ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) has issued a damning report on the state of democracy in Pakistan, describing the February 8, 2024 general elections as a “very flawed exercise” that “fractured” the popular mandate.
According to Pildat’s Quality of Democracy in Pakistan 2024 report, several factors affected democracy in Pakistan in 2024, including general elections that “provided citizens with only a minimum of political and electoral options.”
He said ostensibly to safeguard its slim majority in Parliament, the PML-N-led federal government embarked on a mission to restructure the higher judiciary.
“The 26th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan effectively changed the process of appointing leaders in the higher judiciary and divided the judiciary into two branches dealing with constitutional and other matters.
“Thanks to the resistance offered by Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F, the edge of the proposed amendment was blunted to some extent,” he added.
The report said Parliament also hurriedly passed amendments to laws governing three defense services to extend the tenure of respective service chiefs from three to five years.
He said this is the first time in the country’s history that such a mandate increase has been legally introduced without martial law in place and during peacetime.
Pildat said Pakistan’s main political parties continued to show a sad and familiar tendency to help the establishment against a political opponent of the day in exchange for short-term selfish political gains.
“Such a regular political pattern has made parties gain political-electoral benefits at a high cost of weakening democracy and democratic governance in Pakistan. The current political setup that emerged through the 12 general elections in the center and provinces It’s no different.”
He said the current setup, to manage and silence political dissent, has intensified efforts to manage the use of the Internet and social media platforms by blocking certain applications and controlling the flow of communication through others.
“With the increasing centralization of decision-making significantly influenced by the establishment, a key conundrum facing citizens is how to communicate their valid concerns against this role without compromising the sanctity and status of the military, which should be a red line for every citizen.
“However, despite continued sensible advice to withdraw from politics – not only to focus on its core task of defense and security but also to safeguard its unifying public image from being tarnished – there is no public testimony of acceptance of this advice and withdrawal from the policy. This remains an urgent wake-up call for Pakistan.”
According to the report, the improvement in economic stability and the declared will and initiation of a political dialogue between the PTI and the government offer the only silver lining in this gloomy horizon.
“Despite the grandstanding of the government and its supporters and the tough negotiations and threats of civil disobedience by the PTI, we believe that a comprehensive dialogue must be maintained to find politically negotiated solutions for the much-needed political and economic stability of the country”. said.
