Should the current system in Pakistan continue?

Chitral — A debate whether the current system of government should continue or should it be replaced with a more practical and efficient system, has again cropped up in the electronic and print media. Vast majority of the highly educated class want jamhooriatthe system of government in vogue to be replaced with a presidential form of government which is practiced in 85 percent of democratic countries. Some want to do away with democracy altogether and introduce Islamic Khilafat system, while few others want millitary dictatorship in Pakistan.There are yet others who say the parliamentary system should continue as it would eventually correct itself. These are those people who are direct beneficiaries of the existing system. Whatever it may be changed to, but the present system needs to be rolled up, the sooner the better for Pakistan.— CN report, 13 Oct 2016

24 thoughts on “Should the current system in Pakistan continue?

  1. This system worked in India, Bengladesh, Sarilanka, and all other south Asian regions which also have the same social set up as Pakistan. Why this system became successful in Bengladesh after 1971 and before that it also failed in Bengladesh. There is no fault in system the fault is with the military establishment of Pakistan as it did not allow democracy to work. This time Bengladesh is vibrant and progressive democratic country while in case of Pakistan we tumbled to such level that no country ready to play cricket in the country. What was justification of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Mushraf to grab power as that time the system was properly working, these military coup destabilized our country and result to tumbled to such abyss which we face this time. What is the problem with existing govt and what is justification for third umpire to destabilize govt through Imran Khan. If military establishment continued its involvement in system Pakistan will suffer and vice versa. Legally Nawaz Sharif was right to replace Army Chief as Chief Executive of the country but when he exercise its power then military revolt and the whole situation is before us. Our future is linked with parliamentary system and continuity of the system then it will give us result. People of Pakistan love democracy and the hate dictatorship this is established fact. Writing such type article is tantamount to inviting non-democratic forces in the country and it is illegal, un-ethical and reflect mind set of sick people. We love democracy, rule of law and supremacy of constitution and there is no place for dictators in the country.

  2. The best example of the ‘benefits’ of a parliamentary system is that we elected three members of National and Provincial Assembly in our area considering them good candidates, but we definitely did not want Asif Zardari to be president. These three gentlemen impunitively elected Asif Zardari as President of Pakistan. Where did the will of the people go? Could Asif Zardari have been elected through direct voting?
    Yes, the military has no business to rule the country, but these champions of parliamentary democracy have been inviting the army to take over mostly due to ‘bughz e muaawia’ with each other, without any solid program for the country.
    Products of Parliamentary democracy have pushed the country to such lows that one feels ashamed of showing our passport at foreign airports. International money transfer companies do not accept our credit cards and Pakistanis are doubly checked at airports with special suspicion for all possible vices. The military is equally to be blamed for our sickness, but the game of nincompoops shielding behind democracy and ruining our country must end. A government of honest, selfless and patriotic technocrats (not like Shoukat Aziz) must be put in place for a period of five years and thereafter elections under a presidential system with biometric machine voting be conducted. Enough of parliamentary rubbish. khurshid shah,fazlu rehman, asfandyar, achakzai are all products of this system. Benazir said and practiced her manifesto’corruption is the best revenge’. We can do better without them. Also to mention, India Bangladesh and Srilanka are the lowest in human index in the region. they donot even have facility of proper toilets; all practicing parliamentary democracy.

  3. The problem is not with the system the problem is with judiciary. Chief Justice should realize that people of Pakistan faces serious problems due to delaying justice system and nothing more. According to estimate there are million of cases pending in courts and poor litigants wandering from pillar to post looking for justice but in return they receive “Tarickh, Tarikh, Tarikh”, before criticizing others Chief Justice should bring some reform in judicial system and ensure speedy justice to the people of Pakistan. Judiciary also became part of establishment in case of Pakistan deterioration condition. It is judiciary which introduced “Doctrine of Necessity ” and gave free hands to dictators like Ayub Khan to Musharaf who played with the destiny of Pakistan. Secondly if judicial system become vibrant and play its due role then government will also become receptive to the will of people. But unfortunately in our case we are facing problem due to judiciary not due to government. I have my personal case in the court for the last two decades and still the case is pending………… where will I Go? One you go to the court you will get Tarikh and not justice. During Justice Iftikhar era some reform were introduced for speedy justice and packages of judges enhanced but all these packages did not trickle down and now the system is like snail pace and we are completely fed up with delaying justice system in Pakistan. After being fully disappointed for the last two decades now I decided not to go court even my fundamental right is violated because in the court you will receive Tarikh instead of justice. Judicial system and delaying justice became so annoying for the people that now in the society people pray one another that God may protect you from Adalat and Hospital.

  4. We can not compare Pakistan with developed countries, but in context of South Asia all other countries position is better than Pakistan and foreign dignitaries visits the countries but in case of Pakistan all foreign dignitaries refuse to visit Pakistan and they hold meeting in Dubai etc. Secondly non of the world cricket team is ready to visit Pakistan but in case of other south Asian countries the case is a little bit better than Pakistan. I think the difference between Bengladesh and Pakistan is democracy which is working in Bengladesh and not allowed to work in Pakistan as a result Bengladesh gained recognition in the world and last year cricket matches were played there “owr hum rah taktay rah gaya” Democracy is the only solution and power should be with civilian leaders and military establishment should be made subservient to the civilian leaders.

  5. Justice delayed, justice denied, there are million of pending cases in judiciary and people suffer. Chief Justice sb, should fix the problem……………..please

  6. The argument is not between military rule and Democracy. It is about which form of democracy is better. Parliamentary system is a doom as it caused the break away of Pakistan a la’ ‘idher hum udher tum’ style by ZA Bhutto. Had the presidential system of Ayub Khan persisted there would be no breakaway. During the presidential system Pakistan was an economic reality in the region. Our Rupee Dollar exchange rate was at 4: 1, now it is 102:1. South Korea and Malaysia borrowed our five year development plan, implemented it and look where they are, while back home our own plans were eaten by the parliamentary system and now South Korea and Malaysia treat us as lepers. No doubt uneventful half baked military interventions did harm our country. The military interventions should have resulted in change of the system , but they let the system continue and were interested in their personal power. Even if there were no military interventions, parliamentary system was destined to doom as ‘too many cooks spoil the curry’ holds true for a parliamentary system. If parliamentary system was good why would 85% democratic countries not adopt it . Few countries that were subjects of the British monarchy adopted it in following their master, but even in UK everything is different from Pakistan. They don’t even have a written constitution but are doing well. Imagine us not having a written constitution. We should not be ‘lakeer ka faqeer’, and think for ourselves independently. We should adopt changes swiftly and quickly. “A problem left on it’s own will get from bad to worse” and certainly not correct itself. This for those who say “the system will correct itself”.

  7. The two line comment of Mr. Adil is much more for those who are responsible for speedy trial of millions of outstanding cases and providing justice on merit.

  8. All the institutions should function under their own ambit and play their constitutional role and bring efficiency in their performances. Chief Justice should work for providing speedy justice to people of Pakistan which is their core problem. Army should focus on defense and internal security under supervision of defense ministry instead of entangling in foreign policy and political issues. Army Chief is answerable directly to defense ministry rather than PM under constitution. failures of institutions to achieve their target must be discussed in parliament under relevant committees and policy should be made in parliament. PM should give due importance to parliament and all the policy decisions must be made and monitored under parliament. Parliamentary committees must be strengthened. Foreign policy, defense policy, security policy must be developed and supervised under parliamentary committees. Role of establishment must be confined to defense and security under defense ministry and defense policy should also be made under defense committee of parliament. There should be free inquiry into Army Public School Attack and the authorities responsible for security failures in APS attack must punished. PM Should also present himself for free and transparent inquiry in case of Panama Leaks. There should be inquiry into Panama Leaks of all the people whose name appeared in the leaks including PM and his family. PM should not resist any type of inquiry which opposition and PTI demand he must present himself for inquiry.

  9. System is working properly, and we do not want any type of adventurism in any form. Will of people should be prevailed to bring change in the system. Parliament should be given importance and all agitational politics must be stopped for best interest of the country……….

  10. People problems are load shedding, poverty, unemployment, broken infrastructure and delay in justice dispensation. But opposition parties are making people fool with different agenda that is to topple elected govt by hook or by crook especially There is nothing objectionable in case of federal govt and its performance is almost satisfactory under the prevailing circumstance. However there should be reform in criminal justice system, bringing military under civilian control, judicial reform for dispensation of speedy justice and reform in election commission so that in future election are held on transparent basis. Imran Khan is not serious in bringing reforms in the system rather he is trying to bring disturbance in the system, however other political parties and government should work for bringing the above-mentioned reforms in system which will make Pakistan one of the best place in the world.

  11. Why are some people saying that Imran Khan is destabilizing the government. I fail to understand what is Imran Khan doing wrong. He is only demanding that the Prime minister make his unaccountable wealth abroad transparent. What is wrong in this demand? If the Prime minister is innocent why should he be afraid of accountability. Instead of presenting himself for accountability, Nawaz Sharif is endangering the whole ssytem. If he thinks stability of the giovt means he is allowed to do what he wants unchecked, this is not possible. Social media will not let that happen. Even if politicians do ‘muk muka’ with each other, the media, particularly social media will not allow this. So the only way to not put the country in turmoil is that PM Nawaz Sharif puts himself before a fair and effective accountability process. If he doesn’t do that despite whole nation demanding, and anything untoward happens, he will be solely responsible.

  12. There is nothing wrong with the system, there should be continuity in the system and reform in institutions. If Judiciary is not properly dispensing justice and involved in delaying justice it can be controlled by bringing reform in judicial system. In the same way if politicians do not deliver in terms of governance then they will be replaced through election and there is need of reform in election commission to ensure free and fair election. Agitational politics will deliver nothing except instability. Presently federal government and all provincial government are doing the possible efforts under the given circumstance. Involvement of non-democratic forces will create problems……………..

  13. System in the country is working smoothly and people of Pakistan should be united against any type of adventurism and so called dharna like Turkish people did………………..Salam to Turkish people.

  14. If system in the country is working smoothly then why do we not have basic facilities, why is there load shedding always, why is our human index sliding, why are our rulers caught every other day for corruption of one kind or another, why is the educated youth fleeing the country, why is there corruption in every department , why do regional politicians black mail the government and get diesel and other permits, why is it that our per capita income is amongst the lowest in the world despite our vast potential resources, why is foreign debt on us growing at a diabolical scale. if the system is working smoothly why do we have maximum number of terror related events and suicide blasts etc, if system is working smoothly why do such large number of people come out against it when someone gives a call.
    If you call this working smoothly, then pray tell us what can be rougher than this.

  15. USA debts to GDP ratio is 79%, while Pakistan debts to GDP ration is 60%, US GDP Growth is 1% while Pakistan GDP growth is 4.5%, inflation in Pakistan below 3% which is lowest in the region. Why you people discredit our country by your false and exaggerated figures. For God sack do not make mockery of our beloved country for your vested interest. This time Pakistan is on the move, CPEC works are on the move, smooth transition of power will take place after 2018 election and load shedding position improved up to extent as compare to last govt. No mega corruption scandal took place in this govt as compare to last govt in which Huj corruption, Rental power corruption etc took place but you were silent. When Pakistan started its growth and stability you are creating instability. Moody, IMF, WB and all other reputable institutions of the world appreciate Pakistan economic turn-around and you people creating gloomy picture of the affair just to materialize your nefarious design and to make ground for any type of adventurism. We are fed up with these adventurism……………………….please stop it…………….and do not make people fool with your false and fabricated figures which are not only incorrect but also nonsense.

    1. @shoab Ahmad …. i humbly dont agree with your comparisons…. you are comparing the growth rate of GDP 16.77 trillion (usa) with 232.3bilion (pakistan)….. devloping nations always have a higher GDP growth rate than developed nations simply because we are devloping and the overall GDP is much smaller. should we compare with india 8.8% with a bigger GDP?
      Yes pakistan is on the move because of CPEC but lets not glorify nawaz sharif for this,the corrupt leadership has nothing to do with it, if it was upto nawaz he would have cancelled or delayed the CPEC only because of this business interests in india. No wonder china had complained about the same to military leadership and that is why Pakistan Army took over the whole project to make sure the project is delivered.
      For the corruption scandals there is a huge list with question marks on Nandi pur (record burned), LDA (record Burned)…. what mega corruption scandal are you expecting when the govt makes sure that heads of NAB , FIA , Police etc have no power against the political elite.

      Lets not make people fool by supporting a corrupt govt for our own vested interests. CPEC is going good and will continue with or without Nawaz Sharif. However people of pakistan should not accept a corrupt person at the top.

  16. Well said, my dear Shoaib Ahmad. You have completely narrated the situation with facts and figures………..appreciated. Yes Pakistan is beautiful and fertile country and majority of its socio-economic indicators are better than in the region but it is yellow journalism which tarnished image of our beloved country in the world. Debts to GDP ratio and % of poverty in India is worse than Pakistan……..Yellow journalist like Hassan Nisar, Mubashir Luqman, Zaid Hamid, Sheikh Rashed and Imran Khan and whole ARY channel has been given task to discredit and tarnish image of Pakistan in the media to have some sort of excuse for unconstitutional change in the system.

  17. @Shoaib Ahmad,Jamshed Alam. What could be more ridiculous than painting Pakistan better in economic indicators than the USA. By just saying ‘sab achha hai’ doest mean every thing is fine. The living conditions of the people and human index figures speak for themselves. No doubt Pakistan is fertile country with vast potential resources. We are unable to benefit fro m this God given advantage due to the sordid system we are following. Millitary dictators have failed in the past because they did not do the complete job. Half baked army takeovers followed by continuation of the same sick system is more dangerous. If the military takeovers would have resulted in change of the system and if the military rulers had been honest and selfless we would have seen a different Pakistan by now. If the constitution does not provide any provision for change of system (changing it by 2/3 majority in parliament is like asking thieves to frame a law against thievery). If extra constitutional measures can do the job, no harm in it provided the intention is selfless. Constitution has not descended from heaven. The country is above constitution which can be rewritten anytime but you cannot reclaim your country if it goes down the drain.
    It is a pity that paid journalists and beneficiaries of this system are writing in it’s defense whereas ground realities and writing on the wall is saying “we must change the system”.

  18. With reference to the comments of Mr. Abdul Kabir, I would like to mention only one example for information and comparison. One of my closed friends visited India just last year. He mentions that while he was travelling from Delhi Airport to New Delhi, he saw the people sitting on the fields across the road. They were sitting there to defecate because the people living even in the surrounding areas of New Delhi have no basic toilet facilities. Have you ever seen such scene in any city of Pakistan?

  19. We are receiving a lot of comments discussing personalities and governments instead of systems.The subject is about change in the system not persons. The merits/demerits of the existing system versus other systems like presidential system or meritocracy system may be discussed.– Thanks

  20. We have excercised the other systems which have failed, rather we have lost our one wing like East Pakistan as a result of One Unit under Presidential System of government. In my opinion, the prevailing parliamentary system is much better than others provided we select the true and honest persons in the general elections. Necessary Legislation to eliminate the possibilities of corruption needs to be initiated.

  21. There is nothing wrong in the system, refinement in the system only come if it practiced time and again. But in the whole history of Pakistan only one time peaceful transfer of government took place that is in the previous government……….. If there would not be interruption in the system it will automatically bring improvement in the country. Look at the present scenario there is nothing to worry and govt is taking all possible steps to bring improvement in economy and other sector. But other forces are also active in opposite direction so that second time peaceful transition of power could not become possible. what a tragedy………..

  22. @ Shoaib, Sultan,
    If you don’t see anything wrong in the system and you do not see see loop holes in the system which allow corruption by the rulers, the extremely high administrative costs to maintain an army of chief ministers, their advisers, their special assistants, their secretaries, their secretaries to secretaries , their army of staff etc etc who do nothing but eat the national exchequer and hinder governance, then I’m afraid can’t say much to convince you that there is something definitely wrong with this system. We will realise this after we experience a neat, agile and efficient presidential system in the country, a glimpse of which was in the 1960’s, when the economy was vibrant and institutions strong.

  23. Sir, I have read the contents of the news report of writer, line to line. The remarks ” these (supporters) are those people who are direct beneficiaries of the current system”. The writer has directly charge sheeted those who support the current system. Therefore, the comments in support or against the report does not yield any fruitful result.

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