TEN years ago today, Pakistan suffered a devastating loss. Arguably, the democratic order and the country itself have yet to fully recover from the demoralising setback. Benazir Bhutto was a much-loved and admired political figure, a Pakistani leader recognised and respected on the world stage. Her killing remains a profoundly shocking event, even for a country with a history of assassinations, executions and war. Undoubtedly, there are complicated aspects to Benazir’s legacy. The PPP’s two stints in power under her leadership were marred by financial scandal and a relatively poor governance record. But where there can be no doubt is her ironclad commitment to defending and advancing the democratic order in Pakistan. It was a mission of a lifetime and it is likely she would have been alive today had she not returned to Pakistan to force another dictator to transfer power to a civilian elected government. After her father’s democratic awakening of the masses, Benazir ranks at the very top of democratic leaders in modern Pakistani political history.

But Pakistan is struggling to match her democratic legacy. The transition to democracy, which Benazir, arguably, was the catalyst for, is nearly a decade old. Yet, the transition appears to be weaker today than it has been at nearly every stage over the past decade. A competitive and free and fair election next year could go some way to helping put the democratic transition back on track, but institutional imbalances and infighting among the political class may mire the democratic order in further difficulties. Indeed, the inability and perhaps unwillingness of the political class to protect democratic institutions against encroachment by other institutions remains a profound challenge. Enlightened self-interest and a collective recognition that durable political legitimacy can only be bestowed by the electorate could strengthen the democratic order, but interference by anti-democratic elements and the dominance of raw power politics is preventing a better outcome. Perhaps the 10th anniversary of her assassination could be a moment for political reflection.

If the wider political class has disappointed, the PPP has virtually betrayed Benazir’s democratic legacy. The electoral collapse of the PPP outside its base in Sindh, where there is little organised political opposition to the party, has been historic and is perhaps irreversible. As a result, there is no political party today that can credibly claim to have a significant presence across the provinces and regions and in both urban and rural Pakistan — a situation that has itself undermined the democratic order here. More dispiritingly, many of the PPP’s mistakes have been self-inflicted and the taunt sometimes aimed at the party that the current leadership has caused more harm than the military establishment rings uncomfortably true. Can the PPP regroup and reorganise? While it surely must, it is not clear it can. Benazir Bhutto remains much missed.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2017