True
democracy
Sir,
The
leaders of most of our political parties are authoritarian by nature. The
recent PML-N intra-party election proved that its leader cannot tolerate any
opposition – he was elected unopposed after his opponent was disqualified. This
reminded me of how Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was elected unopposed from his home town
Larkana in the rigged 1977 elections – his rival Jan Mohammed Abbasi was picked
up and held incommunicado so he could not submit his papers to the ECP.
Although Bhutto would have won the elections anyway, he was too insecure to
allow anyone to stand against him. The same trait can be observed in the PTI
chairman, Imran Khan, the former president Asif Zardari and the founder of the
MQM. The Jamaat-e-Islami and the Awami National Party are perhaps the only
parties that conduct transparent elections. The leaders of these parties often
consult with senior party members before taking decisions.
It’s good
that the Supreme Court has held that the prime minister cannot decide state
matters without the consent of the cabinet. Let’s hope that the prime minister
follows the order. This can be the first step to introduce true democracy in
the country.
Shakir Lakhani,
Karachi.
December 2, 2016
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