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Electoral Politics in Pakistan

Dr Tughral Yamin*

Abstract

A country’s political system is dependent on its electoral politics. In a democratic

culture, elections are the most powerful political activity determining the choice of the people.

The representatives they choose make decisions on behalf of the majority of people in that

particular state. There are many different political systems in play in different parts of the

world. Arguably democracy is the system that most accurately depicts the wishes of the

common man. According to Abraham Lincoln, democracy is the government of the people, by

the people and for the people.

There are number of variations to a democratic process. In some countries elections

are held directly through a system of adult franchise. Others elect their leadership indirectly

through an electoral college. In the direct democracy, people directly elect their political

leaders while in representative democracy, the chosen representatives elect the government’s

head. The objective of an ideal democracy remains to preserve and promote the dignity and

fundamental rights of individuals, to achieve social justice, foster the economic and social

development, and strengthen the cohesion of society.

Pakistan has had a checkered political history. It has dabbled with various forms of

democracy. The aim of this paper is to analyze the various aspects of the electoral politics in

Pakistan and suggest some measures that could bring positive changes in its political system.

* The author is the Associate Dean in the Centre for International Peace & Stability (CIPS),

National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) Islamabad.

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Introduction

The British government introduced a local government system in the sub-continent after

establishing their rule. The purpose was to politically educate the local people. They regarded

this system as responsible government. Initially, the local system was implemented in a

limited scale but later on it was extended to province level in 1919.1 Before partition of the

sub-continent into two separate states, provinces of Punjab, NWFP (now Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa) and Sindh had experienced the electoral process in 1937 and 1946.2 These

elections were held under the Government of India Act of 1935.

After partition, both India and Pakistan inherited British system of governance. India adopted

its constitution just after three years of independence; however, Pakistan came up with its first

constitution in 1956. The Objectives Resolution became the basis of the constitution making

process. It was presented before the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 7, 1949 by

Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan and was adopted on March 12. The Resolution

recommended that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modelled entirely on

a European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam. The Objectives

Resolution provided the preamble for all the constitutions of Pakistan adopted later. It is

important because it is a mix of Islamic political ideals and Western democratic values.3

Constitution Making History of Pakistan

The electoral process of any country is enshrined in its constitution. Constitution is the basic

charter to regulate the affairs of the state. It defines the power and responsibilities of citizens

and national institutions. It provides the framework for reliable governance. Pakistan’s

electoral process was delayed because it took time in coming up with a mutually acceptable

constitution. Three constitutions have been adopted since independence. A number of

amendments have been made to the last constitution that was accepted by all political parties

1 M.Rizwan, Qazi Sultan Mehmood, Sidra Sabir, Muhmmad Waqar and Muhammad Arshid, “Constitutional and

Political Heritage of Pakistan,” Asian Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, Vol. 3(3), August 2014:.168. 2 M.Javed Akhtar, Sajid Mahmood Awan, Shuja ul Haq, “Elections of Pakistan and Response of Social

Scientists: A Study of Theoretical Understanding”, Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 30, No. 2, p. 456. 3 Principles of democracy like equality, freedom, social justice will be followed. Rights of minorities will be

protected, people will live their lives according to the teachings of Islam, there will be federal form of

government with autonomy of the provinces, and the state will exercise its power through the elected

representatives of the people of Pakistan.

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in 1973. The first constitution that was made public in 1956 declared Pakistan, an Islamic

republic. It proposed a unicameral legislature and set the criteria for becoming the President

of Pakistan i.e. the President had to be a Muslim and that he would be elected by the members

of national and provincial assemblies. Prime Minister of the country was to be appointed by

the President. The President had the authority to dissolve national assembly on the advice of

the Prime Minister and the constitution can be amended by 2/3rd

majority in both the houses.

The 1962 constitution established Presidential form of government. According to that

constitution, President must not be less than 35 years of age, and a Muslim. He was to be

elected indirectly by the basic democrats. The constitution established unicameral system of

legislation in which parity was maintained between the West and East Pakistan.

A brief comparison of both the constitution is as follow:

1956 Constitution 1962 Constitution

1. The constitution of 1956 established

parliamentary form of government.

1962 introduced Presidential form of

government.

2. There was nothing about referendum in

the constitution of 1956

Referendum was introduced in 1962

constitution.

3. The method of election was direct in the

1956 constitution

Indirect method by basic democrats was

introduced in the constitution.

4. Executive powers rested with the Prime

Minister in the 1956 constitution.

President was holding executive powers in

the 1962 constitution.

Constitution of 1973

The credit of obtaining consensus for the 1973 constitution goes to the Prime Minister

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.4 The most significant aspect about the 1973 constitution is that the

provisions of objectives resolution have been formally made a part of it. Islam is the state

religion and Islamic provisions gave it an Islamic character. According to the constitution, all

existing laws in the country are to be brought in conformity with the injunctions of Islam as

4 Special Report, “Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a New Constitutional System,” Defence Journal, April 1998,

http://www.defencejournal.com/april98/zabhutto.htm (accessed on: March 17, 2015).

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laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The constitution requires the President and Prime

Minister to be Muslim, and Islamic institutions like Federal Shariat Court and Islamic

Ideology Council have been established to ensure that no law violates the tenets of Islam.

The head of the state is the President, who is elected by the parliament. The parliamentary

system is bicameral and is designed on the Westminster model. The directly elected national

assembly represents the lower house and the indirectly elected senate is the upper house.

Prime Minister as head of the government has executive powers. The leader of the majority

party is traditionally asked to form the government. His term in office can be cut short

through a vote of no-confidence in the parliament.

The 1973 constitution allows for direct method of election in which members of national and

provincial are directly elected by the people. As East Pakistan parted ways after 1971,

therefore Urdu is now the only national language and English is the official language of the

state for some years. The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. A referendum can be

called under a presidential order to obtain the opinion of the people on matters of important

national issue. The constitution can be amended through a 2/3rd

majority in the parliament.

Forms of Elections Held in Pakistan

Pakistan has experienced various forms of elections since independence. The prolonged

constitutional development process impacted on the political stability of the country. The first

elections were held in 1962 under the system called basic democracy. This was an electoral

college comprising 40000 basic democrats each in East and West Pakistan. It was designed to

create a favorable environment to keep General Ayub Khan in power.5 Direct elections under

the principle of adult franchise were held for the first time in 1970. General Zia ul Haq

introduced the party-less elections in 1985 to allow him to nominate or dismiss an elected

representative from the post of the prime minister under article 58 2 (b) of the constitution.

Referendums were held to allow generals to extend their terms in office through indirect

means. The first one was ordered by General Zial ul Haq in 1984 and the second one by

General Pervez Musharraf in 2002. To their credit military rulers namely Zia and Musharraf

5 Hasan Askari Rizvi, “Democracy in Pakistan”, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. Available

at: www.democracy-asia.org/qa/pakistan/Zafarullah%20Khan.pdf (accessed March 17, 2015).

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encouraged the local bodies system to make governance more participatory at the grassroots

levels. They, however, used this system to create a constituency for themselves at the expense

of the parliament by passing the development funds to representatives of the local bodies.

First local bodies elections were held in 1959. Local Bodies elections under the watch of

General Zia ul Haq were held in 1987. Elections for the local government system were held

during the administration of General Pervez Musharraf in 2000/2001. 6

The local bodies

system was somewhat similar to the basic democracy introduced by Ayub Khan. As

mentioned earlier, the purpose was to empower politicians at the grassroots levels but it was

used as a tactic to remain in power for a longer time.7

In order to give representation to women, a fixed number of seat for women have been

allocated in both the houses. The criticism against this form of entry into the parliament is that

most women benefitting from these seats belong to politically influential families. A woman

representing the common people has no chance to get into the assemblies on reserved seats.

Principles of Democracy

According to the 1973 constitution, democracy is the political system of the state in which it

is the will of the people that establishes a political order.8 It is up to the people to decide about

the political leadership of the country. The true essence of democracy is based on principles

such as:

• Rule of Law. Rule of law is the basic principle for democracy to work. There must not

be any compromise on this. Everyone should be treated fairly before the law and no one

should be considered above the law.

• Independent Judiciary. Enforcement of law across the country without discrimination

is possible only by an independent and impartial judicial system. A just judicial system

strengthens the political institutions such as the election commission to conduct free and fair

6 Study on Local Bodies System and Its Impact on Women, National Commission on the Status of Women

(NCSW) Islamabad, 1. 7 Naveed Iqbal Chaudhry and Amna Ashraf, “Agenda Setting and Framing of Elections during Musharraf Period

in Pakistani Print Media,” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 2, No. 17, September

2012: 275. 8 Preamble to The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Updated 28 February 2012), available at

http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf.

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elections. It also ensures peaceful environment which is conducive for smooth election

activities. It could thus be said that a fair justice system provides base for the electoral politics

to work. Besides, it also ensures accountability of the representatives of people.

• Well Established Political Institutions. Democracy demands strong political

institutions which have the capability to deliver according to the expectations of the people.

Weak political institutions cannot uphold the legitimacy and trust of the people. It is

imperative to apply merit policy for appointing individuals on the high position in such

institutions.

• Free and Fair Elections. Free and fair elections are fundamental to the democratic

system. Only free and fair elections can bring forth competent leadership who could serve the

nation. Any compromise on the elections procedure could have big consequences for the

country.

• Public Accountability. Accountability of the public representatives and government

servants is also crucial for stability of the system. Accountability is soul for the democratic

system.

• Democratic Culture and Education. Political education is also mandatory for the

steadiness of the democracy. It gives awareness to the masses about the significance of their

votes and the importance of public opinion and public accountability. The more a society is

political educated; the stable would be its political culture.

• Human Rights, Free Media, Supremacy of Constitution. Democracy demands that

human rights are safeguarded. The people should have the freedom of speech, movement, and

faith. In other words, an active civil society helps to ensure human rights in a democratic

state. The role of media is also critical in the stability of political system. Media should be

free but regulated at the same time. It should be regulated in-line with the constitution so that

it could play a positive role in the benefit of the state and society.

Electoral Politics in Pakistan

Pakistan has experienced both democracy and dictatorships. Both have yielded mixed results.

Prima facie the country has performed better economically under military rulers. There is no

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evidence to suggest that either politicians or the military dictators have been above board in

sharing the fruits of their stay at the top with friends, family and loyal supporters. However,

the common man feels more disillusioned when his/her elected leader does not make him a

part of the system of governance.9 In fact there has been some nostalgia for the Ayub Khan

era, which is regarded as a period of stability during which industrialization got a boost and

agriculture sector was also reformed.10

Similarly, economy performed better in the times of

Generals Zia ul Haq and Musharraf. However, all these periods of stability, reform and

progress came to a grinding halt during the periods of parliamentary democracy. Their failure

was not allowing democratic institutions to take roots, while things were steady. Democracy

in Pakistan has been messy and has not been conducive for creating an environment for

industrial growth and economic progress. The generals hold on power had a time limit and

they could not create a benign dictatorship that would have proved beneficial for the country.

Democracy and electoral politics in Pakistan have so far not measured upto the common

man’s expectation. The fact of the matter is that on the aggregate the entire system of

governance is flawed and reeks of incompetence. Neither dictatorship nor democracy has

been able to address the root causes of the nation’s failing system of governance. Corruption

index shows steady increase, economic indicators have come down, prices of commodities

have increased and there is shortage of energy. Moreover, the gap between rich and poor is

increasing rapidly. The policies of the government are not perceived poor centric. Should one

reject democracy outright because it has not delivered so far or try to improve it so that people

retain their own representatives? This is the moot question.

Common Observations about Electoral System in Pakistan

• Genuineness & Safety of Election Material. It is customary practice in Pakistani

politics that the parties that results of the elections are not accepted in good grace. There are

always sore losers, who vociferously complain of electoral malpractices. The same parties,

when they are returned to power declare the electoral results kosher and aboveboard. The fact

of the matter is that there is always an element of unfairness in all elections. Stuffing of ballot

9 Rizvi, “Democracy in Pakistan”.

10 Akbar Noman, “Industrial Development and Efficiency in Pakistan: A Revisionist Overview,” The Pakistan

Development Review (Winter 1991): 850.

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boxes by government officials, frightened or politicized election staff and party goons has

often been a serious and genuine objection. Even if there is no wrongdoing under the watch of

a returning officer, ballot boxes are stolen en route to the Presiding Officer. Results are

therefore artificially manufactured to suit one candidate. In the summer of 2014 the rhetoric

about the elections having been rigged reached a crescendo. There were sit-ins in Islamabad

and countrywide demonstrations. There were allegations of the returning officers

manipulating the results. A large number of fake ballot papers were also recovered a few days

before the elections.11

As a result of the incessant complaints of Imran Khan led Pakistan

Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) electoral tribunals have been set up to judge the fairness of the

elections held in 2013.

Inaccurate Means of Voter Identification. Although the National Database and

Registration Authority (NADRA) has to great extent controlled the issue of fake voters, still

cases have still been reported about one person voting multiple times. There have also been

reports of finger prints not matching the owner of the ID card or the indelible ink used to

mark forefinger of the voter being substandard and easily removed. These anomalies need to

be removed before the next elections.

• Manual Form of Voting. Pakistan is still using the old voting techniques in which a

voter fill out a ballot paper and puts it into a ballot box. In many countries, like neighboring

India Electoral Voting Machines (EVM) are used. Estonia is the only country in the world,

where a vote can be cast online. A voter still has the right to go to the polling both to vote in

the traditional manner.12

Pakistan can also consider replacing the manual system with

machines or in the future going online. Although this may not be any guarantee that those

bent on stealing the result do not tamper with the machines or hack the computers to change

the results.

• Biased Election Staff. Allegations about the biased attitude of the election staff have at

times proven correct. Candidates have known to influence the results of the elections by

bribing election staff on duty. This unfair practice from the election staff is certainly

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“Fake ballot papers recovered, three held,” The News, May 6, 2013, http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-

News-2-175697-Fake-ballot-papers-recovered,-three-held (accessed March 23, 2014) 12

Internet Voting in Estonia,

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damaging the credibility of the system in the eyes of people. There have also been reports in

which voters are harassed and threatened to vote for a particular candidate.13

• Winner not obtaining the Maximum Number of Votes. Another problem, which is

disconcerting for a serious observer of the electoral process in Pakistan, is that the margin of

victory is reduced because of a large number of candidates in the field. The winner in such

cases may not be the choice of the majority. This form of voting known informally as First

Past the Post is not a global phenomenon e.g. in neighboring Afghanistan at least two rounds

of Presidential elections were held last year after the first round results proved inconclusive.14

The second round invariably allows for the elimination of the contenders with a limited vote

bank.

• Rejected votes Outnumbering those Polled by the Winning Candidate. In some cases,

the total votes polled exceed those of the winning candidate. Sometimes this happens because

the voter does not know the correct way of registering his choice on the ballot paper and as a

result his vote is cancelled. At other times, there is evidence of rigging and falsifying the

results. In either case it reflects an inherent weakness in the system.

• Biased Delimitation of Constituencies or Downright Gerrymandering. The practice of

delimiting the constituencies according to suit the electoral aspirations of one party is also

known as gerrymandering. This maleficent practice needs to be addressed by the Election

Commission in an impartial and forthright manner. Such practice amount to pre-poll rigging

and does not allow for a fair playing field. It is unfair to the people as it deprives them of

asking for a fair share of development money for their area that has been split through mal-

intent.

• Interference by Incumbent Government. Under the constitutional amendments, the

elections are now held under a caretaker government. This experience is also not completely

fair. In the last elections the Interim government was blamed for partiality. Though the

caretaker government upholds the responsibility to conduct election free and fair but political

13

Zulqernain Tahir, “PML-N candidates harassing voters: PPP,” Dawn, March 03, 2015,

http://www.dawn.com/news/1167032 (accessed March 23, 3015) 14

Emma Graham-Harrison, “Afghanistan votes in second round of presidential elections,” The Guardian, June

14 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/14/afghanistan-votes-election-taliban-threat (accessed

June 14, 2014).

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affiliations of the people in the government sometimes make the elections biased. Not only

this, high position holders in the election commission have confessed that there were recorded

rigging in the elections. Elections commission has also expressed its weaknesses and

limitations before the judiciary.

• Slow process of attending to Electoral Complaints. There is inefficient and ineffective

system in place for addressing electoral complaints. The procedure is prolong and complex.

Decisions regarding complaints consume a long time in months, in some cases it takes years.

Some Structural Issues with the Electoral Political Politics in Pakistan

Political Culture of Pakistan. Pakistani political culture is not mature enough and is

often at cross purposes to the true essence of democracy. There are several reasons for this.

The foremost is the low literacy rate. Actually Pakistan’s literacy rate is below 40 percent. A

person who can write his or her name is regarded as a literate. Moreover, there is an uneven

literacy rate in the four provinces of Pakistan. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)

provinces have good literacy rates as compared to Sindh and Balochistan. It is for this reason

that people in Punjab and KPK are politically more active than the Sindh and Balochistan.

Besides the literacy factor, feudalism and feudal mindset still prevails across Pakistan. This

mindset is a hurdle in the way of people to choose their leaders without any fear.

• Poverty, Social and Economic Injustice. Poverty is an issue which has implications on

the electoral politics as well. More than 40 per cent of Pakistani population lives below the

poverty line. Their poverty is exploited by candidates with unbridled political ambitions.

Unprincipled candidates buy votes at a very low price. They make vacuous promises of

improving the lot of the voter but vanish after being voted into power, only to re-emerge in

the next campaigning season. Voters also face a dilemma while voting because they are

required to vote on tribal and ethnic lines. If they violate the tribal or social codes they are

liable to be placed outside the pale of their clan or family. Such overt and covert means of

coercion render the entire electoral process suspect. One can blame the feudal system that still

holds sway in large swathes of our rural society.

• Accountability Issue. There is lack of accountability issue in the political system in

practice. Though the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been entrusted with the task

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of holding errant officials and politicians accountable but their process of accountability has

its limits. At times the ruling government misuses the office of such organizations by settling

political scores with the opponents. Unless there is a fair method of across the board

accountability, our political system will not be purged of the malcontent that does not allow

democracy to flourish.

• Militant Wings of Political Parties. What is worse about the electoral politics of

Pakistan is that some political parties have their own armed wings. This kind of illegal and

violent political culture is certainly giving bad name to democracy in Pakistan. A number of

political parties are blamed for gang warfare in Karachi. These militant wings are known to be

the extension of the underworld and left to their own devices can instill fear in the hearts of

the common man. Sometimes they can also hold the government and the media hostage to

their whims and fancies. Unless the militant wings of the political parties are disarmed and

their hoodlums brought to justice, elections will always be conducted the shadow of fear.

• Politics of Self-Interest and the Loyalty Question. The Pakistani political culture is

hardly a true reflection of the best form of parliamentary democracy. Some of the politicians

have just been low ranking apparatchiks, who have risen through the ranks without any real

political training and education and therefore unaware of the niceties of a political system. For

them, politics is a game of self-interest in order to make money. For this purpose, they change

political loyalties at the drop of the hat and even side with dictators, when it suits their

convenience. As a result the political institutions in Pakistan remain weak and incompetent

people with dubious backgrounds are allowed to come to power. Obviously one doesn’t

expect them to be loyal to the country or their constituents.

Additional Issues in the Public debate

• Status of President and Governors. In the present parliamentary form of government,

questions are raised on the status of the President of the country and the provincial governors.

The appointments on these positions are made solely on political basis. Party in power

appoints President and governors from its own party and people have no right to question the

appointments made and the criteria adopted. Same is the case for the senators and senate.

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Senate is regarded as the upper house according to the constitution but its members called

senators are not elected by the people directly.

• Provincial Autonomy and Local Body Elections. A number of measures have been

taken to enhance the confidence of the federating units in the center. This includes the

amendments to the Financial Award system in which the poverty index of the provinces has

been included as a factor of consideration and the devolution of powers to the provinces.

Under the 18th

Amendment in the constitution, a number of subjects on the federal list have

been devolved to the provinces.15

Several federal ministries have been dissolved and the

powers were transferred to provinces. However, the local bodies system set up to transfer

power the grassroots level has not being practiced in letter and spirit. There has been a general

hesitation on the part of the elected governments to hold elections for the local bodies.

• Selfish Leadership. There has been a general criticism about the politicians not being

honest. They are blamed for keeping self-interest before that of the state. Many of them are to

have their wealth stashed away in Swiss banks. There is apparently no way to loosen their

stranglehold over power because they have morphed into political dynasties, which dominate

national politics long after the patriarch or the matriarch is dead and gone. Although the

Constitution makes it clear that a candidate must be a person of integrity and known probity

but there are no filters to remove the corrupt and selfish from participating in the elections. No

mechanism exists to promote honest and sincere leadership.

• Presidential Form of Government. The issue which still comes under discussion is

what kind of democratic set up is best for Pakistan, whether it should be presidential like in

the US or parliamentary like in the UK. Many believe that presidential form of government is

more efficient than the parliamentary. However, there has been consensus to reject the

Westminster form of parliamentary democracy in favor of a presidential form of government.

• Weak Parliament. The role of parliament in Pakistan politics is regarded as minimal.

Parliamentarians have the mandate of legislations but they have been found interested in

15

Aisha Ghaus-Pasha, “Making Devolution Work in Pakistan, The Lahore Journal of Economics 17: SE

(September 2012): 339–357

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developmental projects. This practice has in fact undermined the legitimacy of the parliament

and it sometimes considered a rubber stamp.

• Third Term for PM and Status of Senators and Reserved Seats. Most of the democratic

systems do not allow a person to become the head of the state or government for the third

time. In Pakistan an amendment in the constitution was made to restrict the term of the office

of the prime minister to two terms only but this was overturned and the current prime minister

has been given a third term. This issue needs to be reconsidered so that leadership is rotated

more often and better people have a chance to come to an office from where they can bring

about meaningful changes above party and parochial interests. Similarly, the issue of

indirectly elected senators, reserved seat in both the houses also needs to be revisited. This

allows a number of people to become legislators through the backdoor.

• Cost of Elections and Political Government. Political culture in Pakistan in practical

terms allows only the elite class people to contest in the elections. Millions of rupees are spent

by candidates on the election campaigns. This money is for sure accumulated through

corruption at large scale. Besides, government also spends billions of rupees to conduct

elections which are a huge burden on the economic assets of the poor country.

Some Good Trends since Restoration of Democracy

There have been observed some positive indicators in the national level politics too. Relations

between civilian and military leadership have improved. Military wants democracy to prevail

and political parties have also shown maturity. There have been all parties conferences and

the decisions on national issues are made with consensus. Judiciary and media are enjoying

independence. And the nation has seen peaceful transition of power from PPP to PML (N).

Overall, there seems sustainability in the system.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Pakistan has a patchy democratic record. After a number of false starts democracy has been

restored. Even though it is not the best or the most perfect democratic systems in the world

but it should not be summarily written off. Notwithstanding the fact that it suffers from a

number of grave flaws, there is potential that over time these errors will be removed through

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disciplined and meaningful political activism by the elected representatives and their

supporters.

First and foremost before the next elections take place electoral reforms should be instituted

to limit or eliminate electoral malpractices. Only free and fair elections can bring genuinely

elected representatives of people. There is also need for political education of the masses,

Pakistan is listed in the countries where voter turnout is very low and whoever turns out is

likely to swayed by illegal tactics adopted by some of the candidates. The results will then be

a true reflection of the popular will.

There also exist structural problems in the system. Corruption is on the rise, and every year

corruption index for Pakistan goes up. Strict accountability mechanism can ensure a limit on

the scope of corruption. A democratic dispensation elected through fair means can lay the

ground rules for our future stability and progress as a nation.

A strong Election Commission can ensure that the candidates adhere to the rules set for the

electoral process. An independent and well-meaning judiciary can instill confidence among

the candidates as well as the voters. It is the justice system which guarantees protection of

civil rights and social justice in the society. Judiciary also gives protection to constitution

against any violation. In a nutshell, it regulates whole of the state affairs to work in a smooth

manner.

The future of electoral politics seems fragile yet, however, reforms in the system could result

in stability of democracy in the country. Pakistan’s political leadership has to learn from the

bad experiences of the past and they should give up doing dirty politics of self-interest. They

can survive with the system only through the practices of good governance and according to

the wishes of the people. But before that, there should put sincere efforts by the government

in power for fixing core issues in the system. This is a mutual task lies before every political

party.

Last but not least, democracy is not a fixed or standardized concept. It has different

connotations in different countries of the world based on the political culture in their society.

Pakistan may need its own version of democracy, compatible with its social, cultural and

moral ethos.

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Tudor. Maya, The Promise of Power: The Origins of Democracy in India and Autocracy

in Pakistan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).