DEMOCRACY is said to be the best form of governance among the several systems tried over the course of history. The democratic system stands on four pillars, namely parliament, executive, judiciary and media, and these pivots need to function within their prescribed domains.

Personal liberty and citizenship rights, such as the right to education, healthcare, safety of life, property and livelihood, and wealth-creation are among the key features of democracy.

Parliament is supposed to address communal and individual issues and strive for socio-economic development. The judiciary is obligated to provide justice to the people irrespective of caste, creed, colour and status. It is also responsible for interpretation of laws passed by parliament and strike down whatever is against the Constitution. The media’s role is to expose injustices, corruption, bad governance and poor performances of institutions.

It is unfortunate that democracy in Pakistan is not working smoothly and our parliamentarians are to blame. Political parties waste their energies on leg-pulling and degrading each other for the socio-economic ills the country is facing, but offer no tangible solutions.

It is time our politicians started to follow the practices essential for good governance and parliamentary democracy. Indulging in blame-games and humiliating each other presents a bad image to the world besides inculcating negativity in the next generation. For democracy to thrive, our lawmakers need to mend their ways. And the sooner they do this, the better it will be for the country and its citizens.

Karim Muhammad Khan
Gilgit-Baltistan

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2020