions and
fragmented the political process. Most of post-Jinnah political leaders had regional and local stature and
did not have a nationwide appeal which regionalized and localized politics. This made it difficult for the
political parties and leaders to pursue a coherent approach towards the problems and issues of the early
years. They were unable to develop consensus on the operational norms of the polity and took 8 ½ years
to
frame a constitution which did not enjoy the unqualified support of all the major parties, leaders and
regions. By the time the constitution was introduced (March 23, 1956) a strong tradition of violation of
parliamentary norms was established, the political parties were divided and the assembly was unable to
assert its primacy. The effective power had shifted to the Governor General/President.The acute
administrative problems, degeneration of the political parties and the inability of the political
leaders to command widespread political support enabled the governor general to amass power. He
manipulated the divided political forces and decided about the making or unmaking of governments.
Given the bureaucratic background of Governor Generals (Ghulam Muhammad (1951-55) and a
combined
military and civilian-bureaucratic background of Governor General/President Iskander Mirza (1955-
1958);
they could rely on the top bureaucracy and the military for support. This contributed to the rise of the
bureaucratic-military elite in Pakistani politics which further undermined the prospects of democracy.
By 1954-55, the top brass of the military (mainly the Army) emerged as the key policy makers along with
the bureaucracy. They made major input to policy making on foreign policy, security issues and domestic
affairs. By October 1958, the Army Chief, General Muhammad Ayub Khan, overthrew the tottering
civilian
government with the full support of President Iskander Mirza. The latter was knocked out of power by
the
generals within 20 days of the military take-over. Since then the top brass of the military have either
ruled
the country directly or influenced governance and policy management from the background.
The first military ruler, Ayub Khan, ruled the country under martial law from October 1958 to June 1962,
when he introduced a presidential constitution. Though direct military rule came to an end but the 1962
Constitution attempted to give a legal and constitutional cover to Ayub’s centralized and authoritarian
rule
which did not allow the growth of autonomous civilian institutions and processes, although the state
media
projected his rule as the beginning of a new era of participatory governance. His government’s political
management and economic policies accentuated economic disparities among the people and the
regions
and caused much political and social alienation in parts of Pakistan, especially in what was then East
Pakistan.
Ayub Khan was replaced by another general, Yahya Khan, in March 1969, who abrogated Ayub’s 1962
Constitution and imposed martial law in the country. This was another troubled period in Pakistan’s
politics. The military government was unable to cope with the demands from East Pakistan for
socioeconomic
equity and political participation. The military resorted to an extremely brutal military action in
East Pakistan (March 25, 1971 onwards) and engaged in a war with India (November-December 1971).
Pakistan’s military debacle at the hands of India led to the break up of the original Pakistan and the
establishment of Bangladesh as an independent state. Such a major military and political setback forced
General Yahya Khan to quit and handover power on December 20, 1971 to a civilian leader, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto whose Pakistan People’s Party had the largest number of the National Assembly seats in what
was
left of Pakistan, i.e. the present Pakistan.
Z.A. Bhutto asserted civilian primacy over the military during his rule (December 20, 1971 to July 5,
1977)
against the backdrop of the serious damage to the military’s reputation in the wake of the military
debacle
of 1971. Initially, he retired several senior officers and changed the military’s command structure.
However, his ability to assert his primacy over the military eroded when he began to cultivate the
military’s support to pursue his strident policy towards India and employed authoritarian methods to
deal
with the domestic opposition. When the opposition launched anti-Bhutto agitation on the pretext that
the
government had rigged the 1977 general elections, the military led General Zia-ul-Haq, Chief of the
Army
Staff, had no problem in dislodging Bhutto and assuming power on July 5, 1977. The opposition parties
welcomed the military take over because it removed Bhutto from power.
General Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law from July 1977 to December 1985 was the longest period of direct
military rule in Pakistan. He sought political support for his rule by vowing the orthodox and
conservative
Islamic groups and tilted the state policies heavily in their favour. His rule was helped by his
government’s
partnership with the West, especially the United States, for reinforcing Afghan-Islamic resistance to the
Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. As a frontline state for the U.S. policy to dislodge the Soviet
Union from Afghanistan, General Zia’s government obtained international financial and diplomatic
support
which contributed to sustaining his military rule. His policies promoted religious extremism and
militancy,
undermining the prospects of social and cultural pluralism and participatory institutions and processes.
These trends continued after he civilianized his military rule in 1985 by introducing far reaching changes
in
the 1973 Constitution and co-opting a section of the political elite to ensure his continued centrality to
governance and political management.In the post Zia period (1988-99) the elected civilian governments
functioned but the top commanders
closely monitored the performance of these governments and made their views on political and security
matters known to them. The generals were prepared to stay on the sidelines provided their professional
and corporate interests were not threatened by the civilian leaders. Therefore, governance for Benazir
Bhutto (December 1988-August 1990, October 1993-November 1996) and Nawaz Sharif (November
1990-July
1993, February 1997-October 1999) was a delicate balancing act between the civilian government and
the
top brass of the military. The scope for autonomous political action by the civilian leaders depended on
their ability to maintain cordial interaction with the top military commanders.
The military returned to power on October 12, 1999 after dislodging the civilian government of Nawaz
Sharif. There were two significant changes in the disposition of the senior military commanders during
the
fourth phase of direct military rule. First, the military was no longer willing to stay on the sidelines and
viewed itself as critical to internal stability and continuity. It advocated a direct and constitutional role
for
the top brass. Second, the military expanded its nonprofessional role to such an extent that it could not
give a free hand to the civilian political leaders.
The military has spread out in government and semi-government institutions and pursues wide ranging
commercial and business activities, especially in the fields of industry, transport, health care, education,
and real estate development. It seeks assignments from the federal and provincial governments for civil
construction projects. Given the military’s expanded interests and its involvement in governance, its role
in Pakistan can be described as hegemonic.

The Musharraf Model:

General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff since October 1998, assumed power after his top
commanders dislodged the elected civilian government of Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999. He
designated himself as the Chief Executive and suspended the constitution to impose military rule,
avoiding
the use of the term of martial law.
General Pervez Musharraf carefully tailored the transition to constitutional and civilian rule in 2002. The
underlying consideration was his staying on as an effective President in the post-military rule period and
the continuation of the policy measures adopted by his military regime. The transition process was
deigned to share power with a section of the political leaders rather than transfer power to civilian
political leaders.
He ensured his continuation in office before starting the transition process by holding a state managed
uncontested referendum on April 30, 2002 to get him elected as President for five years. This was
followed
by the introduction of far reaching changes in the 1973 Constitution to enhance his powers and to give a
constitutional cover to the role of the top brass in policy making through the issuance of the Legal
Framework Order (LFO) in August. Meanwhile a breakaway faction of the PML-Nawaz Sharif, labeled as
the
PML-Quaid-i-Azam, was co-opted for partnership. The PML-Q enjoyed state patronage which enabled it
to
emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly and it obtained a clear majority in the
Punjab
Provincial Assembly. The military regime’s major adversary, the PPP, came second in the National
Assembly and obtained the largest number of seats (not an absolute majority) in the Sindh Provincial
Assembly.
The Presidency and the intelligence agencies played an active role in creating the PML-Q led coalitions at
the federal level and in Sindh and Balochistan. In the Punjab, the PML-Q had a majority to form the
government. Thus, the National Assembly began to function on November 16 and General Pervez
Musharraf took the oath as the elected President for five years. The provincial governments were
installed
in November-December and the Senate, upper house of the parliament, was elected in the last week of
February 2003 and resumed functioning on March 12, 2003, which marked the full restoration of the
1973
Constitution as amended by the LFO.
Pakistan thus returned to constitutional rule with elected parliament and provincial assemblies as well
as
elected governments at the federal and provincial levels. However, the political arrangements were
dominated by the Presidency. President Pervez Musharraf not only exercised the enhanced powers
under
the LFO but he also continued as the Army Chief—an unusual combination in a democratic polity-which
gave him an overriding clout in the polity.
The focal point of the post-2002 political order is President-Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf who
functions as an effective ruler, overshadowing the Prime Minister and the Parliament. This political
arrangement could be described as the Musharraf model of governance and political management. The
effective powers are concentrated in President-Army Chief Pervez Musharraf and his army/intelligence
affiliates who command the political system both at the federal and provincial levels. The establishment
of
the National Security Council in April 2004 which provides a legal cover to the expanded role of the top
brass of the military further reinforces the position of the President and the brass of the military.
The Musharraf model emphasizes the unity of command, centralization, management rather than
participation and the guardianship of the political process by the military. The elected government and
the
parliament have to function within the space made available to them by the top commanders. The
political clout of the civilian leaders depends on their ability to work in harmony with the top generals.
The parliament and the provincial assemblies have not been able to acquire an autonomous and
assertive
role in the polity. The effective power at both federal and provincial levels is located outside the
parliament and the provincial assemblies. Consequently, the seekers of state power and resources focus
on
the presidency and its Army/intelligence and bureaucratic affiliates. The assemblies have done limited
legislative work and their functioning has been marred by bitter exchanges between the government
and
the opposition, violation of parliamentary norms, the quorum problem and boycotts by the opposition
parties. The members complain about the frequent absence of the ministers from the two houses of the
parliament and the inadequacy of the answers by the government to their questions. The assemblies
have
to make a real effort to fulfill even the constitutional requirement of the minimum working days in a
year.
The prime ministerial changes in June 2004 (Zafarullah Jamali to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein) and August
(Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein to Shaukat Aziz) demonstrated the weakness of the National Assembly and
the
ruling coalition led by the PML. The decision for these changes was made in the presidency and the
National Assembly and the PML simply endorsed it. Jamali got his budget passed from the parliament
which amounted to a vote of confidence for his government. Two days later, he had to quit under
pressure
from the Presidency. The PML accepted the change and his entire cabinet was reappointed under the
new
prime minister.
This system restricts the participatory opportunities for the mainstream political parties, i.e. the PPP and
the PML-Nawaz, which are viewed as the major adversaries of the Musharraf dominated political order.
The confrontation between the government and the opposition has increased over time. This means
that
the political process is not moving in the direction of consensus building and its support base continues
to
be narrow, limited to the co-opted section of the political elite.
The strains in the federal-provincial relations have increased because the provinces complain about the
domineering role of the military dominated federal government. The federal government has not
resolved
many federal-provincial issues which have created a strong impression in the smaller provinces that the
federal government was deliberately doing this to keep political and financial pressures on the
provinces.
Some of the major issues are the determination of the National Finance Commission (NFC)Award on
distribution of revenues between the federal and provincial governments,, the construction of dams for
storing water and power generation, the Greater Thal Canal issue, the share of the NWFP in net profit of
hydel power generated in that province, the gas royalty for Balochistan, and the federal government
mega
development projects in Balochistan and the construction of new army cantonments in that province. If
confrontation and bitterness persist in the political system and the competing political interests do not
adopt accommodating disposition the sustainability of the present political system may not be
guaranteed.

Problems of Democracy

The major features of the Pakistani polity show serious problems of democracy. At times, democracy
and
participatory governance are either totally non-existent or their quality is poor.
Institutional Imbalance:

Pakistan inherited institutional imbalance at the time of independence

in August 1947. The state apparatus, i.e. the bureaucracy, the military and the intelligence services, was
more organized and developed than the political and democratic institutions. Further, the first Interim
Constitution, 1947, also strengthened bureaucracy and authoritarian governance. This imbalance was
reinforced by two inter-related trends in the political domain.
First, the process of political decay and degeneration was set in motion soon after independence. The
Muslim League that led the independence movement, lacked sufficient organization and capacity for
state
and nation building. A good number of Muslim League leaders had feudal or semi-feudal background,
and
were motivated by personal or power ambition rather than building the party as a viable organization
capable of standing on its own feet. Other political parties also suffered from similar problems of
internal
disharmony and conflict, indiscipline and a lack of direction. As a consequence, they were unable to
offer
a viable alternative to the Muslim League and failed to articulate and aggregate interests within a
participatory national political framework. They also failed to create viable political institutions or
processes capable of pursuing meaningful socio-economic policies.
Second, the bureaucracy and the military maintained their professional disposition marked by hierarchy,
discipline, and esprit de corps. The serious administrative problems in the early years of independence
led
the civilian government to seek the support of the military and the bureaucracy. Pakistan’s security
problems with India, especially the first Kashmir war, also helped to strengthen the military’s position in
the polity. All Pakistani civilian governments supported a strong defence posture and allocated a
substantial portion of the national budget to defence and security. The military’s position in the polity
received additional boost with Pakistan’s participation in the U.S. sponsored military alliances in the
mid-
1950s. This facilitated weapon transfers to Pakistan and its military obtained training by Americans in
Pakistan and the U.S. which increased the military’s efficiency and strike power. Thus, the degeneration
of the political machinery was in sharp contrast to the increasing efficiency, discipline, and confidence of
the military.
These developments accentuated institutional imbalance and worked to the disadvantage of the civilian
leaders. The weak and fragmented political forces found it difficult to sustain themselves without the
support and cooperation of the bureaucracy and the military. This enabled the bureaucracy and the
military to enhance their role in policy making and management and they began to dominate politics. In
October 1958, the military swept aside the fragile political institutions and established its direct rule,
with
the bureaucracy as the junior partner.
The role of various civilian and military intelligence agencies expanded in the political domain during the
military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1985) when the military regime used the intelligence agencies
to
divide and fragment the political forces. The war against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan (1980-1989)
and
the linkages between Pakistani intelligence agencies and their U.S. counterparts in the context of the
Afghan war helped to put more material resources at the disposal of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
Some
of these agencies have been playing active political role since 1988, helping some political parties and
groups while building pressure on others keeping in view the military’s political agenda. They have
interfered in the national and provincial elections which has raised doubts about the credibility of the
electoral process. Some of these agencies were active in politics during after the 2002 general elections.
These were also instrumental to creating the ruling coalition at the federal level and in Sindh and
Balochistan after the October 2002 elections. The active political role of the intelligence agencies
weakens the autonomous growth of civilian political institutions and processes.

Political Consensus-building:

The democratic process cannot become functional without a

minimum consensus on the operational norms of the polity. The minimum consensus is the beginning
point.
As the political process functions over time and it offers opportunities for sharing power and political
advancement, it evokes more support from among different sections of the society and the polity. The
scope of consensus widens when more groups and individuals enter the political mainstream through
the
democratic norms as set out in the constitution and law. This makes the political institutions and
processes viable.The Pakistani polity has been unable to fully develop a consensus on the operational
political norms.
Whatever understanding developed among the competing interests at one point of time was allowed to
fitter away with the passage of time because of the non-accommodating disposition of the competing
interests and an open defiance of constitutionalism and norms of democracy. Therefore, all
constitutions
turned controversial with the passage of time because they were violated by the power wielders.
Pakistan functioned without a constitution for years under martial law imposed by the Army Chief which
made him the repository of all authority and power in the country. If constitution can be easily set aside
or
subordinated to the will of the military ruler, the tradition of constitutionalism and participatory
governance cannot develop. The civilian rulers also amended the constitution in a partisan manner by
employing parliamentary majority, and disregarded the need of building consensus.
A low level of tolerance of dissent and a poor tradition of open debate on important national issues has
hindered the growth of a broadly shared consensus on the framework for political action. The dominant
elite often endeavoured to develop selective consensus by excluding those disagreeing with them. It is
not
merely the dominant elite who suppress dissent, several civil society groups manifest intolerance and
use
violence against those who question their views.
The steady growth of Islamic extremism and militancy and Islamic-sectarian movements since the early
1980s has stifled the free flow of ideas on the issues of national importance. It gave rise to religious and
cultural intolerance and increased the level of civic violence. The rival extremist religious groups did not
hesitate to use violence against each other. The major victims of these trends were social and cultural
pluralism, political tolerance and accommodation of dissent. The participatory processes also suffered as
the religious extremists gained strength in Pakistan. Such a political and cultural environment is not
conducive to growth of democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.

Political Parties and Leadership:

Political harmony and democratic evolution is facilitated
primarily by political parties and leaders. These are important instruments of interest articulation and
aggregation and serve as vehicles of political mobilization. In Pakistan, political parties have traditionally
been weak and unable to perform their main function in an effective and meaningful manner.
The role of the political parties has suffered due to, inter alia, periodic restrictions on political activities
under military rule, infrequent elections, weak organizational structure and poor discipline among the
members, absence of attractive socio-economic pogrammes, and a paucity of financial resources.
Political
parties also suffer from factionalism based on personality, region and ideology.
The Muslim League that led the independence movement failed to transform itself from a national
movement to a national party. It suffered from organizational incoherence, ideological confusion and a
crisis of leadership. The parties that emerged in the post-independence period could not present a
better
alternative. They suffered from the weaknesses that ailed the Muslim League. Consequently, the
political
parties could not work for political consensus building and political stability and continuity.
Most Pakistani political parties lack resources and trained human-power to undertake dispassionate and
scientific study of the socio-political and economic problems. The emphasis is on rhetoric and
sloganeering
which may be useful for mobilization purposes but it cannot be a substitute to serious, scientific and
analytical study of the societal problems. The level of debate in the two houses of the parliament and
provincial assemblies is low and these elected bodies often face the shortage of quorum which shows
the
non-seriousness of the political parties and their members in the elected houses in dealing with the
national issues and problems. Quite often the ministers and parliamentary secretaries are not available
in
the house to respond to the issues raised by the members.
The political parties or their coalitions that exercised power since the mid-1950s were either floated by
the establishment (the military and top bureaucracy and the intelligence agencies) or these enjoyed its
blessings. The coalition building at the national level in pre-1958 period and especially the setting up of
the Republican Party in 1956, provides ample evidence of the role of the establishment in party politics.
Generals Ayub Khan patronized a faction of the Muslim League which was turned into the ruling party in
1962-63. General Zia-ul-Haq pursued a similar strategy. He co-opted a faction of the Muslim League
which
ruled with his blessings after he restored civilian and constitutional rule in 1985. General Pervez
Musharraf has done the same by co-opting a faction of the Muslim League and installed governments
under its
leadership at the federal level and in Sindh, Balochistan and the Punjab in November-December 2002.
The only exception to this rule of state sponsorship of the ruling parties is the Awami League (pre-1971)
and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which did not owe their origin and rise to political eminence to the
establishment. The Awami League won the 1970 general elections despite the strong opposition of the
military government. So did the Pakistan People Party (PPP) which won majorities in the 1970s in the
Punjab and Sindh. In 1971, the Awami League was pushed out of Pakistan. The military transferred
power
to the PPP after it lost the war to India in December 1971. The PPP continues to face the distrust of the
establishment.
The political parties formed electoral alliances and political coalitions. These have generally been
ephemeral in nature because of differences in their political orientations and limited experience of
working together. Furthermore, each party suffers from internal incoherence which undermines its role
in
a coalition. Political parties have been relatively more successful as a movement for pursuing a limited
agenda like the overthrow of a sitting government, than as a political party because this requires a viable
organization and a broadly shared long term political agenda.

Islam and Politics:

A predominant majority of Pakistanis agree that the Pakistani political system

must have some relationship with Islam. However, there are strong differences on the precise nature of
relationship between Islam and the polity. There is a lack consensus on the institutions and processes to
be
set up under the rubric of Islamic state. Most conservative and orthodox elements want to establish a
puritanical Islamic state with an emphasis on the punitive, regulative and extractive role of the Islamic
state. Others emphasize the egalitarian norms of Islam and underline the principles of equality,
socioeconomic
justice and the modern notions of the state, civil and political rights and participatory
governance. To them, Islam is a source of guidance and provides the ethical foundations of the polity
rather than offering a specific political structure or a legal code for the modern times. Another debate
pertains to the political disposition of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan: Did he advocate
an
ideological Islamic state or a secular system with no links with Islam or a modern democratic state that
viewed Islam as one of the sources of law and ethics? Still another issue is how far the Two-nation
theory is
relevant to the post-independence period for shaping political choices? Was Pakistan created as a
Muslim
state or an Islamic state?
General Zia-ul-Haq tilted the political balance in favour of the orthodox and conservative interpretation
of
the Islamic polity in order to win over the conservative and orthodox religious groups. He made several
administrative and legal changes reflecting the puritanical Islamic principles as advocated by the
orthodox
and conservative groups. This increased religious and cultural intolerance and religious extremism in
Pakistan. The official circles and the religious groups engaged in massive propaganda against the notion
of
participatory governance, constitutionalism, and the rule of law, equal citizenship and civil and political
rights as western implants in Pakistan.
The post-Zia civilian governments were too weak to undo the Islamic laws made by the military regime
of
Zia-ul-Haq. General Musharraf talks of enlightened moderation as the organizing principle for the
Pakistani political system but he too did not revise the Islamic laws and punishments introduced by
General
Zia-ul-Haq. He is constrained by the need of the support of the Muttahida-i-Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), a
conglomerate of 6 Islamic conservative parties, for staying in power. The rise of Islamic orthodoxy has
also
increased Islamic-sectarian violence which poses a major threat to the fabric of the Pakistani society.
The inconclusive debate on Islam’s relationship with the Pakistani state and the political system
adversely
affects the prospects of democracy. Most conservative and orthodox Islamic groups reject democracy as
a
western system or support it to the extent of using the electoral process to attain power and then
implement their notion of Islamic system. As long as there is a lack of consensus on the precise
relationship between Islam and the Pakistan’s constitutional, legal and political system, democratic
institutions and processes would not fully develop and become sustainable.

Military Rule and Constitutional and Political Engineering:

The repeated
assumption of power by the military and its desire to shape the Pakistani polity in accordance with its
political preferences has also undermined the steady growth and sustainability of democratic
institutions
and processes. The military rulers either abolished the constitution or suspended it to acquire supreme
legislative and administrative powers. This disrupted the development of civilian institutions and
processes
and made it impossible for them to develop strong roots in the polity. After every ten years or so, the
military returned the country to square one, promising to introduce a system designed to respond to the
needs and aspiration of the people and reflected the operational political realities of the country.
While establishing the post military rule political order the military regimes did not pursue a non-
partisan
approach. The overriding consideration with the military rulers was to ensure their stay in power and
the
continuity of the policies introduced during the period of direct military rule. They engaged in
constitutional engineering either by introducing a new constitution (Ayub Khan in 1962)) or by making
drastic changes in the existing constitutional system to protect the interests of the military regime. Zia-
ul-
Haq and Pervez Musharraf introduced far reaching changes in the 1973 constitution in 1985 and 2002
respectively to sustain their centrality to the political process and to ensure that no political party could
unilaterally alter the policy measures adopted by the military regime.
Constitutional engineering was coupled with the co-option of the political elite that was willing to play
politics in accordance with the rules determined by the military rulers and supported their continued
stay
in power. Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf resorted to co-option of a section of the political
elite. Their co-option strategy focused on some faction of the Muslim League. The strategy of co-option
pre-supposed the exclusion of those who openly challenged the military-initiated political arrangements.
This strategy was adopted by the above named military rulers for replacing direct military rule with new
political arrangements based on sharing of power between the top brass of the military and the co-
opted
political leadership. Another strategy adopted by the Pakistani military rulers was the holding of
carefully
managed general elections to ensure that the co-opted leaders performed better than their adversaries.
The political institutions and processes created by the military regime reflected the military ethos of
hierarchy, discipline and management and were often based on a narrow and selective consensus.
These
institutions and processes could not develop an autonomous political profile and remained closely
associated with the generals. That was the major reason that they often faltered in responding to the
demands for political participation and socio-economic justice. The quality of democracy was poor in the
post-military rule political arrangements.

Concluding Observations:

Democracy in Pakistan faced a host of difficulties which did not let the democratic principles, institutions
and processes develop firm roots in the polity. Pakistan started with the parliamentary system of
governance but the legacy of institutional imbalance and authoritarianism, problems encountered in the
setting up of the new state, the external security pressures and the fear of the collapse of the state
adversely affected the prospects of democracy. Other factors that caused the problems for democracy
included the crisis of leadership in the aftermath of the demise of Jinnah, failure of the Muslim League
to
transform itself from a nationalist movement to a national party, fragmentation and degeneration of the
political forces and the rise of the bureaucratic-military elite. Long before the first military take over in
October 1958 the dominant elite were talking about the unsuitability of liberal democracy for Pakistan.
Intermittent constitutional and political breakdown, the ascendancy of the military to power and the
efforts of the top brass of the military to introduce a political system that protected their professional
and
corporate interests made it difficult to create participatory political institutions and processes that could
command the voluntary support of the diversified political interests. The military elite employed the
democratic principles in a selective manner and their policy of co-option of a section of the political
leaders and exclusion of others accentuated polarization and jeopardized the prospects of political
accommodation and consensus-building.
The experience suggests that democratic institutions and processes stabilize and mature if their natural
evolution is not obstructed by partisan considerations. These must function in their true spirit over time,
offering all citizens and groups an equal and fair opportunity to enter the political mainstream and
compete for power and influence. This helps to build support for the political institutions and facilitates
their sustainability. In Pakistan, periodic breakdown of the political order and repeated military take-
over
or attempts by the top brass to shape the political process to their political preferences did not ensure
political continuity and the competing interest did not get equal opportunity to freely enter the political
mainstream. .
Democracy and the autonomy of civilian institutions and processes has been the major casualty of the
expanded role of the military. Whenever Pakistan returned to civilian and constitutional rule, the quality
of democracy remained poor. It is a case of democracy deficit. The long term endurance of the political
institutions and the prospects of democracy faces four major challenges in Pakistan: the non-expansion
of
participatory opportunities for those viewed as adversaries by the military dominated regime, the poor
performance of the elected assemblies, failure to build consensus on the operational norms of the
political
system, and a drift towards confrontation, religious and cultural intolerance and extremism.
This does not mean that the people have given up on the primacy of the popular will, participatory
governance, accountability of the rulers and governance for serving the people. The ideological
commitment to these principles persists which will continue to question the legitimacy of
nonparticipatory
and authoritarian governance and political management

24 Jul.
| 1 comments

CSS-essay: DEMOCRACY (complete with

outlines)

DEMOCRACY
OUTLINES:
- Introduction

- Importance of democracy

- Historical Overview
- Why democracy is flop in Pakistan

- Remedial measures

-Conclusion

INTRODUCTI
ON:
Democracy
is the most
essential and
fundamental
element for
managing
the affairs of
society
systematical
ly.
Democracy
and
participatory
governance
are popular
political
patterns in
the modern
world. In a
broader
sense
democracy
encompasse
s the leading
features; fair
and free
election
process,
supremacy
of the
constitution,
the rule of
law, and
freedom for
the people.
In other
words
democratic
state must
practice the
principles of
equal
citizenship
irrespective
of religion,
caste,
ethnicity
and regional
background.
It must also
ensure
equality of
opportunity
to all for
advancemen
t in social,
political and
economic
domains and
guarantee
security of
life and
property to
its citizens.
IMPORTANC
E OF
DEMOCRAC
Y:
It is fact that
democracy
is the major
constituent
for social,
political and
economic
developmen
t. It is
considered
as the
backbone of
the system,
without
which an
effective
running of
system is
impossible.
The crucial
importance
of
democracy
can be
observed by
the
experience
of East
Asian
countries.
Between
1965 and
1990,
several
countries of
this region
registered
the highest
growth rate
and proved
it with high
living
standards.
The most
important
factors
behind this
economic
miracle are
good
governance.
It is not that
Swiss and
Swedes are
inherently
blessed with
greater
honesty and
integrity
than
Pakistanis.
But actually
difference
lies in the
institutions,
laws and
work
procedures.
HISTORICAL
OVERVIEW
Pakistan,
like India,
adopted the
Government
of India Act,
1935 as the
Interim
Constitution
, 1947 to
meet the
immediate
requirement
s of an
independent
state. It
provided
parliamentar
y form of
government,
although the
Governor
General
enjoyed
special
powers and
the federal
government
exercised
some
overriding
powers over
provinces.
Pakistan's
early rulers
did not pay
especial
attention to
democratizat
ion otthe
political
system
because
their major
concern was
how to
ensure the
survival of
the state in
view of
internal and
external
challenges.
The fear of
the collapse
of the state
encouraged
authoritarian
style of
governance.
Pakistan had
faced
serious
administrati
ve and
management
problems
during the
partition
process.
These
problems
were the
division of
civil and
.military
assets of the
British
government
between
India and
Pakistan,
communal
riots, the
migration of
people to
and from
Pakistan,
and the
troubled
relations
with India,
including
the first war
on Kashmir,
1947-48. In
this critical
situation
when
Pakistan
was facing
initial
administrati
ve and
humanitaria
n
difficulties,
Mohammad
Ali Jinnah,
the father of
the nation,
died on
September
11, 1948,
thirteen
months
after the establishment of Pakistan. The separation of Quaid within a short
span of time undermined the already weak political institutions and
fragmented the political setup. Most of the post-Jinnah political leaders had no
nationwide fame and appeal to reorganize the massive crowd again as a result
regional politics within the state flourished. This critical situation, made it
difficult for the political parties and leaders to pursue a coherent approach and
gather under one leadership. They were unable to develop consensus on single
point, meanwhile the assassination of Liaqat Ali khan shocked the entire
democratic system. Though Liaqat Ali Khan laid the foundation of the
constitution by introducing objective resolution but several years later
constitution of Pakistan was introduced (March 23, 1956) which even could
not get popular support of all major parties, leaders and regions. By the time
the constitution was introduced a strong tradition of violation started, the
political parties were divided and the assembly was unable to assert its
primacy. In this situation power was shifted to the Governor General/President
Iskander Mirza, who had military background. Iskander Mirza took support of
top bureaucracy and the military. This contributed to the rise of the
bureaucratic-military elites in Pakistani politics which further suppressed
future of democracy.

WHY DEMOCRACY IS FLOP IN PAKISTAN:

Army Interference: Since the establishment of Pakistan Army has always had a
strong desire to have a permanent place in the political setup of country. The
four military regimes are the proof of this. The first Martial Law was imposed
by Ayub Khan in 1958 and lasted till 1969. He abrogated the constitution
of 1956. He also introduced presidential system with indirect elections. In
April 1969, General Yahya imposed second Martial Law and lasted till 1971.
He had abrogated the constitution of 1962, banned all political activities and
dissolved National and Provincial assemblies. Again Martial Law intervened
in 1977 and the popular leader elected by the common people through dubious
elections was hanged. Zia's Martial regime was supposed to be the shortest one
but it turned out to be the longest in the history of Pakistan. Zia did not
abrogate the constitution of 1973 but suspended. He also passed his famous 8 th
amendment to restrict the power of head of government through article 58 2(b)
and provided significant powers to the president who could dissolve National
Assembly whenever he think that need has arisen. In 1999, again military
intervened in political setup led by General Musharraf. The Army was yet
again in power promising of smooth transfer of power to grass root level
within three years.

Corruption and nepotism: It is fact that democratic governments in Pakistan

have been witnessed of corruption, mal-administration, and
nepotism. The people reluctantly visit public institutions because they know that
without any favor or bribe it is very difficult to get any work done from the
public officers. Moreover, due to malpractices of the public official and
misappropriation of public fund the infrastructure of public institutions has been
cracked and a situation like chaos is prevailing all over the country.
In 1990 the government of PPP was dissolved due to corruption charges set
against Benazir Bhutto by the President of that time. The next government of
Nawaz sharif was also dismissed in 1993 by Ghulam Ishaq khan on plea of
corruption and nepotism. Again elections were held in 1993 and Benazir became
PM but this government was also dissolved on corruption charges in 1996.

Royal style of politics: All the governments after Junejo were characterized by
the royal style of the Prime Minister that was true in case of Benazir and Nawaz
Sharif because of their extravagant style of living i.e. Raiwind palaces and
Surrey palace respectively.
Authoritarian style of politicians: All the previous heads of governments both
civilian and military and also the politicians exercised absolutism in style and
mentality. They did not realize their foremost duty was to serve the people not
just to misrule them. Politicians during the last 50 years have not shown
responsible attitude.
Abuse of powers: People elect the PM, his cabinet and the members of
assemblies through ballot. But it has often happened that an indirectly elected
president comes and dismisses the government. This is highly undemocratic,
unconstitutional" and it has been happening in our political history due to the 8 th
amendment passed by the Zia regime. Zia dismissed Junejo government and
Ghulam Ishaq dissolved Benazir and Nawaz Shari governments respectively.
This is the main reason that has wrecked the entire setup of politics.

Lack of accountability: Our constitution does not provide an effective system of

check and balance. That is why every elected civilian government becomes
omnipotent and powerful which give rise to corruption and mal-administration.
There is no effective system of governance which can keep proper check on the
decisions and the steps taken by PM and his cabinet. Judiciary must be made
strong enough to keep a strong check over these important matters.

Lack of continuity: In Pakistan except Bhutto's government, no government has

completed its expected life span. After Junejo, many governments were
disbanded in the period of nine years. This game of power musical chair has
seriously affected the economic and social progress of our country.
REMEDIAL MEASURES:
-The honest and competent people should be elected form the grass root to the
highest level through fair and transparent democratic process.
-Direct system of election must be introduced and governments must be
allowed to complete their tenure.
-In order to attain the quality of good governance, senior high officials, think
tanks and previous failed rulers must ask for participation in decision making
and execution of policies through a democratic consultative process.

-For good governance the role of army in the political setup of the country must
be discouraged and constitution must clearly define the areas of operation of all
institutions of the state like army, bureaucracy and the government.

-Independence of judiciary must be maintained which can exercise an effective

system of check and balance on each and every institution and prevent
politicians from abuse of power.
-People must be educated without which they can not protect their rights.
Education creates confidence which empower people to defend their social,
political and economic rights.
-Media should also playa positive role in creating awareness among people
regarding their problems and their solutions. In this way people will be able to
demand their rights and will perform their duties and responsibilities in a more
organized way.
-In order to develop an effective system of governance participation of women
should be encouraged as according to latest count, women ratio
is .48:52 respectively.
Conclusion: This is the high time that consensus must be developed among the
people of Pakistan that what system of government can suit them better.
Keeping in view the pluralistic society of Pakistan, federal government can
serve people in a better way through giving sufficient powers to the provinces
in order t 0 tackle problems of ordinary citizen effectively. Direct system of
election must be introduced and governments must be allowed to complete their
tenure.
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 Terrorism In Pakistan: Its Causes,
Impacts And Remedies
Outline:

• Introduction
• What Is Terrorism
• Islam’s Response To Terrorism:
• Causes Of Terrorism:
1. Internal Causes
a) Socio-Economic Causes
i) Injustice:
ii) Illiteracy:
iii) Poverty And Unemployment:
iv) Food Insecurity:
v) Dissatisfaction:
b) Political Causes:
i) Non-Democratic Set-Up:
ii) Improper Government Set-Up
iii) Absence Of Law And Failure Of Law Enforcement Agencies:
iv) Influx Of Refugees, Weaponisation And Talbanisation:
c) Religious Causes:
i) Role Of Madrassahs:
ii) Religious Intolerance:
2. External Causes
a) Afghan War: 1979
b) Iranian Revolution:
c) War On Terrorism: 9/11
• Factors Boosting Terrorism:
a) Anti-Terrorism Campaign And Drone Strikes:
b) Negligence Of Government:
c) Persecution Of Innocent Muslims In Kashmir And Palestine:
• Steps Taken By Pakistan:
a) Ban On Terrorist Organisation
b) Operation Rah-E-Nijat
c) Operation Rah-E-Rast
• Impacts Of Terrorism:
a) Civilian Loss
b) Economic Cost Of Terrorism:
i) Agriculture Loss:
ii) Manufacturing Cost:
iii) Declining Foreign Direct Investment:
iv) Diminishing Tourism:
v) Internally Displaced People/internal Migration
c) Social Impacts;
d) Political Impacts:
e) Psychological Impacts:
f) Religious Impacts:
• Remedies:
• Conclusion:

At present the gravest problem that Pakistan is facing is terrorism. It has become a headache for
federation and a nightmare for public. Though, it is a global issue but Pakistan has to bear the
brunt of it. Pakistan’s involvement in the War on Terror has further fuelled the fire. We are
facing war like situation against the terrorists. This daunting situation is caused due to several
factors. These factors include social injustice, economic disparity, political instability, religious
intolerance and also external hands or international conspiracies. A handful of people who have
their vicious interests to fulfil have not only taken countless innocent lives but also distorted the
real image of Islam before the world through their heinous acts. Terrorist acts like suicide
bombings have become a norm of the day. On account of these attacks Pakistan is suffering from
ineffaceable loss ranging from civilian to economic. People have become numerical figures,
blown up in numbers every now and then. Terrorists have not spared any place. Bazars,
mosques, educational institutes, offices, hotels, no place is safe anymore.

Though terrorism has no accepted definition, yet it can be defined as the use of violence and
intimidation in the pursuit of political aim or the calculated use of violence or threat of violence
against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature, this
is done through intimidation or coercion or inciting fear. According to FBI’s definition,
Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or
coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political
or social objective.

The religion of Islam (Submission), advocates freedom, peace and mutual agreement and
admonishes aggression. The following verses make it very clear.

“And do not aggress; GOD dislikes the aggressors”. (Quran 5:87)

“You shall resort to pardon, advocate tolerance, and disregard the ignorant”. (Quran: 7:199)

The relations of Muslims (Submitters) with others are based primarily on peace, mutual respect
and trust. The theme in the Quran is peace, unless there is oppression or injustice that cannot be
resolved by all the peaceful means available. The true religion of Islam forbids the killing of
innocent people, irrespective of the cause, religious, political or social beliefs.

“...You shall not kill * GOD has made life sacred * except in the course of justice. These are His
commandments to you that you may understand.” (Quran 6:151)
 “You shall not kill any person * for GOD has made life sacred — except in the course of
justice.” (Quran17:33)

In Islam, an amazingly powerful emphasis is laid on developing love for mankind and on the
vital importance of showing mercy and sympathy towards every creature of Allah Almighty,
including human beings and animals. For indeed, love and true sympathy is the very antidote of
terrorism.

Injustice is one of the foremost factors that breed terrorism. When the grievances of the people
are not redressed they resort to violent actions. So this is the case with Pakistan where timely
justice has always been a far cry. Hence, the delayed justice is working as incentive for victims
and dragging them to the swamp of terrorist organisations.

Illiteracy is the root causes of extremism and terrorism. More than one in five men aged 15 to 24
unable to read or write, and only one in 20 is in tertiary education. such a high illiteracy rate has
made Pakistan vulnerable to terrorism. furthermore, technical and vocational education, and
adult literacy, are especially important but unfortunately have been neglected the most in
Baluchistan, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the Tribal Areas. Illiteracy and lack of skills provide
fertile ground for those who wish to recruit young men and women to their cause, especially
when significant monetary payments are attached.

Regarding poverty, it is also an incubating cause of terrorism. And it is said that “a hungry man
is an angry man.” Notably, majority of people in Pakistan are living below poverty line. While
especially for the youngsters, unemployment has made the matter worse. In these adverse
circumstances, some people go to the level of extremism and even commit suicide. These are the
people whose services are hired by the terrorist groups and they become easy prey to terrorism.

Food insecurity is also linked with militancy and violence. When people remain unable to afford
food and cannot meet their basic needs civil strife grows. A report by the Islamabad-based
Sustainable Development Policy Institute The highest levels of food insecurity, for instance,
exist in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to the report, where 67.7 per cent of
the people are insecure. The next highest level is in Baluchistan, with food insecurity at 61.2 per
cent, and then in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, 56.2 per cent. In Pakistan some extremist forces are
exploiting the feelings of lower and lower middle class food insecure people. They are
motivating their unemployed youth to commit heinous crimes such as suicide attacks against
innocent people.

Another reason of terrorism is dissatisfaction. When a person is dissatisfied with the rulers and
thinks that his rights are being humiliated or exiled, his living of life has not been compensated,
he is deprived of rightful inheritance to office, wrongly imprisoned and property confiscated then
he joins some religious parties. It does not matter which organisation it would be. None of the
organisations has any importance for him. Adopting an organisation would only save him from
the critical situation he is in and leaves him to play in the hands of his so-called leaders who
destroy his public sense of security.

Today’s Pakistan is facing democratic turmoil. A path chartered by the military regime of Ayub
Khan, Yahya Khan then of Zia-ul-Haq was altered by yet another military regime that of
Musharraf. All these regimes produced political instability, poor governance, institutional
paralysis, by passing the rule of law, socio-economic downfall and so on. These fragile
conditions along with deteriorating law and order situation have provided a fertile ground for
terrorism to grow.

Furthermore, lack of proper government set-up and lack of coordination and information sharing
between various institutions of government is also a cause of behind the escalating terrorist
activities. Not to talk of providing security to common people, our law enforcing agencies
(LEAs) have completely failed to protect high officials of the country. In the absence of law and
proper trial the terrorists are entrenching their roots firmly. Failure of the (LAEs) to bring the
terrorist to book has emboldened terror mongers to strike at a target of their choice at will.
Schools, hospitals, markets and places of worship have become their favourite targets.

The soviet Afghanistan war was the most critical event responsible for spreading militancy and
intolerance in Pakistan. A fundamental change that altered the very character of Pakistani society
occurred after establishment of the soviet backed communist regime in Afghanistan. The
aftermath of the soviet withdrawal exposed the damage, transformation of violence and
Weaponisation into Pakistani society. It ultimately plagued Pakistan with a new trend commonly
referred as “Kalashnikov Culture” and “Talbanisation”.

Religion became the dominant force during the Zia regime when the Islamization of laws and
education became a state policy. And the Islamic legislation was promulgated and a number of
Islamic enactments were made, including the Hudood and blasphemy laws. One may also
mention the vital role of the jihadis in their fight against the Soviet military occupation with the
American support, as well as the generous patronage extended by the government to the religious
parties and groups. It may be added that various religious groups benefited from the support they
received from abroad, in particular from Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Religious Madrassah is not something new for the Islam or our country. But after Russian attack
on Afghanistan it took a new dimension. They were being used as recruitment centres for jihadis.
Thousands of Mujahedeen were trained and sent to Afghanistan for so-called jihad. After the fall
of Russia, a sizeable number of the jihadis who returned to Pakistan got involved in terrorist
activities.

Religious intolerance is another factor which is adding fuel to the fire of terrorism. youth,
educated through religious Madrassahs, are indoctrinated with extreme ideas. They become
intolerant towards other religions and even other sects of their own religion. They impose their
own extreme ideas and vent their fanaticism thorough violent actions. Intolerance makes society
jungle. It is proving destructive phenomenon for social harmony, political stability, and
economic growth.

The soviet Afghanistan war was the most critical event responsible for spreading militancy and
intolerance in Pakistan. A fundamental change that altered the very character of Pakistani society
occurred after establishment of the soviet backed communist regime in Afghanistan. The
aftermath of the soviet withdrawal exposed the damage, transformation of violence and
Weaponisation into Pakistani society. It ultimately plagued Pakistan with a new trend commonly
referred as “Kalashnikov Culture” and “Talbanisation”. This was perhaps an end to our long
established pluralistic culture and values. Result was a wave of vicious cycle of Sectarian and
Inter-sect and Interfaith violence/terrorism.

Religious extremism that took its roots in Pakistan after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 is
proving venomous for Pakistan. The increased danger of sectarian motivated acts of violence,
have gained in power and influence over the recent past. External as well as internal influences
have impacted the sectarian issues and have served to further intensify the magnitude and
seriousness of the problem. Sectarian violence, therefore, was an extremely rare and unheard of
phenomenon in Pakistan with sectarian disputes being very localized and confined rather than
being frequent and widespread.

This religious extremism took a new shape of terrorism after 9/11. After the incident of 9/11
suicide bombing in Pakistan has become a norm of the day. The American invasion and
occupation of Afghanistan, as well as the military operation in Pakistan, along with the American
drone attacks, have served to fuel religious radicalism leading to violent reaction. The
breakdown of state structures in Afghanistan created a void which was quickly filled by groups
and individuals who took it upon themselves to continue the lost battle. Some of them also
intruded into Pakistani tribal areas, thus inviting the US displeasure. Flushing out these foreign
fighters by Pakistani security forces made Pakistan a battle ground, as foreign militants and some
of their local hosts, joined hands to counter the security forces.

The drone strikes have increased anti-Americanism in Pakistan society and the region. The
terrorists have used the collateral damage to maximize the environment and society to their
benefit. Families of people killed in collateral damage become ideal nursery for suicide bombers
In Pakistan society drone attacks are popularly believed to have caused even more civilian
casualties than is actually the case. The persistence of these attacks on Pakistani territory is
continuously creating public outrages and alienating people from government and Army. The
drone is a tactical weapon and has certainly given good results tactically to support coalition
forces operation on their sides of the border but strategically history has many unanswered
questions.

On account of anti-campaign and drone attacks scores of people have become homeless and even
some have lost all their possessions Coupled with this, governments indifference towards these
internally displaced people has further deteriorating the situation and encouraging people to join
anti-state actors. Negligence on the part of government has alienated the people and has placed
Pakistan in an undesirable situation domestically.

Furthermore, indiscriminate and brutal persecution of innocent citizen of Kashmir and Palestine
by Indian and Israeli forces respectively is further boosting the monster of terrorism. the people
of Kashmir and Palestine have been denied their basic rights for decades. Hence their feelings of
antagonism springing out in the form violent acts and also their supporters are conducting these
types of acts here in Pakistan in order the draw the attention of the world towards the injustices
being done to them.
Pakistan has done its level best to rid terrorism and terrorists from its soil. In first step, many
terrorist organisations were banned by the Musharraf government. After those successful military
operations namely Rah-e-Nijat and Rah-e-Rast have been conducted. Pakistan army has fought
bravely against terrorist and has destroyed their safe dens. It has broken the backbone of the
terrorists and has forced them to flee. These operations still keep ongoing in some tribal areas. In
this context, it is worth-mentioning that public support to military operations is very essential,
and without people’s backing no army can win this ‘different war’ against terrorism.

For Pakistan the consequences of being the epicentre of the war on terror have been disastrous
physically, psychologically and economically. Nobody understands terrorism better than us
(Pakistanis). We have been victims of various manifestations of it since the Soviet Afghan war.
Since 9/11, the wave of suicide bombing has so far killed scores of innocent Pakistani civilians
and muffled the already slow pace of our economic growth. The financial cost of the ongoing
global war on terror in the last two years alone has been $35 billion. This has badly affected in
particular, the socio-economic development of Pakistan. Lest we forget, we even lost our
prominent political leader Benazir Bhutto to an act of terror.

Since September 11, 2001, 21,672 Pakistani civilians have lost their lives or have been seriously
injured in an ongoing fight against terrorism. The Pakistan Army has lost 2,795 soldiers in the
war and 8,671 have been injured. There have been 3,486 bomb blasts in the country, including
283 major suicide attacks. More than 3.5 million have been displaced. The damage to the
Pakistani economy is estimated at $68 billion over the last ten years. Over 200,000 Pakistani
troops were deployed at the frontline and 90,000 soldiers are fighting against militants on the
Afghan border.

The ongoing insurgency has accelerated the already dismal economic situation and has affected
almost each and every economic aspects of the country, particularly in FATA and Khyber
Pukhtunkhwa. All the main resources of revenue in affected areas have been hurt, including
agriculture, the tourism industry, manufacturing and small-scale industry.

Due to insurgency, the loss to agriculture alone amounts to Rs.35 billion. The breakdown in law
and order situation has damaged the fruit based economy of the northern areas. It has rendered
billions of rupes losses to the landowners, labourers, dealers and farmers who earn their
livelihood from these orchards. Also, the Economic survey of Pakistan report shows that the
share of agriculture in the gross domestic product (GDP) has been constantly falling. It
accounted for 25.99 per cent of GDP in 1999-2000; however, gradually its share shrank to 21.3
per cent in 2007-2008. The figures show that terrorism has not only decreased the productive
capacity of agricultural activity in these regions but also in the entire country.

The manufacturing sector has been hard hit by frequent incidents of terrorism and has created an
uncertain environment resulting into low level of economic growth. The manufacturing sector is
witnessing the lowest-ever share of 18.2 per cent in the GDP over the last five years. In addition,
the small and medium-size enterprises which are key area of manufacturing in Pakistan have
been affected across the country because of power shortages and recurrent terrorist attacks.

According to a Harvard study (December 2000), higher levels of terrorism risk are associated
with lower levels of net FDI. In case of Pakistan, terrorism has affected the allocation of firms
investing money in the country. As a result, FDI, which had witnessed a steep rise over the
previous several years, was adversely affected by the terrorist acts in the country, especially in
FATA and other areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.

According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 113 out of 130 countries in 2009 as a
tourist destination. The low ranking is attributed to incidents of terrorism and the lack of a
tourism regulatory framework in Pakistan. On account of persistent terrorist attacks many hotels
in the northwest areas have been closed. According to government’s own estimates, the hotel
industry in Swat valley has suffered a loss of Rs. 60 billion. Many workers have lost their jobs
and transport has also face a severe blow.

Due to war on terror, local people of war-ridden areas are migrating to other areas of Pakistan.
Country has seen the largest migration since independence in 1947. These people have left their
homes, businesses, possessions and property back home. This large influx of people and their
rehabilitation is an economic burden for Pakistan. Unemployment is still prevalent and now the
question of providing employment to these migrants has also become a serious concern. This
portion of population is contributing nothing worthwhile to the national income yet they have to
be benefitted from it. This unproductive lot of people is a growing economic problem of Pakistan

Social impacts have also been caused by this war. In a society where terror exists cannot be
healthy. Social disorganization has occurred due to terrorism. Social relations, economic
transactions, free moments, getting education, offering prayers etc. have suffered. Pakistan’s
participation in the anti-terrorism campaign has led to massive unemployment, homelessness,
poverty and other social problems and ills. In addition, frequent incidents of terrorism and
displacement of the local \population have severely affected the social fabric.

On the political front Pakistan is badly impacted in fighting the war against terrorism. It has
taken many valuable steps to defeat terrorists. In spite of all the sacrifices the country is making
it is branded to be a country insincere or half-hearted in fighting the menace. Every time the
country is told to “do more”. It is further alleged for infiltration of the militants inside US-NATO
dominated Afghanistan. The failure of the Western troops in the neighbourhood is blamed on
Pakistan. This situation has eroded the trust between the governments and caused international
image problem for the country.

Similarly the terror has brought in its wake psychological problems. Fear in the hearts of the
people is created. Trauma, depressions and confusion have been increased. The people feel
insecure and unsafe whenever in their daily life activities, as time and again they watch the terror
events taking place in different cities. Those have especially been suffered who have closely
witnessed the suicidal bombings.

The religion is also impacted by the war against terrorism. The religion of Islam is perceived to
be the one tolerating extremism and terrorism abroad. In the western world people equate
violence, abuse against women and minority rights, and several acts of terrorism like suicidal
bombing and coercion with Islam and Muslims. Whenever any such inhuman act takes place
they tie it with Islam and its followers. When in the UK terror acts were committed the authority
blamed it on Pakistani citizens for instance. And why these days Pakistanis are discriminately
interrogated and have to be screened before they inter the US is due to the fact that they are
Pakistanis and Muslims.

Thorough analysis of the causes of terrorism and its ineffaceable impacts indicate that in
Pakistan this phenomenon has not come to fore overnight. It has taken decades to flourish and
involves many factors. Since terrorism is a multifaceted, the solution has to be multi-pronged. In
view of the root causes described in above paragraphs, the possible remedies could include:

• To begin with, a national commission needs to be set up, which identifies the fault lines and the
root causes of the rise of extremism in Pakistan taking into consideration the post-Nine-Eleven
developments.

• It should also take up the question of reforming the madrassas. The heads of all the major
religious groups should be contacted and engaged to explore short-term and long-term solutions.

• Our universities and research institutes should take up the intellectual task of re-interpreting the
Islamic injunctions in the light of modern knowledge and 21st century challenges (with emphasis
on social justice).

• The government must improve its performance. Bad governance and corruption have lowered
its credibility and clout,

• Parliament must debate Pakistan’s present relationship with the US, with particular reference to
the American war in Afghanistan and operations in Pakistan.

• Our government should make efforts to develop sector. Without any doubt, these efforts will
play a crucial role not only in providing employment to the millions of people but will also
eliminate poverty in the country.

• Pakistan’s government should particularly emphasise the need of technical education by

promoting it. In this respect, more institutes should be opened in order to promote technical
education.

• It is mentionable that there are two types of terrorists, extremists and moderates. In order to
cope with terrorism, our government should neutralise the moderate terrorists through
reconciliation by offering them general pardon and asking them to renounce terrorism. Even
extremist insurgents can be offered mediation. Nevertheless, those militants who reject the offer
could be fought through military operations.

• Nonetheless, for their on global and regional interests, US-led western allies must not only
increase the military and economic aid of Pakistan but also provide direct market access to Pak
products on zero rate duty to help stabilise the country’s bleak economy in the wake of the war
against terror.

• As Pakistan has been successfully coping with the menace of terrorism, US-led some western
countries including India should also give up their propaganda campaign against Islamabad and
blame game against its intelligence agency ISI.

• US should help in resolving the Kashmir dispute to deal with the problem of militancy in the
region.

• In order to fight terrorism, Pakistan’s media should play a key role. It must point out the
criminal activities of the militants like hostage-taking, killing of the innocent people? torching
the government buildings including girl schools and car-snatching. It should also indicate that
Islam is a religion of peace and does not allow suicide attacks.

• As Pakistan is already facing various crises of grave nature in wake of terrorism, so our
politicians must stop manipulating the same for their own self-interests. By setting aside their
differences and by showing power of tolerance, both our rulers and opposition parties need to act
upon a policy of national reconciliation to cope with the problem of terrorism and to stand before
external pressure.

• Finally, our politicians, general masses and security forces must show a strong sense of unity to
fight terrorism,

To conclude, Pakistan is a peace loving nation and playing its important role in combating terror.
Recognition of efforts to fight menace of terrorism and sacrifices rendered thereof are testimony
to the commitment and resolve to bring peace in the region. Unfortunately sometimes its
commitment is doubted by some of its allies. Mistrust can lead to diversion of efforts, which will
not be beneficial to common objective of peace in the region. Pakistan is a responsible nation;
fully capable of defending its territorial integrity. Pakistan has singularly committed large forces
to combat menace of terrorism more than any other country. No foreign troops are either present
or deployed on Pakistan soil.

All citizens of Pakistan must propagate moderate vibrant culture of Pakistan to promote good
will of world community and shun misconstrued beliefs. Attacks on security forces personnel are
executed at the sponsorship of hostile intelligence agencies. Such anti state elements must be
singled out and brought to lime light to defeat evil agendas of our enemies. Pakistan has
sacrificed the most in the ongoing war on terror; criticizing Pakistan’s efforts at
national/international forum will be counter-productive to the overall objectives of war on terror.
Role of Media in Pakistan
1. Introduction
2. Functions of Media
 Creation of awareness
 Shaping public opinion
 Promotion of tolerance
 Facilitating informed decision making
 Strengthening of democracy
 Educating people
 Pinpointing social problems and challenges
 Inculcating awareness about rights and duties
 Social amalgamation
 Source of entertainment
 Useful medium for advertisement
 Educating policy makers for sustainable policy framework and legislation
 Strengthening foreign relations
 Promotion of national cohesion

3. Media as fourth pillar of the state

4. Positive aspects of Media
 Media as an effective political agent
 Influential player in social sphere
 Vital role in economic activity
 Media’s impact in creating religious plurality

5. Negative dimensions of Media

 Tool for propaganda
 Political manipulation
 Spread of social evils
 Yellow journalism
 Curse of media blackmail
 Sensationalism for cheap popularity
 Foreign cultural invasion and our ethical fiber
 Wastage of time
 Promoting materialistic trends
 6. Challenges for Media
 Threats to life and property of media personnel
 Withholding advertisement for political ends
 Questionable role of PEMRA
 Monopoly of large media groups
 Challenge of controlling Media

7. Possible remedies to neutralize deteriorating trends in Media

 Internal checks and balances
 External accountability
 Strengthening national integration and socio-cultural values
 Promoting positivity and optimism in society
 Inducting professionals and train manpower
 Ensuring transparency and neutrality
 Fulfilling educational and informative role
 Observance of political neutrality
 Countering international propaganda
 Highlighting Pakistan’s positive image

8. Conclusion

Good Governance in Pakistan

1. Introduction
Definition of governance
Governance in Pakistan
2. Failures of governance in Pakistan
3. Causes of failure
 Unstable political landscape
 Lack of democratic culture and values
 Periodic military interventions
  Feudal structure of society
 Massive corruption
 Constitutional crises
 Institutional friction
 Ethnic conflicts
 Sectarianism
 Menace of extremism
 Curbs on media and freedom of expression
 Mismanagement of resources
 Lack of accountability
 Weak writ of the government
 Non-observance of rule of law
 Interprovincial conflicts
 Political interference in bureaucracy
 Fragile economy
 Crisis of energy, food and water
 Bleak social indicators (Poverty, Overpopulation, Illiteracy)
4. Essentials/Remedies for good governance
 Public participation
 National integration
 Political stability
 Constitutional supremacy
 Institutional strength
 Free media and freedom of expression
 Socio-economic development
 Independent judiciary
 Equitable distribution of resources
 Strong writ of government
 Strict accountability
 Educational opportunities for all
 A true welfare state
5. Conclusion
Introduction

Good governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature

to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources.
Governance is “the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are
implemented (or not implemented)”. The term governance apply to corporateperate
international, national, local governance or to the interaction between other sectors of
society. The concept of good governance often emerges as a model to compare
ineffective economies and political bodies with viable economies and political bodies.
The concept centre around the responsibility of government and governing bodies to
meet the needs of masses as oppose to the select group of society. Liberal democratic
states, concentrated in Europe and the Americas, are often used to set the standards
required to make comparison with other states with reference to governance. The
United Nations emphasizes reforms through human development and political
institution reforms. According to the UN, good governance has eight characteristics – It
is consensus orientated, participatory, based on the rule of law, effective and efficient,
accountability, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive.
Conclusion:
A welfare state must act like a mother and nurture its citizens as its offspring. It must
provide basic needs for life, liberty and security from cradle to grave. Pakistan is in no
position to claim to even close to the level of welfare state and much to be desire if as
viable political dispensation, Pakistan would not move ahead towards this vision. Then
the ultimate focus will be on people of Pakistan. Their socio-economic development,
their law and order environment, the opportunities that enable them to utilize their
potential, would make them active participant in this journey together with the state
and that is the starting point from which a destination of a welfare state is not far off.
Education System of Pakistan: Challenges and Remedies
 Introduction
1. Major objectives of Education
2. Importance of education for human society
3. Education system in Pakistan- the prevailing scenario
 Challenges confronting Education in Pakistan
1. Disparity due to medium of instruction
2. Parallel systems of Education
3. Gender Discrimination
4. Rural urban divide
5. Neglect towards Technical education
6. Poverty
7. Social imbalance
8. Inconsistent government policies
9. Infrastructural constraints
10. Mismanagement of existing policies
11. Increasing commercialization of education
12. Political indifference
13. Curricula inconsistent with changing requirements and ground realities
14. High dropout rate in primary education
15. Improper check and balance mechanism

 Remedial Measures
1. Uniformity of curriculum and medium of instruction
2. Higher budgetary allocation
3. Public private partnership
4. Academic training and refresher courses for teachers
5. Gender parity
6. Reformation of madrasa education
7. Minimizing political influence
8. Robust awareness campaigns through Media
9. Increase in teachers incentives
10. Scholarships and financial support to students
11. Emphasis towards Primary education
12. A consistent, overarching, and sustainable vision
 Conclusion

Introduction

Education is meant to develop mental, moral physical fatalities of human beings. It is a tool
which enables us to effectively steer away through various challenges that life throws.
Education equips a map with necessary knowledge and the wisdom to apply that knowledge
in a constructive manner to transform himself and his surroundings. An educated society is
collectively empowered to adapt towards changing socio-economic realities. It possesses
the vibrancy, vitality and innovation to embrace change without compromising on
essentials and basics. Education, thus, is the prism that enables the individuals and societies
to distinguishes between right and wrong, and choose between regressive and progressive.
Pakistan’s unfortunate state today in no certain terms establishes this fact. Since its
creation, successive government, whether a civil or military, display one common attribute;
sheer negligence towards education in the country and that has been the most potent
cause of our country’s precarious socio-economic condition and our brittle ethical fabric.
Without reversing the type, Pakistan cannot hope to march forward progressively in these
troubled and challenging times.

Conclusion

Pakistan cannot transform into a viable, socially empowered and progressive reality until
the education scene in country is completely transformed. The challenges confronting
education in the country are deep rooted and stagnating. These are crippling Pakistan in
almost all areas and sectors that determine a country’s growth and sustainable
development. Whether, it be political indifferences, social discrimination, parallel streams
of learning or inconsistent policy making, the ultimate sufferer is the state of Pakistan. The
encouraging dimension of the whole issue is that it can be resolve and even revolutionized.
We need a consistent, over arching and sustainable vision culled from the expertise of best
brains in the country which can transform the existing bleak scenario into a virtual blessing
 for the country. This would need our collective will if we truly feel ourselves as stakeholders
in the future of Pakistan.

Terrorism in Pakistan; causes, impacts and remedies

1. Introduction
2. Causes of Terrorism

Internal causes

Socio-economic causes

 Injustice
 Illiteracy
 Poverty and unemployment
 Food insecurity
 General dissatisfaction in society

Political Causes

 Precarious democratic culture

 Weak Governance
 Non- observance of Rule of Law
 Failure of law enforcement agencies
 Influx of refugees, weaponization and subsequent Talibanization
 External Causes

 Afghan war
 Iranian revolution
 9/11 war on terror

3. Factors Aggravating Terrorism

 Anti-terrorism campaign and drone strikes
 Indifference of government
 Persecution of innocent Muslims globally

4. Initiatives undertaken by Pakistan to counter Terrorism

 Ban on terrorist organizations
 Operation Rah- e- Nijat, Rah- e -Raast and Zarb -e -Azb

5. Impacts of Terrorism
 Loss of civilian life and property
 Economic cost of terrorism
 Agricultural loss
 Increase in manufacturing cost
 Steep decline in foreign direct investment (FDI)
 Diminishing tourism
 The problem of internal migration or internally displaced persons (IDPs)
 Social impacts
 Political impacts
 Psychological impacts
 Religious impacts

6. Remedies
 Framing a comprehensive counter terrorism strategy
 Strengthening law enforcement agencies
 Ensuring good governance
 Reinterpretation of Islamic injunctions with reference to modern challenges
 Redefining Pak -US counter terrorism relationship
 Ensuring socio-economic reforms to neutralize terrorism
 Employing carrot and stick policy intelligently
 Pressurizing Western allies to halt baseless propaganda against Pakistan’s intelligence
agencies
  Forging national cohesion and a unified common front
7. Conclusion

Introduction
Terrorism is undoubtedly the greatest menace that haunts global peace today. Pakistan,
been at the forefront of the war against terror, has endorsed unparallel setbacks and
catastrophes. Our quality today faces a war like situation. The phenomenon of terrorism
is further fueled in our society due to social injustice, economic disparity, political
instability, religious intolerance and external actors. Though Pakistan has tried to
neutralize the surge in terrorism through military operations, negotiations and an effort
towards socio-economic improvement of affected areas but the tide has refused to
subside. A part from colossal destruction of innocent lives and invaluable state assets,
the atmosphere of fear created by terrorism is an undeniable reality of everyday life in
Pakistan. The situation demands a concerted and sustainable national vision that is an
integrated and unified aspiration of people across the country. The challenge to the
state of Pakistan is immense. Its redresser need an equal level of tenacity, if not more.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

 Outline:

• Introduction

• Problems Faced By Pakistan At The Time Of Inception

• Current Scenario

REASONS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

The Problem of Feudal Structure:
Failure to Implement Effective Land Reform:
Rights of Women in the Society:
.War against Terrorism:

• Social Problems

i) Poverty
ii) Illiteracy
iii) Overpopulation
iv) Unemployment
v) Child Labour
vi) Corruption
vii) Poor Social Sector Including Health, Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation And Basic Infrastructure
viii) Women Are Not Empowered
ix) Human Rights Problem
x) Injustice
xi) Sectarianism, Extremism, And Target Killing
xii) Absence Of Rule Of Law

• Economic Problems
i) Economic Loss Due To War On Terrorism
ii) Energy Crisis
iii) Low FDI And Huge Debt Trap
iv) Poorly Managed Tax System
v) Low Export And High Import
vi) Inflation
vii) Influx Of Local People from War Ridden Areas And Their Rehabilitation
viii) Lack Of Tourism

• Suggestions

. The key goals should be:

 Economic revival

 Political restructuring
 Devolution of power to grass root
 Depoliticize State institutions
 Ensure swift and across the board accountability
 Rebuild National confidence and morale
 Strengthen the Federation, remove inter-provincial disharmony and restore National
cohesion

o Ensuring Equal Distribution Of Wealth.

Dispensation Of Free And Quick Justice

The Curriculum Of Schools Need Be Reviewed

Health Care Be Provided To All Citizens
Provision Of Equal Rights To All Citizens
Poverty Alleviation Programmes Be Initiated
Population Growth Be Controlled
New Dams Should Be Built
New Industries Be Set Up To Provide Employment.
o Peaceful Solution of International Disputes
o

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
Challenges are one of the foremost components in today’s advanced world. Every nation has its
own multiple challenges to deal with, either erupted internal or external. Pakistan, being a
developing country is also coping with serious obstacles among which social and economic
challenges are on top of list. Both short and long term measurements are needed to bring
Pakistan back from this mire to a prosperous state.”Pakistan has been facing a lot of social
problems since its inception in 1947. In the start there were the problems of lack of funds,
rehabilitation of refugees, poor infrastructure and widespread poverty of masses. Quaid-e-
Azam tried his best to solve these problems and get the state machinery working. Owing to his
sudden death he could not eradicate these problems completely. Unfortunately, leaders after
him did not pay considerable attention towards the solution of various problems. Subsequently,
the problems have grown with the passage of time and become social evils.

Pakistan is a developing country and faces all social problems that developing countries face
along with political instability that aggravates the problems further. Currently, Pakistan has
many challenges to face in the form of social and economic problems.

Linguistic and cultural diversity, economic disparity, divisions of class and caste, tribal and clan
affiliations, and inherited differences of rank and privilege have profoundly conditioned
Pakistani society and its responses to democracy and human rights. The most visible
characteristic of this society is the dominance of a feudal and tribal social structure, with strong
patriarchal and authoritarian trends. Social behavior is shaped by these trends, which are
manifested in a culture of control and monopoly over power and resources.
Conclusion:

People are the essential pillar of any country. It is the fundamental duty and responsibility of
the country to fulfil the basic needs of its people. Basic needs of man comprises of shelter, food
and clothing. When these needs are not fulfilled they bring about problems termed as socio-
economic problems. Pakistan has also been suffering from these problems. The real issue is not
the presence of these problems in the society. But the extent to which they are being paid
attention and solved. When these problems are not met timely and the grievances of the
people are not redressed they turn out to be a menace for the country. They assert a negative
impact on society. The society deprived of basic necessities of life is ignorant of its obligations
towards the country. This results in deviant behaviour, drug abuse, smuggling, corruption,
poverty, illiteracy and many other social evils. The country beset with social crises and problems
fails to attract foreign investment. Low investment results in economic breakdown and causes
decline in export, low MNCs business, tumbling stock market and inflation. It’s a vicious cycle
and can only be rectified by truly empowering human resource in the country.
 Terrorism In Pakistan: Its Causes,
Impacts And Remedies
Outline:

• Introduction
• What Is Terrorism
• Islam’s Response To Terrorism:
• Causes Of Terrorism:
1. Internal Causes
a) Socio-Economic Causes
i) Injustice:
ii) Illiteracy:
iii) Poverty And Unemployment:
iv) Food Insecurity:
v) Dissatisfaction:
b) Political Causes:
i) Non-Democratic Set-Up:
ii) Improper Government Set-Up
iii) Absence Of Law And Failure Of Law Enforcement Agencies:
iv) Influx Of Refugees, Weaponisation And Talbanisation:
c) Religious Causes:
i) Role Of Madrassahs:
ii) Religious Intolerance:
2. External Causes
a) Afghan War: 1979
b) Iranian Revolution:
c) War On Terrorism: 9/11
• Factors Boosting Terrorism:
a) Anti-Terrorism Campaign And Drone Strikes:
b) Negligence Of Government:
c) Persecution Of Innocent Muslims In Kashmir And Palestine:
• Steps Taken By Pakistan:
a) Ban On Terrorist Organisation
b) Operation Rah-E-Nijat
c) Operation Rah-E-Rast
• Impacts Of Terrorism:
a) Civilian Loss
b) Economic Cost Of Terrorism:
i) Agriculture Loss:
ii) Manufacturing Cost:
iii) Declining Foreign Direct Investment:
iv) Diminishing Tourism:
v) Internally Displaced People/internal Migration
c) Social Impacts;
d) Political Impacts:
e) Psychological Impacts:
f) Religious Impacts:
• Remedies:
• Conclusion:

INTRODUCTION:

At present the gravest problem that Pakistan is facing is terrorism. It has become a headache for
federation and a nightmare for public. Though, it is a global issue but Pakistan has to bear the
brunt of it. Pakistan’s involvement in the War on Terror has further fuelled the fire. We are
facing war like situation against the terrorists. This daunting situation is caused due to several
factors. These factors include social injustice, economic disparity, political instability, religious
intolerance and also external hands or international conspiracies. A handful of people who have
their vicious interests to fulfil have not only taken countless innocent lives but also distorted the
real image of Islam before the world through their heinous acts. Terrorist acts like suicide
bombings have become a norm of the day. On account of these attacks Pakistan is suffering from
ineffaceable loss ranging from civilian to economic. People have become numerical figures,
blown up in numbers every now and then. Terrorists have not spared any place. Bazars,
mosques, educational institutes, offices, hotels, no place is safe anymore.

Though terrorism has no accepted definition, yet it can be defined as the use of violence and
intimidation in the pursuit of political aim or the calculated use of violence or threat of violence
against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature, this
is done through intimidation or coercion or inciting fear. According to FBI’s definition,
Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or
coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political
or social objective.

Though terrorism has no accepted definition, yet it can be defined as the use of violence and
intimidation in the pursuit of political aim or the calculated use of violence or threat of violence
against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature, this
is done through intimidation or coercion or inciting fear
“And do not aggress; GOD dislikes the aggressors”. (Quran 5:87)

“You shall not kill any person * for GOD has made life sacred — except in the course of
justice.” (Quran17:33)

Illiteracy is the root causes of extremism and terrorism. More than one in five men aged 15 to 24
unable to read or write, and only one in 20 is in tertiary education

A report by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute The highest levels of
food insecurity, for instance, exist in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to the
report, where 67.7 per cent of the people are insecure. The next highest level is in Baluchistan,
with food insecurity at 61.2 per cent, and then in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, 56.2 per cent

Since September 11, 2001, 21,672 Pakistani civilians have lost their lives or have been seriously
injured in an ongoing fight against terrorism. The Pakistan Army has lost 2,795 soldiers in the
war and 8,671 have been injured. There have been 3,486 bomb blasts in the country, including
283 major suicide attacks. More than 3.5 million have been displaced. The damage to the
Pakistani economy is estimated at $68 billion over the last ten years. Over 200,000 Pakistani
troops were deployed at the frontline and 90,000 soldiers are fighting against militants on the
Afghan border.

According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 113 out of 130 countries in 2009 as a
tourist destination. The low ranking is attributed to incidents of terrorism and the lack of a
tourism regulatory.
REMEDIES:
• To begin with, a national commission needs to be set up, which identifies the fault lines and the
root causes of the rise of extremism in Pakistan taking into consideration the post-Nine-Eleven
developments.

• It should also take up the question of reforming the madrassas. The heads of all the major
religious groups should be contacted and engaged to explore short-term and long-term solutions.

• Our universities and research institutes should take up the intellectual task of re-interpreting the
Islamic injunctions in the light of modern knowledge and 21st century challenges (with emphasis
on social justice).

• The government must improve its performance. Bad governance and corruption have lowered
its credibility and clout,

• Parliament must debate Pakistan’s present relationship with the US, with particular reference to
the American war in Afghanistan and operations in Pakistan.

• Our government should make efforts to develop sector. Without any doubt, these efforts will
play a crucial role not only in providing employment to the millions of people but will also
eliminate poverty in the country.

• Pakistan’s government should particularly emphasise the need of technical education by

promoting it. In this respect, more institutes should be opened in order to promote technical
education.

• It is mentionable that there are two types of terrorists, extremists and moderates. In order to
cope with terrorism, our government should neutralise the moderate terrorists through
reconciliation by offering them general pardon and asking them to renounce terrorism. Even
extremist insurgents can be offered mediation. Nevertheless, those militants who reject the offer
could be fought through military operations.

• Nonetheless, for their on global and regional interests, US-led western allies must not only
increase the military and economic aid of Pakistan but also provide direct market access to Pak
products on zero rate duty to help stabilise the country’s bleak economy in the wake of the war
against terror.

• As Pakistan has been successfully coping with the menace of terrorism, US-led some western
countries including India should also give up their propaganda campaign against Islamabad and
blame game against its intelligence agency ISI.

• US should help in resolving the Kashmir dispute to deal with the problem of militancy in the
region.

• In order to fight terrorism, Pakistan’s media should play a key role. It must point out the
criminal activities of the militants like hostage-taking, killing of the innocent people? torching
the government buildings including girl schools and car-snatching. It should also indicate that
Islam is a religion of peace and does not allow suicide attacks.

• As Pakistan is already facing various crises of grave nature in wake of terrorism, so our
politicians must stop manipulating the same for their own self-interests. By setting aside their
differences and by showing power of tolerance, both our rulers and opposition parties need to act
upon a policy of national reconciliation to cope with the problem of terrorism and to stand before
external pressure.

• Finally, our politicians, general masses and security forces must show a strong sense of unity to
fight terrorism,
To conclude, Pakistan is a peace loving nation and playing its important role in combating terror.
Recognition of efforts to fight menace of terrorism and sacrifices rendered thereof are testimony
to the commitment and resolve to bring peace in the region. Unfortunately sometimes its
commitment is doubted by some of its allies. Mistrust can lead to diversion of efforts, which will
not be beneficial to common objective of peace in the region. Pakistan is a responsible nation;
fully capable of defending its territorial integrity. Pakistan has singularly committed large forces
to combat menace of terrorism more than any other country. No foreign troops are either present
or deployed on Pakistan soil.

All citizens of Pakistan must propagate moderate vibrant culture of Pakistan to promote good
will of world community and shun misconstrued beliefs. Attacks on security forces personnel are
executed at the sponsorship of hostile intelligence agencies. Such anti state elements must be
singled out and brought to lime light to defeat evil agendas of our enemies. Pakistan has
sacrificed the most in the ongoing war on terror; criticizing Pakistan’s efforts at
national/international forum will be counter-productive to the overall objectives of war on terror.