The ongoing battle between the opposition and the PTI government has brought to the surface the worst of the prevailing political culture. It illustrates patterns of behavior that should have little to do with the norms and values relevant to a democratic polity.
Democracy, which derives from the Greek word ‘demos’ or people, is defined, basically, as the government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. The contemporary political scene of Pakistan symbolizes a much deeper crisis of democracy.
In Pakistan’s democracy, people become representatives so that they can make money through investment. Modern-day democracy means a government that is ruled by rich for the rich and has rich representatives. It is not possible for a poor, educated and middle-class man to get representation in any assembly.
So why is democracy in Pakistan absent or weak? The biggest problem is the people (rich) who become representatives in the government want to double their investment, because of which neither the country nor the people progress.
The real reason for the failure of Imran Khan’s government is that most of the representatives in his government are from the opposition parties, who are old players in the business of politics and use these platforms to their advantage.
The members of Imran Khan’s government also won the election with the help of some capitalists. Imran Khan’s intentions were not fulfilled, because when the government was formed, different ministries were distributed to different people under duress, which they were not entitled to.
The success of ministries depends on prudent policies that also benefit the people. But unfortunately, rich people from different walks of life used these ministries to their advantage and enacted laws that enabled them to succeed in their businesses. In this way, the pressure on the government kept rising and the economy kept sinking.
These businessmen grew richer and richer, but in their relevant institutions, they neither increased the wages of their workers nor contributed to the country’s economy. The purpose of these gentlemen was to maintain their feudalism and monopoly. In this regard, they weakened the government institutions, so that they could continue their monopoly.
The simple formula for curbing rising inflation, which they are blaming on the government and the common people are believing in, is to open government industries against mafia’s businesses. This will create a competitive environment and no businessmen will be able to create artificial barriers to hoarding or supply.
Even education and hospitalization have also become expensive, which a normal person cannot afford it. Meanwhile, the government has also raised the electricity tariff. Private IPPs have also made their feudalism. K-Electric is a living example of this. When the KE was controlled by the government, electricity bills were at the lowest level in the history of Pakistan.
Even today, the government wants to sell every industry or institution it has, but is forgetting that the private sector will do more blackmail and set its own arbitrary prices, which will be a problem for the economy. Unless the government focuses on a mixed economy, that is, a combination of private and government institutions, Pakistan’s future cannot be bright.
