Time to reclaim Jinnah’s Pakistan

Time to reclaim Jinnah’s Pakistan

With earnest power of belief, the Quaid considered the parliamentary system of government to achieve all the objectives of the creation of Pakistan, namely to enforce the golden principles of Islamic social justice and democracy, given by the great lawgiver: the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). He selected a special nomenclature for such democracy: Muslim democracy that could be an appropriate mechanism to get a blend of Islamic law with modern democratic institutions, ensuring peace and prosperity for the people of Pakistan.


In order to eliminate any potential confusion about Muslim democracy, the Quaid strongly elaborated the concept, while addressing a Sibi Darbar on February 14, 1948: “I have had one underlying principle in mind, the principle of Muslim democracy. It is my belief that our salvation lies in following the golden rules of conduct set for us by our great lawgiver, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). Let us lay the foundation of our democracy on the basis of truly Islamic ideals and principles. Our Almighty has taught us that our decisions in the affairs of the state shall be guided by discussions and consultations.”


Thirdly, there would be no place for theocracy: self-claimed Godly guided people to run the affairs of the government. As a modern Muslim jurist and enlightened statesman, he differentiated Muslim democracy from British democracy and theocracy. He clarified the point in a broadcast talk to the people of Australia recorded on February 19, 1948: “The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake: Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it.”


Similarly, on another occasion, while addressing the people of the United States of America on February, 1948, he ruled out theocracy, outlining the future Constitution of Pakistan and expressly stated that it would be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principle of Islam.


Fourthly, the founder of the nation had been unabatedly reminding the framers of the constitution and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, that human rights, particularly minority and women rights, would be above all the fundamentals of the future constitution. Perhaps, he left no occasion to stress upon their significance.


We, the people of Pakistan, are lucky to achieve with consensus the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, very close to the vision of Quaid-i-Azam, which constitutes it as a republic, federal, parliamentary and Islamic state, guaranteeing fundamental rights. Although it has been repeatedly held in abeyance by military rulers, but it provides a political bondage among the various section of society in the country.


Now, after a long and hard struggle, the constitutional democracy is well in operation; Pakistan is blessed with an independent judiciary, along with a free and strong media. The judiciary, due to its constitutional limits, can only remedy illegal governance, while the media can highlight bad governance. Nevertheless, good governance is only possible by an active Parliament and an efficient Cabinet, elected through a free and fair voting system.


In a parliamentary system of government, it is hard to find a separation of powers between a legislature and an executive, like in Pakistan. For example, we have had several martial laws, besides a controlled democracy, first as a partner, like the Convention and Q Leagues and then as an acceptable political alternative, brokered by the foreign powers through NRO or similar legal protection.


Needless to say, democracy is never controlled by a non-democratic power; it is always self-controlled. Every control on a democracy produces compliant democracy, whereas every controller of a democracy has a conflict of interest with a democracy. Therefore, the controlled democracy in Pakistan always reversed back to the martial law. Every democracy does not provide a good government; however, it creates a peaceful opportunity to get a good government.


So now is the time, not to push the democratic government - even though brought through international manoeuvring and arm twisting - back to the military regime, but to strive for more democracy. When our independent judiciary and free media are in full swing, in accordance with the constitution, the salvation from our chronic crisis of democratic leadership lies in cutting down of the vicious circle between the incumbent brokered democratic government and the apprehensions following martial law. Our destiny is not far away, to reclaim Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan. It just needs a sustainable nudge of the civil society.


The writer is an assistant professor at the Law College, Punjab University
Email: Malikaman35@hotmail.com