EDITORIAL
Political Elite and Common People in Pakistan.
Democracy is a government by the people. It is a rule of the majority. Comprehensively, a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involves periodically held free elections.
Modern democracies are indirect, and people delegate their power to chosen representatives. Therefore, it is a sacred trust. Hence, the political executive must exercise delegated authority according to the people’s wishes. Then, it may be an ideal connotation in developed democracies but not in third-world countries. Likewise, Pakistan suffers the same undemocratic fate democratically. The political elite needs people’s support to acquire power. Then, people are also not interested in safeguarding their power, delegated to chosen representatives as a sacred trust.
Article one of the constitution establishes Pakistan as a Federal Republic. Republic means a democratic form of governance, and Federalism means sharing the powers between federation and provinces. Hence, it is a constitutional obligation that all norms and structures of democracy are reflected in democratic life in Pakistan. However, it has never been the case. The political elite never empowers the people but bureaucracy and technocracy.
Local government and de-centralization are constitutional obligations. Then, provincial administrative autonomy is critical for a functional federation. Re-appointments of bureaucracy to constitutional offices obstruct the process of democratic values. Hence, achieving organizational autonomy and devolution has been a fundamental issue with these re-appointments.
Civil Servants are politically inclined in Pakistan. Therefore, they are not neutral. They are also not a good choice for democracy as their bent is centralized and undemocratic. Thus, when a retired civil servant is appointed the Election Commissioner, the whole process becomes biased. Likewise, when a civil servant is appointed chairman of NAB, DG ACE, FIA etc., the entire accountability mechanism is controlled by bureaucracy. It is pertinent to mention that almost all public expenditure is spent by bureaucracy. How can the accountability process be done when the bureaucracy is in charge of accountability? Then, if civil servants are appointed the Prime Minister or Chief Ministers temporarily, they favor the system undemocratically. Similarly, all ministries, commissions, reform organizations and administrative portfolios are handed over to bureaucracy by the political elite. Then, it results in that retired civil servants controlling the whole political elite and even debasing them. Accordingly, none is to blame except politicians who make retired civil servants powerful and become pygmies.
How can politicians empower bureaucracy in a democracy? People chose their representatives so that they could exercise people’s power. Then, they hand over this power to bureaucracy, which exercised it against the people. The bureaucratic treatment of the people of Pakistan has been a shame. Is it not mistrust on the part of the political executive to transfer all power to bureaucracy rather than empowering political administrators? Hence, political consensus on political administrators is vital. Political administrators must replace bureaucracy in all these appointments. Pakistan shall only function with political administrators.
Re-appointing retired civil servants in constitutional offices is the cause of the fragile democracy in Pakistan. Establishment, Judiciary and bureaucracy are not the solutions to democracy in Pakistan. Political parties must develop political consensus on political administrators. It will also enhance the quality of political executives in Pakistan. Lastly, the re-appointing of bureaucracy, Judiciary, and Army persons in constitutional positions must be halted immediately. Democracy means political administrators only. If a politician can become a Prime Minister or Chief Minister, why can he not hold a constitutional office?
