By Khalid Irshad Soofi
Lincoln had said about democracy, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”.
It means a form of Government which is prepared for the people by the people and it consists of the people from within. It is the most basic form of Government which is praised by many in our times. The adults are free to take important decision for lives and this is how the rules of the Government are made. The adults of a nation offer their votes to the leader and the leaders then make the Government for the betterment of the people. This is the meaning of democracy but it is not in the purest of its form at this moment. Around 167 countries in the world are running under the Government which is called Democracy and Pakistan is one of those countries.
Diverse types of democracies win through in Pakistan at different times. The constitution of Pakistan is helping a Parliamentary form of Government but in the previous constitutions like 1962 and 1956, Pakistan had Presidential form of Government. The constitution at this moment is an altered edition of 1973. According to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam, “Pakistan is made for the betterment of the people living in it. People will themselves choose their Leader and it is the duty of the Leader to accomplish the needs of the people and work day and night for this Motherland.” From 1st the day of Pakistan, the people are under pressure for a better form of Government and they have selected Democracy as the best one. But it is a bad luck for the people of Pakistan that the democracy could not continue for long and it is disrupted off and on. Military set of laws have smashed Pakistan’s Democracy 3 times in the history of Pakistan. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto strived a lot for the revival and sustainability of Democracy. According to Z.A Bhutto, “People of Pakistan deserve better fortune when it comes to Democracy. Democracy is the greatest system for this nation. Let the Democracy prevail and see the Nation flourish in front of your eyes.” In another speech, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has explained the significance of Democracy for Pakistan “The only solution for the problems of Pakistan is the sustainability of Democracy. This can reduce the monsters like Corruption, Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment and Pakistan can get back to the track of prosperity.”
According to the Democratic key of 2011, Pakistan is on the 106th number in the world with a democratic score of just 4.55. Norway is at the top of the chart with a score of above 9.5. When we see the poverty index, we see Norway at the top with least poverty and Pakistan is above 100th ranking again. We can clearly see the connection between democracy and poverty reduction.
According to Prosperity Democracy theory by Robert Petric: “A country having a better ranking in the Democratic index will be having a better ranking in the Poverty reduction index. So there is a relationship in both and we can clearly get a result that Democracy is a solution for poverty reduction in a nation.”
Women are a very imperative part of the Pakistani model of democracy. They have kept seats in National assembly as well as in senate. There are many eminent names in the history of Pakistan who worked really hard for the continuity of democracy in Pakistan. Many of them had had to be imprisoned. Benazir Bhutto went to exile for the struggle for democracy. She was the first even female prime minister in South East Asia. So, Pakistani model of democracy has a real impact of women on it. Role of Minorities in Pakistani Model of Democracy is also worth appraising. They have their reserved seats as well. There is an eminent figure like Kamran Micheal who worked very hard for democracy. Nawaz Shareef also admitted, “Minorities in Pakistan are a very important component of our democracy. How can we forget the role of Democracy for the betterment of the country and also for the continuation struggle of democracy in Pakistan.”
To conclude briefly, I we must admit that Democracy is one of the best system of Government for Pakistan. It has been denied by many critics on sound bases but still Pakistan need its persistence for the betterment of the country. We really need to work hard for the better system performance of Democracy in Pakistan which is necessary for the future.
