The evolution of democratic system has always remained a dilemma in Pakistan, even after passing more than seven decades of its existence the democracy could not get its roots. Discuss in detail.

Introduction

In a broadcast to the people of the United States in February 1948, Quaid-i-Azam said: "I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam." More than seventy-five years later, Pakistan has held many elections and adopted three constitutions, yet democracy remains fragile. Military rule, dismissed governments, disputed elections and weak parties have prevented it from taking root. The story of this dilemma can be traced through eight phases, and its causes lie deep in the colonial legacy, the structure of the state and the nature of society.

Overview

Pakistan inherited the Government of India Act 1935 as its interim constitution, which gave the Governor-General sweeping powers. The first Constituent Assembly took nine years to frame a constitution, and in that time a civil-military bureaucracy took control. Since then, power has shifted between elected governments and military rulers roughly every decade. Democracy has repeatedly returned, most notably in 1972, 1988 and 2008, but each time it has been weakened by interventions, confrontation and the dominance of unelected institutions.

The evolution of democracy in eight phases

1. 1947-58: parliamentary instability.

Seven prime ministers held office between 1947 and 1958. Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Khawaja Nazimuddin in 1953 and dissolved the Constituent Assembly in 1954; the 1956 Constitution lasted barely two years before Iskander Mirza abrogated it in October 1958. (Reference: Keith Callard, Pakistan: A Political Study, Allen and Unwin, 1957; Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, PLD 1955 FC 240.)

2. 1958-69: Ayub Khan and Basic Democracies.

Ayub replaced parliamentary democracy with Basic Democracies (1959), in which 80,000 indirectly elected members formed the electoral college for the president. The 1962 Constitution created a presidential system with a weak legislature. (Reference: Basic Democracies Order 1959; Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1962; Lawrence Ziring, The Ayub Khan Era, Syracuse University Press, 1971.)

3. 1969-71: Yahya Khan and the 1970 elections.

Yahya Khan held Pakistan's first general elections on adult franchise in December 1970, which were widely seen as fair. But the refusal to transfer power to the majority Awami League led to military action and the separation of East Pakistan in 1971. (Reference: Legal Framework Order 1970; Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report, declassified 2000.)

4. 1971-77: Bhutto and the 1973 Constitution.

Z. A. Bhutto's government gave the country its consensus 1973 Constitution, a parliamentary federal system. However, the dismissal of the Balochistan government in 1973, curbs on opposition and allegations of rigging in the 1977 elections led to the PNA movement and martial law. (Reference: Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973; Mubashir Hasan, The Mirage of Power, Oxford University Press, 2000.)

5. 1977-88: Zia-ul-Haq and the Eighth Amendment.

General Zia ruled through martial law, held non-party elections in 1985 and, through the Eighth Amendment, gave the president the power to dissolve the National Assembly under Article 58(2)(b). He dismissed his own prime minister, Muhammad Khan Junejo, in 1988. (Reference: Revival of the Constitution of 1973 Order 1985; Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act 1985.)

6. 1988-99: the decade of dismissals.

Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif each held office twice, but governments were dismissed under Article 58(2)(b) in 1990, 1993 and 1996, and in 1988 Junejo had been removed the same way. The decade ended with a coup in October 1999. (Reference: Muhammad Nawaz Sharif v. President of Pakistan, PLD 1993 SC 473; Benazir Bhutto v. President of Pakistan, PLD 1998 SC 388.)

7. 1999-2008: Musharraf's guided democracy.

General Musharraf held a referendum in 2002, revived Article 58(2)(b) through the Legal Framework Order and the 17th Amendment, and created a pro-government party. His removal of the Chief Justice in 2007 sparked the lawyers' movement, and he resigned in 2008. (Reference: Legal Framework Order 2002; Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act 2003.)

8. 2008 onwards: transitions and the 18th Amendment.

The 18th Amendment (2010) restored parliamentary supremacy, and in 2013 Pakistan saw its first transfer of power from one elected government to another after a full term. Yet prime ministers were removed by courts in 2012 and 2017 and by a no-confidence vote in 2022, and allegations of a "hybrid regime" persist. (Reference: Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act 2010; Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, PLD 2017 SC 692.)

Why democracy could not take root

1. The viceregal colonial legacy.

British rule in the areas that became Pakistan, especially the Punjab and the Frontier, relied on strong executive officers rather than elected bodies. Pakistan adopted the Government of India Act 1935, with its powerful Governor-General, and this viceregal tradition continued in the form of strong executives and weak legislatures. (Reference: Khalid bin Sayeed, Pakistan: The Formative Phase 1857-1948, Oxford University Press, 1968.)

2. A weak party in West Pakistan.

The Muslim League had its strongest base in Muslim-minority provinces that went to India, and in West Pakistan it depended on landlords. After the deaths of Jinnah and Liaquat, it split into factions and could not provide stable democratic leadership. (Reference: Ayesha Jalal, The State of Martial Law, Cambridge University Press, 1990.)

3. The overdeveloped state.

Hamza Alavi argued that the civil bureaucracy and military inherited from colonial rule were more powerful than the political classes in Pakistani society, allowing them to dominate the state. (Reference: Hamza Alavi, "The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh", New Left Review, No. 74, 1972.)

4. The security imperative.

Hostility with India from the first year, the Kashmir war of 1947-48 and fears for survival led to high defence spending and a dominant role for the army in decision-making, often at the cost of civilian institutions. (Reference: Ayesha Jalal, The State of Martial Law, 1990; Hasan Askari Rizvi, The Military and Politics in Pakistan, Sang-e-Meel, 2000.)

5. Cold War patronage of military rulers.

Pakistan's alliances with the United States through SEATO (1954) and CENTO (1955), the Afghan war of the 1980s and the war on terror after 2001 brought foreign support to Ayub, Zia and Musharraf, strengthening their rule. (Reference: Husain Haqqani, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, Carnegie Endowment, 2005; Dennis Kux, The United States and Pakistan 1947-2000: Disenchanted Allies, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2001.)

6. A society of kinship and patronage.

Biradari, tribal and feudal loyalties shape voting more than ideas, so elected representatives act as patrons rather than legislators. This produces democracy in form but not in substance. (Reference: Anatol Lieven, Pakistan: A Hard Country, Allen Lane, 2011.)

7. Failures of politicians themselves.

Politicians have often invited non-democratic forces against rivals, engaged in horse-trading, as in the Changa Manga episode of 1989, and used power for patronage and revenge, which allowed others to discredit democracy. (Reference: Charter of Democracy, 14 May 2006, which admits these mistakes; Ian Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern History, Hurst, 2009.)

8. Low literacy and weak civic culture.

With literacy around 60 percent and limited civic education, many citizens are unable to hold representatives accountable, while state institutions have not taught democratic values. (Reference: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey 2019-20.)

Way forward

1. Uninterrupted democratic continuity.

Every government should complete its term and leave through elections, so that democratic habits can grow. (Reference: Charter of Democracy, 2006.)

2. Civilian supremacy through institutions.

Security and foreign policy should be made in institutional forums under elected leadership. (Reference: Constitution of Pakistan, Articles 243 and 245; National Security Policy 2022-2026.)

3. Independent and credible elections.

A strong, impartial ECP and transparent result management would ensure that elections are accepted by all. (Reference: Constitution of Pakistan, Article 218; Elections Act 2017.)

4. Democratic and programme-based parties.

Internal elections and policy research would turn parties into institutions. (Reference: Elections Act 2017, Section 208.)

5. Empowered local government.

Local councils would train new leaders and deepen democracy at the grassroots. (Reference: Constitution of Pakistan, Article 140A.)

6. Judicial independence with restraint.

Courts should firmly reject extra-constitutional actions, as the Supreme Court did in the Sindh High Court Bar Association case (2009), while avoiding political overreach. (Reference: Sindh High Court Bar Association v. Federation of Pakistan, PLD 2009 SC 879.)

7. Education and civic awareness.

Universal education and civic education in schools would create citizens who value and defend democracy. (Reference: Constitution of Pakistan, Article 25A.)

8. Delivery and good governance.

Democracy takes root when people see it improving their lives through services, jobs and justice. (Reference: UNDP, Pakistan National Human Development Report 2017.)

Conclusion

Allama Iqbal warned in Zarb-e-Kaleem: "Jamhuriyat ik tarz-e-hukumat hai ke jis mein, bandon ko gina karte hain tola nahin karte" (Democracy is a form of government in which people are counted, not weighed). Pakistan's experience shows that counting votes alone is not enough; democracy needs institutions, parties, educated citizens and a culture of tolerance. Its roots were cut again and again by interventions, foreign patronage of dictators, the viceregal legacy and the failures of politicians. Yet each time democracy returned, it returned stronger, as the 1973 Constitution and the 18th Amendment show. With continuity, institutional reform and education, its roots can finally grow deep.