The perpetual violation of laws, cronyism, nepotism, abuse of public money, and promotion of corrupt practices by our rulers defy all norms of constitutional democracy. These undesirable practices are not confined to any particular political party in power. In theory, Pakistan is a constitutional democracy but in practice, it is an embodiment of kleptocracy. Our history of dictatorial military and autocratic civilian rules, coupled with corruption and bad governance, has crippled the state during the last seven decades. Favouritism and authoritarianism prevail in our political culture and governance. If Nawaz Sharif acts like a king, the attitude of other heads of parties is no different. Individuals dominate parties, money power controls them and heads impose their opinions/desires on all members. Although they do not get popular vote, the influence of religious parties is destructively significant. They exploit people in the name of religion, though their main agenda always remains self-aggrandizement.
On March 26, 2017, a TV channel showed footage of landing of helicopter of Pervez Khattak, Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at Abbottabad cricket ground that was got vacated when the players from seven districts came for trials for under-13 team. The trials of under-13 cricket were in progress when district administration, along with a heavy contingent of police, entered the ground and pushed the players out. Pervez Khattak came for attending funeral of mother of Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, his adviser on information and higher education. The players and their parents protested over being pushed out of the ground. The parents of players said that "rulers have no right to play with children's future". According to the administration, due to security reasons, the CM's helicopter landed at the cricket stadium as the venue of funeral prayers was close by. Ameer Maqam of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), held a press conference on the same day, and strongly criticised the Chief Minister for what he called using "helicopter as a taxi". Later, Pervez Khattak apologized for inconvenience caused to public, players and their parents. But the real question remains unanswered: Is it justifiable to use public funds in this manner by public officeholders?
According to a press report, Pervez Khattak during the fiscal year 2015-16 burnt fuel of Rs 15 million on helicopter and other modes of transportation. He also spent Rs 40 million on buying gifts for dignitaries and guests during the fiscal year 2014-15, overtaking the Governor of KP, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan, who spent Rs 14 million under this head. The total allocation for CM House of KP was Rs 264 million, while an additional Rs 60 million was spent.
The report further claims: "CM Secretariat employs as many as 313 people, out of which 71 are high-ranking officials. The soaring expenditures were largely dominated by salaries of the aforementioned. Furthermore, the 313 employees are paid with at least 35 different types of allowances. This is in addition to the secretariat allowance, presidential allowance and the honouree allowance are overburdening the national exchequer". The position of self-styled Khadim-e-Aala of Punjab is even worse. According to the budget 2015-16, CM Secretariat, Lahore, was allocated Rs 344.2 million. These were later revised to Rs 572.5 million, additional funds of Rs 228.3 million, a 66 percent hike!
According to Andleeb Abbas, a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, it was unlawful spending as "taxpayers' money was overspent and for supplementary budget no approval was obtained from the assembly". In her letter to Principal Secretary of Chief Minister Secretariat, she, in the capacity of a citizen and taxpayer of Pakistan, asked under the Article 19A of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, to provide information of total amount spent on CM Secretariat and all the camp offices. It was reported to her that "two private residences of Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, were converted into camp offices due to the "security situation". The budget for these facilities in the current year is Rs 572.5 million. According to Deputy Secretary (Welfare) Services & General Administration Department, Punjab Information Commission, 96-H, Model Town, Lahore, is the private residence of the CM and it was declared a camp office as a result of Shahbaz's restricted movement due to the security situation. "No expenditure on utility bills, maintenance/upkeep of the building is incurred out of the public exchequer," he claimed. He added that House 180-H, Model Town was also turned into the CM's camp office for security reasons.
The official said that "any residence of CM can be declared a camp office for official meetings to facilitate work and no approval is required from the provincial assembly". He added an administrative decision was duly covered under section 8 of the Punjab Minister (Salaries, Allowance and Privileges) Act 1975. However, the official refused to reply to a question over security and maintenance expenses of the Jati Umra residences of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said the matter was not related to the CM office. He admitted that there was an increase of 27% in the current budget of the camp offices compared to last year. The previous budget was Rs 450 million and the increase for the current one was due to a rise in taxes, inflation and revision of pay scales.
The position in Sindh and Balochistan is no different. There are colossal increases in the allocations to houses, secretariats, etc, of CMs and Governors. Despite tall claims to reduce expenditures, the spending of the Sindh Governor House and Chief Minister Secretariat/House showed overspending against the budgetary allocations in 2015-16. There was no inclination of curtailing the non-development expenditures of the CM House and spending by ministers to fulfil the promised austerity measures. The government of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) increased the budget for the Chief Minister Secretariat/House to Rs 445 million from Rs 367.8 million in 2014-15. The CM House spent Rs 420 million in excess of revised budgetary allocations of Rs 310.6 million in 2013-14. The budget for the Chief Minister's helicopter flights increased to Rs 77.6 million which was Rs 35 million more than earlier year's allocation of Rs 42.3 million.
It is also worth mentioning that contrary to general perception that Punjab has made better progress than Sindh due to more money available for development, the reality is quite different: Sindh's development budget for 2016-17 is around Rs 865 billion, while for Punjab, total allocation is Rs 550 billion.
Balochistan is the most backward and poverty-ridden province, but astonishingly the allocation for Governor's Secretariat for 2016-17 is Rs 54.3 million against Rs 51.2 million for 2015-16 (original allocation was Rs 49 million). It does not include salary of Governor which is separately charged at Rs 5.2 million. In documents made available at the official website, the government of Balochistan did not show details of expenditure of CM house and secretariat but allocation for general administration is Rs 496.7 million against the last year's expense of Rs 416 million.
The members of National Assembly, provincial assemblies and Senate never discuss in their respective houses the terrible state of governance and ruthless abuse of public funds. They are collectively responsible for the mess in this country. From these members what else can one expect, is the typical cynical response of an average Pakistani when looking for solution of problems of the people. The elected members think their rights have priority over those of citizens. After being elected, they give a damn to the rights of people and treat them as mere "subjects". As protectors of ruling elites-militro-judicial-civil complex, businessmen-turned-politicians and absentee landlords-they are the main beneficiaries of the existing system. They want to preserve and defend the exploitative system that perpetuates the plight of the poor (State & elites, Business Recorder, July 18, 2014).
Due to the existence of an exploitative system and a lack of constitutionalism, Pakistan remains a battleground of various vested interests and members of ruling elites. The only silver lining is judicial activism since 2009. Some decisions of higher courts have been perceived as a "threat" by our so-called "democratic" rulers. In the past, many orders of higher judiciary were openly defied by men in power. One premier refused to implement the following instructions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan given in Dr Mobashir Hassan and others v Federation of Pakistan (2010 PLD Supreme Court 265 [commonly known as NRO case]:
"Since the NRO, 2007 stands declared void ab initio, therefore, any actions taken or suffered under the said law are also non est in law and since the communications addressed by Malik Muhammad Qayyum to various foreign fora/authorities/courts withdrawing the requests, earlier made by the Government of Pakistan for mutual legal assistance; surrendering the status of civil party; abandoning the claims to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries, including Switzerland, have also been declared by us to be unauthorized and illegal communications and consequently of no legal effect therefore, it is declared that the initial requests for mutual legal assistance; securing the status of civil party and the claims lodged to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland are declared never to have been withdrawn. Therefore the federal government and other concerned authorities are ordered to take immediate steps to seek revival of the said requests, claims and status."
The same position, many apprehend, may emerge after the announcement of decision in the Panama case if decision comes against the incumbent Prime Minister. Many suggest that he should learn from the conviction of Yousuf Raza Gilani, the unanimously-elected Prime Minister. By committing contempt of court, he not only lost his post but suffered disqualification the term of which ended recently. When he was convicted for not implementing the above order, the occasion was celebrated by the present Prime Minister, elected for the highest executive post for the third time. He was then seeking support of all political parties in Parliament to stand for "democracy"! Now his brand of "democracy" is also exposed, it is nothing but kleptocracy and worst form of cronyism and authoritarianism!
Since the bizarre episode of March 9, 2007, when second martial law was imposed by General Pervez Musharraf (retd), and subsequent civilian rules, there still lurks a continuous tug of war between democracy and kleptocracy and cronyism and constitutionalism in Pakistan. Ruling elites and their cronies want a free hand to plunder wealth of the nation, subjugate their own people, deny them human rights and ensure that there is no room for radical reforms in society to empower have-nots. The process of change is a threat for ruling elites. They thrive on state resources, ruthlessly exploit the working classes and loot the wealth of nation with impunity. Billions looted by them are lying outside and any government representing the masses, coming into power, could take them to task for their crimes.
Advocates of rule of law rightly argue that dispensation of justice for all, especially the deprived and less-privileged, is not possible unless prevalent elitist structures are dismantled and the entire justice system is overhauled. Democracy is the best system if it ensures equal opportunities and justice to all as well as checks arbitrary actions of any organ of state. Devolution of fiscal and administrative powers, justice at doorstep, and self-governance at grass root level, as envisaged in Article 140A of the Constitution, alone can establish an equitable socio-economic order, which is sine qua non of constitutional democracy. Pakistan has one of the worst court systems in the world where the common man cannot afford to seek justice and the rich and mighty get away with everything. There is a valid objection by many that why the apex court did not take any suo motu action when state functionaries committed unprecedented and unthinkable brutality in Lahore on June 17, 2014 (commonly known as Model Town Massacre).
The defenders of sick and exploitative system should reconsider their policies. They must remember that money power cannot last forever. Their deeds and performance are self-defeating in the long-term. Those in power and those who protest against them must realise that at the heart of the concept of constitutional democracy is the assurance for citizens that their inalienable rights are going to be respected and nobody is exempt from rule of law and accountability. Positive change cannot be brought by mere sloganeering. Democracy also cannot be established through electioneering alone. The existence of an effective legal system is essential for ensuring enforcement of rights of the people, and check the arbitrary actions of governments.
The rule of law is the principle that no one is exempt from the law, even those who are in a position of power. The rule of law can serve as a safeguard against tyranny, because fair, just, and impartial laws ensure that rulers do not become corrupt or despotic. Establishment of a welfare state is a cherished goal, and all political parties must realise that no positive change can be achieved through force and violent means or by resorting to rhetoric.
It is true that the rich and mighty in Pakistan undermine democracy, constitution and state institutions with money power. However, it does not justify use of force to capture power. To bring a positive change in the system is the collective responsibility of society. Reforms are necessary to dismantle exploitative structures as in a true democratic set-up the electoral process ensures dominance of the people over those who hold political offices. Military rule is no answer to our problems either.
Rulers betray voters when they deprive citizens of their fundamental rights. In Pakistan, the vast majority has no access to health, education and dispensation of justice. The situation is lamentable but use of violent means to change it all is also unjustifiable. The remedy for masses is to resist all kinds of undemocratic actions and wage a struggle for representative and participatory democracy in which all the state organs discharge their functions within strict parameters and powers laid down in the supreme law of the land.
Implementation of Article 3 and 140A of the Constitution is a prerequisite for a sustainable democracy that ensures exploitation-free structures and a responsible 3-tier government ensuring protection of rights of the people guaranteed under the supreme law of the land. Legislature is sovereign but the constitution is supreme. Legislators exercise delegated powers given by the people within the framework of the constitution. We need a Pakistan where will of the people prevails. Prevalent system protects only the rights of elites. In order to establish representative democracy, pro-people forces should unite all exploited classes and their sympathisers for strict compliance of rule of law and enforcement of fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution, democratically and not through violence and use of unlawful means.
(The writers, lawyers, partners of law firm, HUZAIMA, IKRAM & IJAZ, are Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences)