There is a huge misconception that free and fair elections will lead to democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Several times in the last 60 years Pakistanis have gone to the polls with great expectations, only to have their hopes shattered. In theory each new Parliament was expected to bring about new legislation for the common good; and each new government expected to work for the security and well being of the masses.
Reality was different. Promises were broken. Morals were set aside. Fresh waves of loot and plunder began, with new parliamentarians at the forefront. Issues of the public good received lip service--- education, health care, jobs, housing, security ---- but the lot of the common man got worse. To stem the rot, in stepped the powerful colonial establishment, represented initially by bureaucrats Ghulam Mohammad and Iskandar Mirza and later by generals Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharaff. The four generals ruled the country as dictators for 33 of its 60 years history. Tragically, each left the country in no better shape than before.
Each time a general took over, he claimed democracy had failed. He would promise to save the nation and then restore democracy. How naive such thinking proved to be. Today a general is desperately trying to retain power in the face of fierce opposition. He would like to "manage" the elections or at least to cut a sweatheart "deal" with one or more unscrupulous political leaders and hold on to power. Everyone else is dreaming of free and fair elections and a swift return to democracy. But elections alone do not bring about democracy, no matter how fair and free. Democracy is a whole lot more.
Democracy is about values. It is a mindset, where citizens have to fight to defend their rights and freedoms. Democracy needs a vibrant civil society, conscious of its responsibilities as well as its power. Civil society itself is driven by ideas and ideals; by writers and poets. These thinkers and philosophers are the true custodians of democracy, the fountainhead of freedom. They blossom in a free environment, where the media fiercely guards its own freedom.
Democracy is also about the daily life of a citizen. Does the state do enough for his welfare and security? Is he shown respect and provided succor when he interacts with state functionaries? Or is he treated with contempt and intimidation by overbearing bureaucrats and policemen? Is he really getting a fair deal?
In Pakistan the three pillars of democracy --- executive, judiciary and legislature --- have long been manipulated by ruthless civil and military leaders. But things are obviously changing. A handful of lawyers have suddenly fired the nation's imagination, cracking open the long-barricaded door to democracy. Indignant at the shameful handling of their Chief Justice, 100,000 lawyers across Pakistan stood up to dictatorship. Led by the charismatic Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan, Munir Malik and Ali Ahmad Kurd they freed the Chief Justice from virtual bondage and elevated the judiciary to heights never seen before.
A vibrant civil society, activist lawyers and a courageous media have unshackled the judiciary and taken arguably the first concrete step towards establishing genuine freedom in Pakistan. For this they have earned the everlasting gratitude of the nation.
The next step certainly is to ensure free and fair elections. Tragically, rigging has already started. Imagine the audacity of the Election Commission which has so innocently disenfranchised 25 million voters. They would have got away with it, had it not been for the timely intervention of the Chief Justice. Bureaucrats and the intelligence agencies must never again be allowed to rig elections. Those involved in rigging must be exposed and punished. Concerned citizens, an alert media and a proactive judiciary collectively can stop electoral malpractices, far better than the usual bevy of foreign observers.
Civil society must also ensure that political parties do not again give tickets to known scoundrels, for the Presidency or for Parliament. (Strangely, with Presidential Elections around the corner, the Opposition has no candidate). Free and fair elections become meaningless if selfish leaders award party tickets to crooks. Indeed, the main cause of President Musharraf's own undoing has been his political alliance with known charlatans. While ensuring free elections, civil society must also force political parties to nominate clean candidates. That will be the second important step towards democracy, the first having been unshackling of the judiciary.
But even that is not enough. The joker in the pack is the third pillar of the State, the executive. At partition we inherited an executive which had been trained to rule the country in the name of the King-Emperor. Its exclusive function was to keep the colony and its people totally subservient to the King-Emperor. Soldiers, policemen and bureaucrats were trained to ruthlessly suppress the natives and enforce the King's writ. Tragically this mindset has not changed. The civil servant is neither civil nor anyone's servant. From Patwari and Thanedar upwards the civil servant ruthlessly lords it over the public. He uses outmoded draconian laws and procedures to trample the citizen, shamelessly violating fundamental rights and human dignity, enshrined both in our religion and in our Constitution, in order to serve his master of the day.
In a democracy, civil society as guardians of people's rights, must work with lawyers, judges, the media and Parliamentarians to curb the excesses of a colonial bureaucracy and a Bonapartist military.
But first and foremost, for democracy to function the military government must hand over power. The President has declared that his uniform is his second skin which he cannot shed. That can also be resolved. Perhaps the "Q" League cabinet, hugely beholden to him for his largesse, can promote him Field Marshal. He can then keep his uniform on, as Field Marshals traditionally do not retire, and remain Pakistan's top soldier for the rest of his life. In return he can dissolve Parliament even before 15th September. As there would then be no electoral college for Presidential elections (15 September to 15 October) he can legally continue as President well into the New Year, avoiding another crises which otherwise will surely occur next month. Elections under a caretaker set-up with no "deals" and no rigging can follow. The people of Pakistan can decide their own destiny, with a new President, new federal and provincial governments, a new Army Chief, a rejuvenated judiciary, a free media, a chastened military, a humbled bureaucracy and a powerful civil society to face the challenges of a new Millennium. Then alone will democracy flourish. The alternatives are grim.
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