ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairperson Asma Jehangir has called for a non-discriminatory framework of governance that could guarantee the respect for the rule of law and equal rights for all.

“We need to rethink what is democracy all about”, she said, while speaking at the launching ceremony of Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan’s book My political struggle here on Tuesday.

She said democracy was not synonymous with the electoral process but a system wherein the people rule in a fair environment with equal rights and opportunities. She advocated for putting in place an apparatus responsive to the needs of the people.

Ms Jehangir said there was a huge gap between “those living in the country and those enjoying the country”. She said those living in the country were in miserable condition, while those enjoying the country were in competition with each other. “We are at the crossroads and if we keep on faltering at this point of time, we would not be able to recover for a long time to come”, she remarked.

She said there was a need for collective efforts to steer the country out of the quagmire. Questioning the credentials of those inducted in the federal cabinet, she regretted that the political parties do not draw people of integrity.

The most fascinating part of the book authored by Asghar Khan is the description of his days in jail in 1977, PNA movement, negotiations with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for re-elections and imposition of martial law by Gen Ziaul Haq.

The book takes the readers to a tour into the country’s forgotten history, offering an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past.

Speaking at the ceremony, Air Marshal Asghar Khan said the book was an attempt to place on record the political developments at a very critical period in the country’s history. He said for the first two decades of Pakistan, from 1947 to 1968, there was little public participation in national affairs and traditional political families dominated national politics.

It was in 1968, he said, when a movement was launched against Gen Ayub Khan that culminated on the release of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and later Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He said after the 1970 elections, the denial to the former East Pakistan’s majority party the right to form the government led to a massive public movement there followed by military action.

“I opposed military action with little support in West Pakistan. Later, because of the policies of the government, I found myself in opposition to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government”, he said.Mr Khan said the PPP government in 1975 gave new a charter to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) requiring it to play a political role which, he added, has still not been changed.

He said 1977 elections were rigged ‘massively’ that triggered a strong mass movement under the PNA against the ZAB government.

The veteran politician said there was a demand for re-election under the supervision of both the PPP and PNA. After many days of negotiations, the prime minister appeared willing to concede to this demand but Ziaul Haq staged coup. “We could not take the risk of the elections being rigged again. We felt that if the elections were rigged once more, we will not be able to mobilise the people again for another elections as they had already suffered much and many had been killed,” he said.

About the notion that the PNA invited the martial law, he claimed that this was “completely untrue”. “The fact is that the type of so-called democracy we have had between 1972 and 1977 was something we did not want to live with again. It was tragic that we had to live with Ziaul Haq for another decade”, he remarked.