This was the crux of the debate by members of Pildat's Democracy Assessment Group and participants of a national workshop. Members of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency's (Pildat) Democracy Assessment Group were among speakers at the national workshop on the 'Assessment of Quality of Democracy in Pakistan, 2012' organised here on Thursday.
They were of the opinion that while processes that strengthened democracy had been effectively put into work, the ultimate performance of the democracy as it affects the people had not been satisfactory. The workshop was also attended by members of political parties, parliamentarians, youth, labour and the academia.
President's spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that one of the key parameters of measuring democracy was to assess whether or not the federation had weakened. On that scale, he argued, democracy had improved, as pillars of federation had strengthened over the time. Moreover, he reminded, there had been a massive shift of economic and political power at the lower level. He attributed the past political upheavals to what he termed as the "Manipulated Power Transfer" (MPT) and emphasised that due to this mere fact the system was not allowed to destabilise despite disqualification of one Prime Minister, which speaks of how strong democracy has evolved in the country.
He also brought to attention the positive role of Parliamentary Committees including the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Productions and National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, which have been at the forefront of suggesting recommendations to the Parliament and Executive. PML-N's secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra asserted that the "worst form of democracy is better than the best form of autocracy" - a view which was repeatedly endorsed by participants of the workshop.
He lamented that people are frustrated but this will hopefully be washed away with continuity of the democratic process. MQM's Haider Abbas Rizvi said that it needs to be appreciated that the democratic process was not derailed in the current setup. He said that he would award the Parliament a total of 6.5 out of 10 marks. He also reminded the judiciary is presently powerful in the country.
Political analyst Dr Hasan Askari said that while continuity of the system for five years, among other processes, that strengthen democracy needs to be appreciated, the issue of social fragmentation in the country needs to be taken into account. He also underlined that the Supreme Court's assertive role has both positive and negative impact on democracy. He recommended that the "system should not be distorted, rather it should be supported."
Former Governor Punjab Shahid Hamid said that good governance is the most vital thing in assessing democracy. He agreed that whereas the implementation of SC's judgement enhances the institution's moral authority, it is hoped that it doesn't erode the Court's assertive role.
Highlighting the role of media, Ghazi Salahuddin said that one of the key trends in the country is the rise of social media or what is termed as citizen journalism. He reminded that media's freedom needs to be ensured in Pakistan, which has become a dangerous place for journalists.
Dr Huma Baqai said that "politics of consensus has become politics of compromise." She appreciated that it is good that the Pakistan's democracy is moving beyond the "2-and-a-half-year hitch", but reminded though that problems are still solved on the streets instead of the assemblies. Sharing the role of political parties in strengthening democracy, National Party Pakistan's leader Mir Hasil Bizenjo said that political parties have played a key role in establishing democratic setup, reminding that in the past "thousands of political workers were lashed" to ensure installation of a democratic setup.
Chairman NADRA Tariq Malik appreciated role of parliamentarians for agreeing to use NADRA database for drawing voters list, reminding that so far 84 million voters have been registered. Participating in the discussion, ANP's Arif Azhar said that it was due to political parties that military was being taken out of power. JI's Ameer ul Azeem lamented that democracy is taken as a business in the country, urging that performance needs to be improved. PML-Q Shabnam Rukhsana said that the worsening law and order situation, inflation, lack of power supply, and foreign policy are all issues which negatively affected democracy in the country.
PTI Malaika Raza recalled that parties in Pakistan are mostly hereditary-based or draw their vote on ethnic lines. This, she said, needs to be shunned. Earlier, Pildat's President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob stated that democracy can be looked at from two aspects: processes and performances. While process refers to the institutions and rules that make the system work, the performance refers to the output of the processes in the country, he added.
Enlisting the positive trends impacting quality of democracy during 2012, he said that the uninterrupted Parliamentary process, smooth transfer of power from one PM to other, resolution of NRO implementation case, legislation for neutral caretaker governments, timely conduct of the Senate election, greater role of Parliament in national security and foreign policy decisions, internal elections in PTI among other issues needs to be appreciated. He lamented that the assessment of democracy on the performance front has been poor. He shared that the Parliament failed to pass a comprehensive Anti-Terrorism Law and effective law for the Accountability of public officials.
He also recalled that the Chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee has been returned to the ruling party and that the President continues to hold the co-chairmanship of his political party and hosts party activities within the Presidency. Moreover, the rise of sectarian violence, insurgency in Balochistan and targeted killings in Karachi, poor performance of the economy, corruption and weak rule of law continue to undermine democratic setup, he added.