Discuss the main features of Political culture of Pakistan.

Introduction

Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, in The Civic Culture (1963), defined political culture as "the specifically political orientations—attitudes toward the political system and its various parts, and attitudes toward the role of the self in the system." A country's constitution may promise democracy, but its political culture decides how that democracy works in practice. Pakistan's political culture is a mix of traditional loyalties, colonial legacies, religious values and modern aspirations. It explains why elections are vigorously contested yet governments remain unstable, and why citizens are passionate about politics yet distrust political institutions.

Overview

Almond and Verba distinguished between a parochial culture, in which citizens know little of national politics; a subject culture, in which they are aware of government but see themselves as passive subjects; and a participant culture, in which they actively shape policy. Pakistan's political culture contains all three. Rural areas still show parochial and subject orientations shaped by landlords, tribes and biradaris, while urban, educated and young citizens increasingly show participant attitudes through elections, social media and protest. Long periods of military rule and interrupted democracy have prevented the growth of a stable civic culture.

Main features of Pakistan's political culture

1. Personality-centred politics.

Parties revolve around charismatic leaders, such as Z. A. Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, rather than programmes. Loyalty to the leader often outweighs loyalty to policies or institutions. (Reference: Lawrence Ziring, Pakistan in the Twentieth Century: A Political History, Oxford University Press, 1997.)

2. Kinship and biradari.

In rural Punjab and Sindh, and in tribal areas, votes follow clan, caste and tribe. Candidates are chosen for their biradari strength more than their ideas. (Reference: Anatol Lieven, Pakistan: A Hard Country, Allen Lane, 2011.)

3. Patron-client relations.

Politicians act as patrons who secure jobs, police help and development schemes for supporters, and voters judge them on these favours, a culture often called thana-katchery politics. (Reference: Mohammad Waseem, Democratization in Pakistan: A Study of the 2002 Elections, Oxford University Press, 2006.)

4. Religion in politics.

Islam is central to national identity, and religious slogans, parties and street movements have strong influence, from the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement of 1977 to protests on blasphemy issues. Religious parties win limited votes but shape debates. (Reference: Constitution of Pakistan, Articles 2 and 227; Husain Haqqani, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, Carnegie Endowment, 2005.)

5. Confrontation and intolerance.

Opponents are often treated as enemies or traitors. Governments have used cases and arrests against rivals, and opposition parties have rejected election results, as in 1977, 2014 and 2024. (Reference: Charter of Democracy, 14 May 2006, admitting past mistakes; FAFEN election reports.)

6. Deference to unelected power.

Decades of military rule created a culture in which politicians look to the establishment for support and citizens often see the army as the most trusted institution. (Reference: Gallup Pakistan, institutional trust surveys; Aqil Shah, The Army and Democracy, Harvard University Press, 2014.)

7. Low and unequal participation.

Voter turnout has ranged from about 35 percent (1997) to about 55 percent (2013), and women's turnout lags behind men's, although the gender gap has narrowed since the Elections Act 2017. (Reference: Election Commission of Pakistan, turnout data; Elections Act 2017, Section 9 on 10 percent minimum women's turnout.)

8. Distrust of institutions.

Many citizens distrust parliament, police, courts and political parties, seeing them as corrupt or ineffective, which weakens support for democratic processes. (Reference: Transparency International Pakistan, National Corruption Perception Survey 2023; Gallup Pakistan surveys.)

9. Street power and agitation.

Sit-ins, long marches and strikes are common tools for changing governments or policies, from the anti-Ayub movement of 1968-69 to the dharnas of 2014 and 2017. (Reference: Ian Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern History, Hurst, 2009; Supreme Court of Pakistan, Suo Motu Case No. 7 of 2017 (Faizabad dharna), judgment of 6 February 2019.)

10. Ethnic and provincial identities.

Pashtun, Baloch, Sindhi, Muhajir and Saraiki identities shape political loyalties, and regional parties represent these communities. (Reference: Mohammad Waseem, Politics and the State in Pakistan, NIHCR, 1994.)

11. A vibrant but polarised media.

Since private television was allowed in 2002, media has expanded political awareness but also deepened polarisation through partisan talk shows. (Reference: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002.)

12. Rising youth and digital activism.

A young population, smartphones and social media have created a more participatory culture, with young voters playing a major role in the 2018 and 2024 elections. (Reference: Election Commission of Pakistan, voter statistics by age, 2024; Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, broadband subscriber data.)

Way forward towards a democratic political culture

Pakistan can move towards a participant, tolerant political culture through civic education in schools, internal democracy in parties, empowered local government, an independent and responsible media, the rule of law that treats all citizens equally and, above all, uninterrupted democratic processes in which leaders learn to accept defeat and opponents learn to accept victory.

Conclusion

Quaid-i-Azam told the nation in his broadcast of February 1948 that Pakistan's constitution would be "of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam." A democratic constitution needs a democratic culture to sustain it. Pakistan's political culture today combines personality politics, biradari, patronage, religious mobilisation and confrontation with the energy of a young, connected and increasingly assertive citizenry. Nurturing tolerance, participation and trust in institutions will decide whether Pakistan's democracy remains fragile or matures into a stable participant culture.