January 22, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 21, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: With a dismal law and order situation, corrupt bureaucracy, lack of justice and blurred lines between military and civilian authorities, Pakistan’s democracy index stays at the bottom compared with other countries of the region including Bangladesh.

A latest report on index of democracy in 16 Asian countries has placed Pakistan at number 11, raising many questions about the fate of democracy amid a continuous military rule in this part of the world.

The study was conducted by Alliance for Reforms and Democracies in Asia (ARDA). Project Director, ARDA, Dr Paul D Scott, delivered the keynote speech while launching the Pakistan Democracy Index, a part of the full report on democracy index in 16 Asian countries, at a seminar here on Friday.

Pattan Development Organisation, which assisted ARDA in conducting the study on Pakistan, had organised the event. The organisation head, Dr Sarwar Bari, was also present on the occasion.

The overall law and order situation in Asia, the study observes, is not optimistic. However, in Pakistan it was dismal because only 15 per cent of the respondents believed that military, police and law-enforcement agencies were subject to civilian control. The remaining 85 per cent said they were above the law.

“The lines between military and civilian authorities are completely blurred,” the report says.

It has termed the selection criteria of the country’s civil services as rigorous and transparent. However, the people joined the civil services with the sole aim of becoming rich through corruption. Ironically, the people were poor when they entered the civil services but became rich when they left with no one in sight to hold them accountable.

In his speech, Dr Scott termed the Pakistan civil service a criteria for becoming a part of the elite club. Similarly, he said, people joined army through commission not only to become army chief but also to become the president of the country.

More than 71 per cent of the respondents believed that the government servants were not responsive to the needs of the people. The report also presented a number of recommendations for Pakistan to improve its democracy index.

According to the report skewed distribution of land sat at the core of the issue of skewed distribution of power, particularly in the country’s barnyards. Big landlords continue to dominate the people as well as political organisations, virtually blocking any effort to the vertical mobility of the masses in the social as well political organisations.

“Unless the fiefdoms are broken up, the landed elites will remain the major stumbling block in the way of merit-based democratic society,” the report observes.

It asks the state and political and civil societies to come together to evolve an electoral system that could establish public credibility and trust. At present, public distrust in the electoral exercise has only distanced the electorate from voting, an alienation reflected in the ever decreasing turnout.

“Unless elections are free, fair and impartial, with all political actors competing on a level playing field, the public will continue to belittle the elected governments as products of state engineering,” the report maintains.

It also asks for political reforms and says the way political parties are organised and function alienates the populace from political process. Lack of democracy in the political parties’ mostly controlled by a single persons had made the parties personal fiefdoms of the elites, capitalists or religious leaders.

It also seeks reforms in the military. Having emerged as the most powerful political, corporate and institutional actor of the country, the military has acquired the capability to influence the political processes in multiple ways.

“The immense powers of the military needed to be slashed through amendments to the Army Act. These amendments must also include a provision barring the army’s direct and indirect intervention in the country’s political affairs.