Failure of Pakistani democracy

¶ … Pakistan failed to consolidate its democracy

This essay posits that Musharaff's intentions to set up a democracy are only half-hearted and that his real ambitions may be a continuance of his totalitarian rule.

That this is so can be evidenced by various indications not least being the fact that voting by elections was rigged, even thoguh Musharraff tried to prove otherwise (Shah, 2003). Musharraf claims that he wants a democracy; this reminds one of his 1980 fiats. In the meantime however, the military's (or members of the PML-QA, Musharraf's party's) usurpation, via combustion of high -- pressure tactics, political machinations, and violence, of the majority of seats in his political party (ibid.), lends doubts to his assertions. Other problems with the electoral process included the fact females, the poor, and minorities were limited from the voting and that violence marred the scene. There have been various so-called democratic endeavors on the part of Musharraf, and he has time and again reverted back to totalitarian rule. Assumption that he will do so now seems to be solidly based on a history of a mixture of illusion and reality (Talbot, 2002; Shah, 2003).

Whilst authoritarian and civil regimens have sometimes been able to work together in establishing some sort of democracy, indications that Musharraf has no intention of doing so and that a democracy is not in the offing for Pakistan, at least not in the near future, comes from Musharaff's record where offenses against civil society is patchy. Offenses include Musharaff's unwillingness to curb the power of feudal elites and Islamist groups, as well as to expand the rights of women, rural poor, and minorities. Continuance of social and state oppression has only led to escalation of violation of human rights issues in Pakistan (Talbot, 2002).

Freedom of press too has been violated with, for instance, threat imposed on the Dawn newspaper in 2000 when it opined that the government was planning new forays on restricting freedom of expression (ibid.).

Similar intimidation was used in the area of political liberties when opposition was suppressed by the "maintenance of Public Order Ordinance," as well as by the use of sedition laws, and by the inference of the police force, the NAB. On 15 March 2000, for instance, public rallies, demonstration and strikes were banned precisely at the moment when the 18-party opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) demanded national non-rigged elections. Some opposition leaders were arrested, and time and again in preceding and consequent year activists who sought democracy and opposition personnel were arrested on trumped up charges (Talbot, 2002). The first goal of any military regime in Pakistan is to neutralize opposition, and Mussharaf's regime has been no different (Shah, 2007).

Moreover, continuance of sectarian and domestic violence with little concerted attempt to stop it, also prevent Pakistan from failing to consolidate its democracy. Musharraf's promised "liberal and progressive Islam" has failed to replace the "punitive Islam' which, as long as it continues, discourages any democracy from being established (Talbot, 2002). On the contrary: "since independence in 1947, the Pakistani state and political elites generally have sought to accommodate and manipulate Islamists" (Shah, p.33). Liberalism's call for curbs and inference has never been taken seriously as evidence in the Pearl case.