In the memory of Hon’able Mentor

Syeda Fatimee
Online Session | CSS 2020 She is always with us. RIP

DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN

P r e s e n t e r : AY E S H A N AY YA R ( C S S 2 0 1 3 )

C a l l u s : 0 3 3 5 4 6 5 0 218 3
Online Session | CSS 2020

Foreword
Democracy is a form of government which supports extensive
participation of people in government and also promotes the views of
citizens for the smooth functioning of society. The form of Democracy in
Pakistan is one of the best and unique democracies in the world but
unfortunately its future is bleak due to the non observance of what is
actually the true essence of democracy, the informed choices. The main
reasons that informed choices are not made is due to the unawareness of
the people about the form of democracy in Pakistan, flawed political
culture, and legal pluralism.

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Online Session | CSS 2020

What is Democracy?
• Democracy is a Greek word literally means “rule by the people”.
• It is one of the best forms of government ever created or preserved by the modern-day
civilizations.
• It is a form of government which supports extensive participation of people in
government and also promotes the views of citizens for the smooth functioning of society.
• Democratic principles are governed and inspired by the universal freedoms such as the
right to take part in the government directly or through freely chosen representatives as
stated in article 21 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. People would be able to
exercise their right by choosing the candidate they want to govern them if they are
provided with ‘informed choices’, which is the knowledgeable decisions of people
reflecting their values, culture, and views made after a thorough and justified analysis of
the available options (Carr and Young, 2010).

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Ingredients of Democracy
• Freedom (of thought, believe, expression, Speech, Debate, Inquiry, assembly, association,
legitimate profession, movement…)
• Citizen’s Rights (Human, political and civic…)
• Majority not majoritarianism (Majority rule with the protection of minority rights and
participatory decision making)
• Participation
• Pluralism(Ideological, ethnic, linguistic, religious…)
• Political Tolerance
• Rule of Law (Equality before Law)
• Minority rights( religious, ethnic, linguistic)
• Accountability (parliamentary or democratic ways not through discriminatory
undemocratic ways like NAB in Pakistan)
• Transparency ( Access to information, Good Governance…)

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Vehicles & Tools of Democracy
• Written constitution
• Democratic Political parties
• Parliament/assemblies
• Free and fair regular elections
• Independent election commission
• Independent Judiciary
• Free and Responsible media
• Vibrant civil society
• Responsible citizenry
• Continuous democratic process
• Continuity of democratic discourse, political competition, accountability through
elections and responsible media, alternative solutions, changing leadership….
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Democracy in Pakistan

Pakistan constitutionally is a democratic parliamentary republic

with its political system based on an elected form of governance.
Today Pakistan is the one of the newest democracies since 2008,
with the first democratic elections held in 2013 to complete a 5-year
term for the first time in its political history. As of current status,
Pakistan is also the 5th largest and is also the largest Majoritarian
democracy and (non-liberal) in the world and perhaps considered
as one of the world's larger Islamic democracies in the Muslim
world as opposed to a modern liberal democracy, such as modern
Republic of Turkey, with its western orientated values.

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Parliamentary Republic

A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary

system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its
legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament).
There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics. Most have a clear
differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the
head of government holding real power, much like constitutional monarchies
(however in some countries the head of state, regardless of whether the
country's system is a parliamentary republic or a constitutional monarchy, has
'reserve powers' given to use at their discretion in order to act as a non-partisan
'referee' of the political process and ensure the nation's constitution is upheld).
Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of government, much
like presidential systems, but with a dependency upon parliamentary power.

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Governance
• The Government of Pakistan is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan
as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces of a proclaimed and established by
the parliamentary democratic republic, constitutionally called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
• Effecting the Westminster system for governing the state, the government is mainly composed
of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, in which all powers are vested by the
Constitution in the Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court. The powers and
duties of these branches are further defined by acts and amendments of the Parliament,
including the creation of executive institutions, departments and courts inferior to the Supreme
Court. By constitutional powers, the President promulgates ordinances and passes bills.
• The President acts as the ceremonial figurehead while the people-elected Prime Minister acts as
the chief executive (of the executive branch) and is responsible for running the federal
government. There is a bicameral Parliament with the National Assembly as a lower house and
the Senate as an upper house. The most influential officials in the Government of Pakistan are
considered to be the federal secretaries, who are the highest ranking bureaucrats in the country
and run cabinet-level ministries and divisions. The judicial branch systematically contains an
apex Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, high courts of five provinces, district, anti-terrorism,
and the green courts; all inferior to the Supreme Court.
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Majoritarian Democracy
• Majoritarian democracy refers to democracy based upon majority rule of a society's
citizens. Majoritarian democracy is the conventional form of democracy used as a political
system in many countries.
• Though common, majoritarian democracy is not universally accepted – majoritarian
democracy was famously criticized as having the inherent danger of becoming a "tyranny
of the majority" whereby the majority in society could oppress or exclude minority groups,
which can lead to violence and civil war.
• Non-Liberal! - also called a partial democracy, low intensity democracy, empty democracy,
hybrid regime or guided democracy, is a governing system in which although elections take
place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real
power because of the lack of civil liberties, thus it is not an "open society". There are many
countries "that are categorized as neither 'free' nor 'not free', but as 'probably free', falling
somewhere between democratic and nondemocratic regimes". This may be because a
constitution limiting government powers exists, but those in power ignore its liberties, or
because an adequate legal constitutional framework of liberties does not exist.

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Democracy in Pakistan over the years!
●
An incipient democracy struggles to assert itself as the specter of dictatorship
1947-1958 looms

1958-1971 ●
The years of development, conflict and direct military rule

1971-1988 ●
The years of self-avowed ‘socialism’ and military rule

1988-1999 ●
Controlled democracy and the decade of presidential high-handedness

1999-2008 ●
“Enlightened Moderation” and a period of seismic changes

2008-Present ●
Democracy gaining a foothold in the country?
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Way forward
• Real transfer of power from military to political institutions
• Depoliticizing and ensuring transparency in military
• Sustainability of constitutional rule
• Decentralization of centralist federal authorities through democratic and inclusive federalism
based on 1940 Lahore resolution
• Autonomous provincial constituent units
• Effective role of parliamentary committees and inter-provincial institutions i.e. CCI, IRSA, ECNEC,
CDWP
• Good Governance and Rule of law
• Responsive and responsible governments
• Respecting diversity
• Protecting language and cultural of all nations and ethnic groups of Pakistan
• Providing equitable social justice to under developed and marginalized regions, communities and
nationalities
• Strengthening of civil society and empowering the individual 11
 Thank You

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