“You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!” – Oliver Cromwell

Everyday, new challenges to democracy in Pakistan are being thrown up by the lack of political response from the democrats housing both sides of the divide inside the Parliament.

Unlike India, where the society and many political names have been very supportive of the campaign led by activist Anna Hazare, our opposition dithers from playing any positive role against corruption. We have a plethora of issues that have fallen to corruption including the IPPs, Haris Steel Mills, NICL, Bank of Punjab, Hajj Corruption, Pakistan Steel Mills and National Police Foundation but the parliament continues to look away. In all the above mentioned instances, the initiative had to come from the parliament and not the Supreme Court. The opposition is only interested in debating political issues closer to heart and not issues concerning the larger public. While the general populace is struggling to make two ends meet, the erstwhile politicians are debating the pros and cons of breaking up the existing provinces.

Time and again, our parliamentarians have given a lot of margin to the corrupt. Take for instance the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) led by leader of opposition Chaudhary  Nisar. The PAC has failed to take action against Additional Chief Secretary Fata, Fazl Karim Kundi who could not  satisfy the committee and the auditors regarding embezzlement of billions of rupees. Kundi’s conduct towards the public accounts committee was farcical and sarcastic and he went on to dare the auditors of not disclosing any details to them as he is “fighting a battle for the survival of Pakistan.” The committee chaired by Ms Yasmin Rehman couldn’t do much about the officer.

In Sindh, the government bypassed the Sindh Assembly while introducing the controversial dual system of the colonial commissionerate and local body system only as a bending backwards measure to keep MQM on its side and its cabinet intact. However the system was reversed to installing the Local Govenrment System across the province the very next day under pressure, sparking protests by Sindhi nationalists. Add to this mess the ethnic strife that mars Karachi. So far, the parties represented in the parliament have only discussed the issue for a little while in the Parliament to score points and have failed to mitigate the sufferings of the victims.

Meanwhile, the government’s expenditure is going unbridled and the finance teams have changed several times to allow for messing up the economy. This is the result of political leadership that is aimless and devoid of any economic vision. Amidst financial indiscipline, the government keeps borrowing more and more from the State Bank. The borrowing has already touched the trillion mark and in the last fiscal government borrowed  Rs 790 bn from the State Bank. The pressure to print currency prompted governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr Shahid Kardar to resign while refusing to allow printing more notes which will lead to more inflation. But the parliament remained mum. While there would be occasional lip service but largely the parliament has failed to play a decisive role unlike the US Congress which debated endlessly with the  US administration  for a “lesser” debt borrowing limit of the US government, triggering a global crisis.Then we have a defence committee of the parliament that has so far been unable to grill the ISI and the armed forces chiefs for the string of recent lapses. The opposition could not effectively counter the top defence officials for the ‘historic failing’. The defence committee is even unable to push for the early results of the Air Blue crash inquiry or to hasten the process of compensation for victims. Nor has it shown any concern over the pathetic services of the domestic airlines and more seriously the condition of the ageing PIA fleet which reportedly is flying beyond its acceptable age.

What we are witnessing is the lack of interest of the political parties, who are capable of mass mobilising, in public related issues. The opposition is not interested in solving the 18-hour long load shedding that has brought the industry and lives of the people to a grinding halt. The parliament at best has become a debating club, only to guard interests of the oligarchy and not of the minions. In short, this portrays the failure of the political leadership which could be perceived as the failure of the democratic system to deliver to the common man. To further add insult to injury was the entirely misplaced “expression of concern over the Karachi situation” by the corps commanders. They have no jurisdiction to interfere in civilian matters and refrain from expressing their opinions in public.

After all the hiccups of democracy that we are witnessing in Pakistan are the doings of generation of military tyrants who mutilated Pakistan. The present state of affairs calls for robust effort on part of the opposition and the government to improve governance and end petty politicking. Only democracy can resolve the problems of the people. Democracy has its ills but as Sir Winston Churchill, said: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”