ISLAMABAD, May 29: The Charter of Democracy if implemented with sincerity could not only revive democracy in Pakistan but could also strengthen institutions and enable the masses to get socio-economic justice. This was the near consensus point of a seminar on “Charter of Democracy” organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Monday.

Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, an intellectual, however, said charters and constitutions did not create polity, on the contrary it was polity that fashioned constitutions and charters. He said there was no democratic process in Pakistan, a country still in the grip of feudals, and hence the charter could not bring any change though it was a welcome step.

“In Pakistan the process of bourgeoisfication is very slow. It has not grown in the real sense. There are long intermissions, ups and downs and cultural hurdles. As it is generally understood that remnants of feudal culture, religious fundamentalist in civil and military bureaucracy are considered to be the main hurdles”.

People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Senator Mian Raza Rabbani did not attend the seminar in protest against the decision of the organisers to invite former MNA Ahmed Raza Kasuri for the discussion.

It may be recalled that Ahmed Raza Kasuri was the complainant in the murder case against late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party senator Raza Mohammad Raza lauded the role of PPP and PML-N leadership for developing a consensus on the charter. The charter is clearly a one-point agenda aimed at bringing a permanent end to military interventions in politics by developing a consensus on basic principles of democracy, he said.

The charter promises establishment of a true federal parliamentary democratic system which was the long standing demand of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) and the provinces. He said PONM had raised most of the points in its charter in October 1998, a year before Musharraf’s coup. He said frequent military interventions in politics had ruined all the institutions and destroyed the political process and institutions in Pakistan.

In reply to the claim of Ahmed Raza Kasuri that Pakistan possessed the most disciplined army in the world, Mr Raza said: “What do you mean by discipline? Our military has left its own job (protecting borders) and started dealing in property, milk, poultry, agriculture and making and breaking political parties and changing loyalties. Those who are justifying military rules in the 21st century must feel ashamed of it”.

Mr Raza said Pakistan was a failed state by all definitions.