The dire state of Pakistan's democracy

In what has been a dramatic year for Pakistan’s politics, the country now finds itself in the tight grasp of military control that continues to be aided and abetted by earlier victims of the same brutal establishment.

While political and economic stability has been in question for some time now, ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in May and the ensuing deadly protests have led to exaggerated efforts by the state to reinforce its control and narrative.

The current regime, thinly veiled as a democratic government, has completely bent to the establishment’s whims. Since Khan’s ousting in a vote of no confidence in April 2022, efforts to ban his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the most popular in Pakistan, have escalated. 

The regime has pushed a carefully crafted narrative that paints PTI as a terrorist group responsible for what is being called the ‘darkest day in Pakistan’s history’.

"The current regime, thinly veiled as a democratic government, has completely bent to the establishment’s whims"

Amidst the illegal abductions, mass arrests, and other intimidation tactics, political commentators are forced to make comparisons about today's situation with the dystopian dictatorship of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

Ironically, these comparisons are meant to ‘put things in perspective’ but one might argue that equating the current democratic leadership with a military dictator paints a dire picture of the state of Pakistan’s democracy.

Intelligence agencies continue to use tried and tested methods to quash criticism, which has resulted in a huge number of party members resigning. Historically, such tactics have succeeded in dismantling support for political parties that have stood against the state, but it seems like Khan’s message has resonated deeply with his support base.

Now, the military finds itself completely alienated after grossly miscalculating the consequences of using brute force against those who have commonly stood in support of it despite everything.

Seizing power in a bloodless coup, his admirers credit his liberalising agenda, while his detractors accuse him of 'selling off' the country to the US. @ashrafzeneca and @AliAbbasAhmadi2 examine General Pervez Musharraf's legacy in Pakistan https://t.co/1yxT4Yfq7k

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All of this is happening against the backdrop of delayed provincial elections, which were due on 14th May but were postponed indefinitely under the guise of lack of funds.

Earlier this year, PTI representatives resigned en masse in a bid to force elections, but the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) failed to adhere to the same constitution that they invoked to push Khan out in April 2022.

On top of that, we are halfway through an election year with no confirmation as to when the general election, scheduled for October, will take place.

The obvious answer to this flagrant mismanagement lies in what becomes of the PTI — the powers that be will not allow Khan to compete after he has openly condemned them, and hence the attempts to disqualify him have become more extreme.

Just last week the national assembly decided to approve the heinous decision to try civilians that protested Khan’s arrest in military courts for ‘terrorist’ activities, setting a very dangerous precedent.

Ironically, both majority parties in the PDM coalition sustained their following through their anti-establishment narrative and spent the duration of their time in opposition referring to Imran Khan as the ‘selected’ prime minister.

Bringing these status-quo politicians back into the fold is a mix of desperation and strategy for the army; Imran Khan may have been an experiment gone haywire, but this mix of politicians has enough skeletons in their closets to give the generals complete control.

This was the fear many had at the time of the Vote of No Confidence in April last year. While liberal democrats, opinion makers, and journalists all rallied behind PDM and celebrated constitutional supremacy, to anyone with perspective the future looked quite bleak.

The Sharifs and Bhuttos came with a long sordid history of governance, and to overlook that was either naivety or a calculated move to reinstate the status quo that has always proved profitable for the few.

"Imran Khan may have been an experiment gone haywire, but this mix of politicians has enough skeletons in their closets to give the generals complete control"

After arresting and forcing PTI members to make public apologies and resign from the party, a new absolute sham of a political party was unveiled, consisting of a majority of those same politicians.

To add to the mockery of the democratic system, the Istehkam e Pakistan party is funded and led by Jahangir Tareen, a landed elite who was earlier disqualified from politics due to corruption.

If PTI is indeed banned on baseless terrorism accusations, then what remains in the elections is the 13-party coalition PDM, some Islamist right-wing groups, and what can only be termed as an establishment party.

According to the latest polls, 70% of the population favours PTI, and if the option is removed altogether this vote bank is likely to be completely disenfranchised from the political process.

Not only can we expect a minimal turnout, but the establishment will once again succeed in removing any threat to their involvement in the country’s internal matters and absolving themselves of the atrocities they are responsible for.

The clock is ticking. Elections are yet to be announced, and human rights violations continue to peak every day. From rights activists like Jibran Nasir to supreme court advocates like Uzair Bandhari, no one is safe from illegal abductions and forced disappearances.

Politicians are threatened with everything from illegally obtained private videos to businesses being shut down. PTI supporters are still imprisoned on baseless charges with court dates postponed consistently while the police work overtime to find charges that might stick. At least 100 civilians are due to face trials in military courts after PDM eagerly signed off on it.

Throughout this ordeal, the citizens have suffered the worst and found no relief from any of those responsible for this chaos. The political conflict feeds into the economic struggle and vice versa, and progress on either front is unlikely if law and order remain nothing more than buzzwords invoked in political speeches.

Ifra Javed is a London School of Economics graduate, currently working as a researcher and lecturer at the Lahore School of Economics.

Follow her on Twitter: @Ifra_J

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff, or the author's employer.