My words in The friday times .

[ravian786]

Keep the faith

Human history has witnessed the transformation of many political paradigms. Among those, the paradigm shift from monarchy to democracy has always been considered unequaled. It resulted in birth of constitutional democracy which unleashed tremendous human energy, ensured a standard of living, and guaranteed freedom and liberty. But in Pakistan, democracy is losing its popularity and people are losing hope in it.

A recent survey reveals that a majority of the Pakistani youth views democracy unfavorably and finds dictatorship relatively better. Such pessimism in the young voters is something alarming. It reminds me of Hillary Clinton's words, "The worst thing that can happen in a democracy is when people become cynical about the future and loose hope". Unfortunately, that is the case in Pakistan.

The reasons of this mistrust and hopelessness are many. There is a mismatch between true democracy and the democracy being practiced in Pakistan. A true democracy is far more than deceptive slogans for wining votes. It delivers good governance and the parliament exercises its delegated authority in accordance with the constitution. There is equal opportunity, merit is followed, and access to justice is ensured.

In Pakistan, the government has been unable to deliver efficiently on economic, political and diplomatic fronts. Hurt by load shedding, illiteracy, corruption, poverty, inflation and terrorism, people see a bleak future. Many international organizations are continuously rating Pakistan among the most dangerous and difficult countries to live in. There is an atmosphere of uncertainty which makes it difficult for people to think well about democracy.

Despite its weaknesses, we should understand that democracy in Pakistan is not mature yet. It has not been allowed to continue. The transfer of power from one government to another has hardly ever happened before, but is happening now. In due time, the ills of democracy will be cured, with more democracy.

Ahmad Zia Tulla
Sargodha .