Genuine Democracy in Pakistan, Still a Dream

Unlike dictatorship, monarchy and aristocracy, a democracy gives people right to voice their opinion and right of electing their own government and legislators. It is viewed generally as being the most challenging form of government, because the people themselves determine the most suitable direction for their country.

U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) defined democracy as: «Government of the people, by the people, for the people» Democracy is by far the most challenging form of government - both for politicians and for the people.

Simply speaking, a democracy means “rule by the people;” however, it is variously defined in differing ways among democracies of the world with regard to its local viability.

It is said that a competent official opposition is as necessary as is a competent government. In fact, the elected rulers are constantly under pressure to perform and deliver to the satisfaction of the ruled. The people don’t need sub standard governance. But in Pakistan, the past five years were wasted, as the regime has been busy manipulating the opposition parties with the intent of staying in power and nothing beyond.

The credit of easy passing of amendments and other bills goes to the friendly opposition which has been on board with the government enjoying “cabinet shares” in return for not opposing in the parliament.

Maybe, Pakistan has a little bit of democracy but the essential element of effective opposition is seen nowhere.

Surely, time for change is pretty close, and the nation is going to have a chance to change for the better.

The status quo parties can be eliminated through the forthcoming election.

Unfortunately, due to the sad demise of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan has been governed by dictatorial regimes (civil/military), so the democracy never actually began in the real sense. The country remained in the clutches of powerful greedy elite throughout its history. The flawed system suited the rich in order to keep the vulnerable nation consisting of “poverty stricken majority” suffering in the dead end street.

Sadly, the civil service, the police, and administrative positions of higher level are usually occupied and controlled by the rich and the feudal. The independence of the Election Commission has been compromised in the past many a times. Notoriously, the commission has been performing below standard as people with bogus degrees were able to sit in the assemblies as fake legislators due to lack of proper screening and scrutiny of the candidates.

Also,  the federal and provincial assemblies are mostly made of incompetent members who are none other than the dishonest opportunists responsible for many national crises.

Furthermore, the dynastic and feudal politicians want to maintain their hold on the socio/economic/political power structures. This class of unethical politicians are usually driven by their selfish objectives which has nothing to do with their deliverance for the betterment of masses. Rather, these power grabbers are habitual of employing deceitful means including pressure tactics, coercion, threats of reprisals and much more just to get elected. This selfish attitude has pushed the country almost onto the verge of disaster where free fall is imminent.

Although not legally binding, the recent declaration signed between the government and Mr Qadri has some good points. If the so called deal is implemented as pressured, this should be helpful for a genuine election.

On the contrary, the rulers love to keep up the negative pressure to facilitate “unruly tactics,” so that political space of resistance fades away. The past experience shows that the State never hesitates when it comes to apply its “coercive apparatus” when threatened politically.

If the National Assembly dissolves before the due date of March 16, 2013 (believed to be March 10) the elections may take place within 90 days. With general elections in the first week of May, there is only one month for scrutiny of nomination papers for the purpose of pre-clearance of the candidates under article 62 and 63 of the constitution.

With regard to appointing a care taker set up, the government, the official opposition and the PTI must be on the same page.

An enforcement of electoral reforms prior to the polls seems unlikely but the following is worth focussing on:

(a) Article 62, 63 and 218 (3) of the constitution;

(b) Section 77 to 82 of the Representation of Peoples’ Act 1976 and other relevant provisions relating to conducting free, fair, just and honest elections guarded against all corrupt practices and;

(c) The Supreme Court Judgement of June 8, 2012 on constitutional petition of 2011 must be implemented in entirety in true letter and spirit.

It’s highly unfair with the people of Pakistan, if the ongoing political situation continues to be tolerated; as otherwise, the “privileged minority” would keep exploiting the “vulnerable majority.”

The whole nation should stand united now and be vigilant enough to fight the odds to go ahead with electing only those who are the most competent carrying the unchallengeable integrity. The electors must display their courage and be brave enough to reject all pressure from the powerful rich.

Obviously, the mindset of stinky electoral culture is not easy to remove before loosening of the feudal grip completely.

It’s crystal clear that the electors deserve to fully exercise their free will to elect only those who are sincere and capable of delivering honestly.

The current independence of the supreme judiciary has to be maintained, and the election commission should be cleansed of the officials with vested interests.

In order to guarantee free and fair polls, all high brass in the administration must be replaced by the care taker regime. Replacing Attorney General, all Advocate Generals, All IGPs (Inspector Generals of Police), all Chief Secretaries and the Principal Secretary to the care taker Prime Minister and a new chairman PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) will be a definite help.

A neutral election authority and independent judiciary is a healthy sign capable of producing a strong political system.



 It’s also encouraging to know that the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief election commissioner are on the single page.

Moreover, the CEC Fakhrudin Ibrahim claims he won’t quit before he is done with free and fair election - wow!





[image source: google]

A positive change is possible only through free and fair ballot of course. Therefore, all members of the civil society should come out and participate in the upcoming election to pick the right only candidates in order to re-build the future of Pakistan exactly as envisioned by Hakeem ul ummat Dr Allama Iqbal and the founder/ father of the nation - Mr Jinnah.



Stepping up War on Rape Culture

 

Following the brutal gang rape in Delhi, lurid headlines shook the whole world, yet the poor response from the local police was very disappointing. Consequently, there developed a furious atmosphere, and the angry mob of protesters voiced heavily against the official indifference towards women.




(google.com)

The protesters demanded for the ‘pro women law reforms’ to protect the most vulnerable members of the male dominated society.

Beyond doubt, the misfit legal procedure is unable to handle violence against women effectively.

The flawed anti rape laws enable the perpetrators to easily outmaneuver the legal set up through the unfixed loop holes. The negligence on the part of officials and the law makers has always been thought provoking as a hazard for the women safety.

Without eliminating the status quo, the perpetrators would continue hunting and hurting the females at will. Thus, most of the blame goes to the absence of stringent ‘anti rape laws.’

Sadly, there occurs an incidence of rape every fourteen hours in Delhi, alone. And according to some official sources, around 93000 rape cases are still pending adjudication in criminal courts at differently located jurisdictions.

The mindset of raping has been differently theorised by various experts. For example, rapists are of two categories which include (a) criminal rapist and (b) the psychiatric rapist.

The criminal rapist with or without a criminal record is usually a poorly educated person - below the actual socio-economic level, who easily surrenders to the peer pressure to commit anti-social activity of such a grave nature.

The other class is thought to be of the psychiatric rapist, who appears to be an educated personality probably belonging to a well off economic back-ground, yet becomes a rapist due to some personal issues or inadequacy. Most of the time, the psychiatry rapist displays remorseful attitude later.

Other theories suggest that the rapists usually come from violent background, where the teen agers and the youth may be demonstrating their macho behaviour of toughness and masculinity in a more anti-social style.

“The biologist Edward Wilson put forth a theory in his “Violence Initiative” that there is a certain small percentage of humankind that is simply "broken" from birth, destined to be violent, evil people. It has nothing to do with their environment, upbringing, or anything else; it's just in their DNA.”

It’s convincing enough that some people are broken from day one inherently, yet many others end up having been twisted that way. Regardless of the categories, the rapists really are disgusting people, who lose their senses and become wild animals.

The Delhi gang rape case involved a physiotherapy student, who was mercilessly assaulted onboard the running bus with tinted windows and then was thrown out naked along with his male friend. In other words, the suspects wanted to kill her right there as the driver attempted to run her over, but her male friend pulled her away from the path of the bus. Later on, the unfortunate student while under critical care breathed her last after unsuccessfully fighting for her life in a hospital outside India.

After several weeks of the mounting public pressure, the authorities formally began the legal process against the five men and the driver. In fact, the local police have been too slow initially, but five days after the victim’s death, the police booked them under the penal code of India - for rape, attempted murder/murder, kidnapping, tampering with and destroying the material evidence altogether. If convicted, they face death penalty and a special public prosecutor has been already appointed to deal with the 6th suspect who is juvenile.  According to the Indian Public Prosecutor Mohan, the case is likely to reach its logical conclusion within four to five months.  Due to victim’s death, the current matter has become a challenge for all involved.

The rapists tend to kill the victim to get away but are usually trapped, as their mistaken activity backfires instead.

Nevertheless, the fear factor continues to haunt Indian women who are too terrified to report rape for the possible reprisals including a compromised reputation as long as the sub standard ‘victim protection laws’ prevail over there.

The past experience clearly shows, whenever any sexually abused female dared to report any violation against her, she suffered the consequences, while the perpetrators rarely faced justice.

So, it’s the female victim, who always faces more danger after reporting the assault, because it may cause the perpetrators to attack her again out of revenge.

Since the criminals are not scared of any legal action against them, it’s a “win-win situation” for the rapists, hence, a cause of concern for many all over the world.

Furthermore, Indian law generally prohibits the identification of victims of sex crimes to protect victims' privacy, but the father and brother of the deceased victim have already agreed to release her name saying, "If the government names the revised anti-rape law after her, they have no objection and it would be an honor to her."   ---"My daughter didn't do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself," father added.

"I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter."

The promised safety: The launch of a 24-hour telephone helpline for Delhi ‘women in trouble’ through connecting with all the 185 police stations across the city gives a sigh of relief to all concerned.
Additional measures to make the city safer for women include more police night patrols, checks on bus operators, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.

Recommended further: General awareness for victim protection as well as for the change of criminal mindset will be helpful.  An overhaul of rape law is necessary to facilitate summary trial for speedy justice.

Encouraging gender equality in letter and spirit is a must for remedying the male dominance issue.