KARACHI: Moot calls for more autonomy to provinces
KARACHI, Aug 17: Speakers at a public dialogue here on Thursday maintained that democracy in the country could not be restored unless there was an end to the role of military and feudalism in politics, and unless provinces were given autonomy under the Pakistan Resolution.
The public dialogue on 'democratization of state and society' was organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation at it Vicky Zeitlin Media Library.
Dr Jaffar Ahmed, director of Karachi University’s Pakistan Studies Centre, in his keynote address on history of political developments in Pakistan, stated that the country had been ruled by the military for 32 years while there had been civilian rule only for 27 years, that also with dominance of invisible forces.
He said it was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who completed the five-year term as prime minister while all other premiers were removed undemocratically prior to the completion of their tenure.
Dr Jaffar contended that a political system with all its fundamentals was still non-existent in Pakistan even after 59 years of independence.
The state and the society here had always been an alien to each other.
Although, the conflicts among the state and society give way to democratization, it was not so in the case of Pakistan.
He said there had been a colonial system in the subcontinent introduced by the British rulers, which was replaced by neo-colonial system after independence.
According to him, the military rules the country as it had its own economic interests and the civil bureaucracy was its partner.
Dr Jaffar described the alliance with US and Western powers as one of the major factors that blocked the way of democracy in Pakistan, stating that democratic setup in Pakistan never suits the interests of US and other Western powers.
He insisted on removing imbalances among political institutions, redressing the political economy and above all emphasized on the need for the restructuring of the State.
Dr Rahimul Haq, senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, pleaded for forgetting the past and strengthening the existing 'democratic setup', which, he said, was in the greater interest of the country and the nation.
He said illiteracy, poverty and corruption were the biggest evils, which could not be eliminated overnight.
“The nation is divided in parties, tribes, sects. If we want to bring democracy, we should get rid of those systems that hinder democracy,” he stated.
He said those who were talking about military interventions, must recall that it were the politicians that invited the military to topple the political and civilian governments.
Sardar Rahim said there could not be a true democracy in the presence of military.
He said the military had always ambushed democracy, and exploited the name of Islam.
Sardar Rahim stated that Pervez Musharraf was openly asking the masses to vote for his men.
“Either he should ask his men to wear uniform or he himself should put off the uniform and lead the government party instead of befooling the nation,” he remarked.
He also spoke on charter of democracy, saying it outlines the future democratic setup for Pakistan.
Yousuf Masti Khan, secretary-general of the National Workers Party, called for an end to feudal system once for all, like India, and contended that the military in Pakistan was the biggest feudal force.
He also stressed on autonomy for the province as envisaged in the Pakistan Resolution as democracy could flourish here only after the federating units were strengthened.
“The democracy doesn’t mean having any elected government or a system of governance. It does mean an overall change in behaviours.
“We have to change our behaviours towards nations and their rights that constitute this federation.”
PPP leader Prof N D Khan stated that Pakistan was not an independent sovereign state where policies and programmes were dictated by other forces.
Iqbal Haider, secretary-general of Human Rights Commission Pakistan, also endorsed the demand for according autonomy to the provinces as per Pakistan Resolution, saying Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah always struggled for autonomy while the word 'autonomous units' was used in Pakistan Resolution for the federating units.
He said the military had no role in the creation of Pakistan and it were the masses who struggled for it.
Moreover, the religious parties and unionists had opposed the creation of Pakistan, but later usurped the power.
He added that it was military and centralism that dismembered Pakistan.
Iqbal Haider contended that dictatorship poses a threat to the very existence of the country even today and said the provinces would have to be granted autonomy to save the country.—PPI
