KARACHI: ‘Is democracy necessary for Pakistan?’ This was the question as well as the topic of discussion for the politicians at a seminar organised by the Karachi Press Club (KPC) here on Saturday.

“All grievances with each other, with the parties and the government may be because democracy never really was allowed to take root in this country,” said Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani.

“We have been in need of a proper rule of law all along. The Quaid-i-Azam got us Pakistan after realising the need of the Muslim nation. So it was listening to the people. So democracy did exist in our roots but it was not allowed to spread,” he said.

“The essence of Pakistan has been democracy. But military governments brought in the problems,” he said.

“Dictatorship increased polarisation between the people and the provinces. Pakistan has diverse people who speak many languages. And they can function freely and prosper only though democracy,” he said.

“Also, the counter-narrative to terrorism will also develop through democracy, not the military,” he said.

“People who question are respected in a democracy,” he said.

“US President Donald Trump’s statement can also be faced with democracy. He wants Modi to be a policeman. But we can’t be a stooge of his stooge. And we can sit together in our parliaments to face those who question our actions. Therefore, democracy is what will save us in the end.”

Nisar Ahmed Khuhro of the Pakistan Peoples Party said that the topic of discussion that whether democracy was necessary was absurd because Pakistan was made for the people and it was the people who made a country. “Don’t we know after 70 years, in which we tolerated four dictatorships, which kind of rule is necessary?” he said.

Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, president of the National Party, said that Pakistanis had been questioning democracy for long. “But you should know that democracy was not handed to us on a platter. It required much struggle,” he said. “The presidential form of government is not right,” he added.

“People say politicians today become yes men for the army. But a real politician would rather go to jail, and they have done it to uphold democracy,” he said.

“All the intolerance, extremism, corruption and unrest you see today are gifts of Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship. As for democracy, it is a tried and tested way, which the world believes in. So we should look into ways of strengthening our parliaments, and thus democracy.”

Dr Farooq Sattar of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan said that he was again reading in the papers that Pakistan was at a crossroads. “But we are all going though the same circumstances whatever party we may belong to,” he said.

“Of course, democracy is necessary for Pakistan. We all agree. But the problem lies in our different attitudes,” he said. “Learn to differentiate between kinds of democracies such as participatory democracy, inclusive democracy, functional democracy, etc,” he added.

“The MQM was the only party to tell former president Zardari and his PM Gilani to have foresight about what can happen in the future due to their actions then. But after being part of a democratic government they were suffering from the ostrich syndrome. What else can one say when you forget about the issues of the people after being voted into power by them,” he said. “There should not be pick and choose when solving people’s issues. Selective approach is no solution.”

Afaq Ahmed of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi said that democracy and dictatorship seemed to be at each other’s throats all the time. “But this country has lost too much at the hands of dictatorship. No matter how bad the situation during a democratic rule, it has never been as bad as what this country has suffered in a dictatorship,” he said.

Ali Zaidi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf said democracy could survive through the rule of law. “But here all our politicians have themselves become lawbreakers. They start believing they are above the law, superseding the Constitution,” he said.

Anis Advocate of the Pak Sarzameen Party said that politicians liked to talk big here when they were out of power but when it came to working when they were in power, every finger pointed at [them] was seen by them as something that was done to ‘derail democracy’. “Sweet talk in television shows is not democracy,” he said.

Naeem Qureshi, president of the Karachi Bar Association, said that the people of Pakistan were still fighting for their rights as the wadera, the chaudhry, the sardar, the khan etc were the real rulers even after over 70 years of independence.

Syed Ghulam Shah of the Sindh United Party lamented the British rulers’ separating Sindh and Hind even before Partition by making the former a province as they believed in divide and rule.

Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said that democracy could never flourish in Pakistan and “we have always been a victim of chaos, witnessing one crisis after another because the establishment — be it the military or executive establishment or the judiciary — has always wanted it that way. But we all should know that dictatorship is unacceptable. And democracy is the way forward.”

Earlier, KPC secretary Maqbool Yousufi welcomed all and said the KPC had always believed in democracy and the democratic process.

KPC president Siraj Ahmed, Anil Ahmed, Ayaz Latif Palijo of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek, Sardar Abdur Rahim of the Muslim League-Functional, Babu Sarfaraz Khan Jatoi of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Asadullah Bhutto of the Jamaat-i-Islami also spoke.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017