Reasons Why Democracy has not Delivered for the people?

Pakistan has had a fairly free and active democratic process, a much freer media and a free judiciary for the last 3 years. Still all we hear on media and the street is how democracy has once again failed to deliver for the people. The most critical evidence is the economic crisis in the country, with its various manifestations like inflation in food and fuel, unemployment, government debt, shortage of electricity and gas and so on.

 The supporters of democracy have always claimed that it will bring peace, freedom, economic development and all-around happiness for the ordinary people. They claim that every country which is 'rich and free' is a democracy. So why does the global evidence in support of democracy does not apply in case of Pakistan?

Let us start from the basics of economy. Economic development needs many factors to work in its favour. Pakistan has almost all of them, like a young workforce, reasonable English education, good internet and mobile network, generous foreign aid and a large customer base, but the vital factor still missing is peace.

Lack of peace is what blocks all attempts to develop the economy. Obviously, no investor in his right mind will fix his money in a place where his factory might be blown up any day and where he cannot safely visit his area of business. Corruption is not the basic cause of the failing Pakistan economy. India and china are riddled with corruption at all levels, yet they are maintaining record-breaking growth rates.

The next question is why democracy cannot establish peace. And now we are in difficult territory. The ruling coalition is firmly and openly anti-war. If Pakistan had been fortunate, the army would have fought and defeated the Taliban and other jihadis a long time ago. But of course we are not so fortunate. Pakistan army believes in jihad, liberation of Kashmir, strategic depth in Afghanistan and 'Fortress of Islam'. So army actually supports jihadis, only attacking those who get out of its control.

How can this disagreement between the world views of democratic government and the army be resolved? The court of final appeal is the people of Pakistan. If the people had all wanted peace, the army would be forced to establish peace. but years of indoctrination mean that a large chunk of population actually favours jihad (the fancy name for war). As long as the public is divided over jihad vs peace question, a democratic government simply cannot firmly move towards either. The result is the confused, mutually contradictory policies we are witnessing today.

The solution? I wish I knew. What we need is a more courageous democratic leadership than what Zardari can deliver. Nawaz Sharif is much more firm towards the army. The other requirement is the creation of confidence in the politicians that the next government will be made and removed only by the people, not by the 3 As (Allah, Army and America). Only then will they obey the people instead of the army. The last point is the need to end the recurrent dream of army generals to control Pakistan, Afghanistan and Indian Kashmir.

All these aims are being slowly achieved by the persistent pressure on army by the media (NLC corruption case), courts (missing people case) and politicians (Chaudhary Nisar and Babar Awan). But the tipping point can be the next general elections. If the parliament completes its term, an independent election commission can be established, attempts to create army-sponsored parties can be exposed (Imran Khan, MMA, united Muslim League minus Nawaz), and voting process is supervised by a free media and judiciary then the new democratic government will be significantly more powerful and confident than the present one. Those elections can show to everyone that army no longer controls the creation of governments in Pakistan.

Operation against Afghan Taliban and Kashmiri jihadis will only be undertaken by an army that has given up its political ambitions. All we can do is to keep up the pressure on the army, to ensure the current government completes its term and that 2013 elections are free from military influence. Then army will finish the civil war and the economy will take off.

Conclusion/ Prediction: Peace will be established after elections in 2013 followed by rapid economic progress. If you buy a plot today, it will be double in value by 2014 :)

P.S. Silence of the Lambs:

Am I revealing some remarkable new insight? Of course not. That peace is more fundamental than transparency for economic development is a well-established fact. But then why don't we hear our media cry about lack of peace in nearly the same way as it does about corruption? The answer is the key.

To condemn lack of peace in Pakistan is to criticise Army and ISI. That is of course taboo. Not only is ISI a 'clear and present danger' to every journalist, but many media men sincerely love military and hate democracy. To them army is the mujahid and democracy is the godless system. You will not even hear the word 'civil war' on the media. Talk about denial of reality. Compare it to criticism of corruption. This nicely focuses on the hated PPP government and the whole democratic system. It also lends support to call for Shariat and Taliban rule. The half-truth is much more attractive than the complete fact.

Gen Kayani's ambition to be king

24 Oct 2009: National Security Council meeting due to be held within the next 48 hours will consider Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani assuming the role of chief executive in order to supervise security with the presidency and government institutions continuing their activities in governing the country.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009102452440


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Saudi Gazette exclusive : Pakistan army may declare emergency

By Faheem Al-Hamid

JEDDAH – Pakistani military sources said Friday that the army was considering announcing a state of emergency in the country following the deterioration of the security situation as the military operation continues against the Taleban.
The sources said that a National Security Council meeting due to be held within the next 48 hours will consider Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani assuming the role of chief executive in order to supervise security with the presidency and government institutions continuing their activities in governing the country. According to the sources, the move has received preliminary acceptance from the Pakistani presidency, although a source at the Presidency denied knowledge of any such move being tabled for discussion.
The state of emergency would continue until the end of the operation, the sources said, which the military has scheduled to last eight weeks. An official army source told Okaz, however, a state of emergency announcement was “mere speculation”, and declined to provide further details.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s ambassador to Islamabad is to hold an emergency meeting Sunday to consider the status of Saudi schools and the embassy’s affiliated offices in the light of the current security situation in Pakistan. Ambassador Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer said that a decision would be taken on the resumption of classes at Saudi schools following a one-week suspension due to security concerns. The schools are currently due to reopen Monday.
Emergency evacuation plans are also in place, he added, for the 250 to 300 Saudi nationals in Pakistan. – Okaz/SG

No Famine, No War in Democracy

Congratulations to every one. the people have won their freedom in the heart of the arab world.

while following the egyptian revolution, i saw these remarkable claims:

1. famines do not occur in functioning democracies.  

! جمہوریت میں قحط نہیں پڑتا

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amartya_Sen

2. democracies never fight wars with each other.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_peace_theory

there is lot of direct evidence that famine has never occured in a democracy. no one has been able to find an exception since it was first claimed by nobel winner bengali amartiya sen.

democracies can be cruel and unfair. they attack other non-democratic countries. but even america has never attacked a democracy anywhere! and of course there are border clashes between democracies, e.g. pakistan and india, but never all out war.

democratic governments can be removed more easily by their people, so they will do everything to make sure that people do not die in large number due to war or famine.

Proof that Earth rotates around the Sun

Although it is now accepted wisdom, but some religious people who want to interpret religious books literally and some true sceptics ask for proof that sun is static, even though everyone can see it moving across the sky every day.
the actual proof is mathematical and needs explanation of astronomical observations.
the layman's proof is in the changing shapes of the moon.
the sun-centeric theory says that moon shines by the sun light reflected from its surface.since different sides of the moon are visible at different times, so the moon changes its shape in a monthly cycle.
but in earth-centric theory, the moon shape cannot be explained. if it shines by its own light, why only part of its surface shines? if it reflects sunlight, then it should change shape within a single night because the moon and sun must move around the earth every 24 hours.
so here is your simple proof that earth rotates around the sun, and the sun does not rotate around the earth.

Ghazwa tul Hind - a fairy tale

Maulana zaid hamid and maulvi haroon rasheed rehmatullah alaih have invented an attractive slogan of ghazwa i hind. there is no mention of this thing in any book except zaid hamid's website. all the hadith mentioned are from weak sources, not one is from sahai sitta (the 6 authentic hadis books) . ghazwa is a battle in which the prophet SAW himself participated, which is obviously not the case here. and if these hadis were true, why did no khalifa rashid try to launch this great ghazwa.
the telemullahs also claim that ghazwa i hind will mark the end of times. soon hazrat Esa AS will join to conquer Jerusalem etc. i have to agree that trying to attack a nuclear armed country will surely bring qiamat to pakistan and india.
and since the final ghazwa is imminent, should not pakistan first capture siachin, kargil, kashmir valley, waziristan, balochistan, east pakistan, etc.let us gaurd against this suicidal mania that these misguided jihadis are spreading. let us give schools, hospitals, roads, electricity and factories to the muslims of pakistan rather than asking them to sacrifice whatever little they have in the cause of war.

Three Versions of Islam

It is not a coincidence that jihadis are in deserts and mountains, sufis are in villages and democrats are in cities. there are 3 different versions of islam today.

The Tribal version
The Village version
The City version

The tribal version is based on the hard struggle for scarce water and grazing lands. It glorifies jihad, tough lifestyle and emphasises sectarian and tribal differences. it declares that a comfortable life makes you forget warfare and religion. supports strict justice (revenge) and tribal kings.
village islam is based on ensuring peace so people can make long term investment in farmlands. priority is to secure everyone's house, farms and animals. it emphasizes tolerance and love for all sects and religions, as in sufi poetry. peaceful home life is glorified. it encourages forgiveness instead of justice.
city islam is concerned with the rights of individual in a large and complex society while maintaining peace for better economic activity. everyone is alone in the struggle for jobs and business. sectarian and ethnic differences are ignored. parda is relaxed to allow women education and jobs. supports democracy and courts for protection of individuals.

There is a reason that the most ferocious jihadis are in arabian desert and afghan mountains. With the growth of cities during the last century in Muslim world, the city version became more powerful. But the Arab-Afghan tribal union will stop jihad only when the majority of their population adopts city life. This is happening rapidly in the Arab world but Afghans will take a long time to calm down. Only then will peace return to the Muslim world.

National interest of Pakistan

People of Pakistan are quite confused about the so-called national interest of Pakistan. there are only two real choices:
1. jihad and sacrifice
2. peace and prosperity
what most of our media thinkers desire is jihad for control over Kabul and Srinagar ( and new delhi, palestine, Chechnia, bosnia, sinkiang in china etc). at the same time they dont want to give any sacrifice of "jaan-o-maal".
i think it is time we stopped calling war by noble names like Jihad or freedom struggle. lets make peace and concentrate on the economic interests of Pakistan. war and development are mutually exclusive.