Salvation of Pakistan lies in Democracy

By Zainab Samantash

Needless to say, Pakistan today is standing at the cross roads; having landed in a deep, deep crises. The very word Pakistan seems to have become synonymous with crises-electricity crisis, gas crisis, leadership crises, security crises, water crises and what not. So much so, that the international media has declared Pakistan to be a banana republic.

As one attempts to fathom the reasons behind this entire predicament, the only one that surfaces is the stunted growth of democracy in the country. Era after era the people of Pakistan have been victimized by the deceptive tools employed by various governments who have single handedly ruled the state in the name of martial law, civil dictatorships or even sham democracies. Resultantly, our economy has landed in tatters; our leadership in crises; our people directionless and we have been brought face to face with the worst form of terrorism, anarchy, extremism, fanaticism and violence.

Democracy is but an idea and ideas cannot die. Neither can they be crushed or killed by bullets. Living nations must have a dynamic thought process and it is only democracy that channelizes the thinking of men. Democracy is the only way through which we can save our people from stagnation of thought and mental inertia.


Our county has long since been facing the curse of terrorism and sectarian violence, simply on account of absence of a strong democracy. Being the kind of multi ethnic and multi cultural land that Pakistan is, the only way to bring together these diverse people and preserve the beauty of this diversity is through democracy. It is after all, as Eugene McCarthy puts it, “As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for recognition of differences.”

In order for a country to prosper, it’s imperative that all its citizens’ desires and point of views are respected; for if this can’t be ensured, the result is tragedies like the Fall of Dhaka. But this can never be possible when an entire country and all its matters are in the hands of a single dictator. For the formulation of policies that is social, economic and foreign, the contribution of all the sectors of the society is needed and democracy is the only platform that can provide such collaboration. Thus, the aggregate desires of a country are reflected and popular decisions are made. For democracy is after all, “decision by those concerned.”

In the Greek Republic, democracy did exist but only in its very crude form and so even a man as intellectually elevated as Socrates had to pay the price of freedom of expression. It was actually Islam that conferred upon mankind liberties in their true meaning and essence. Rousseau became very famous for saying that, “Man was born free, but he’s found in chains everywhere.” But, long before Rousseau, it was Hazrat Omar (R) who had sown the seeds of true democracy by saying, “When mothers have given birth to free men, then why do you enslave them?” For being the true descendants of Hazrat Omar (R) and being an Islamic Republic of Pakistan, it is really essential for us to become a truly democratic state.


It is rightly said that there are always silver linings even in the darkest of clouds. Today’s only hope for Pakistan is democracy. As it is only a democratic system in which freedom of expression, freedom of thought and freedom of action is granted.

We have already paid a very heavy price of dictatorships in our country and cannot afford to do so anymore or else our country will be doomed forever. The first dictatorship of the country’s history was a direct assault on the very spirit of democracy in the form of the Basic Democracies system. The next in line preached religious extremism, exploited the masses in the name of religion and brought with it the gift of Kalashnikov culture. And the final one sold out the very integrity of the nation and left us all under the curse of terrorism. The present scenario, undoubtedly, is a wake-up call for all of us and if we don’t rise for democracy today then we must get ready for a bloody revolution like that of the Russians, the French and more recently, the Arabs.

If consistent democracy follows for a prolonged period of time, every succeeding government eventually becomes better than the previous ones as they try to outshine the preceding rulers, as has been the case in India; currently the world’s biggest democracy. Such a process in itself acts as a filter for the corrupt and with time the best governments are elected.

Hence, to be on the right side of history it has now become inevitable for us today to let democracy reign and flourish in its true and pure form. The nation today must not, at any cost, allow the current democratic transition in the country to falter in light of the emerging memo gate scandal or the deepening power crisis; for in the strengthening of democracy lays the health of our institutions and the salvation of our nation.

Ten predictions for 2012

Greetings Ladies And Gentlemen!

Happy New Year 

The year 2011 was interesting but lets see what see that what 2012 has in store for us. Here are some predictions by our team for you.

Ten predictions for 2012

Local Politics

1.       Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and PML N would be disappointed because there will be no early elections.

2.       PML N would join with PPP in Senate elections to suppress PTI

3.       Musharraf will return but would be cornered by all sides

4.       The Ugliest internal political problems for Pakistan would be Balochistan

For the World 

5.       Afghanistan will become a serious bone of contention in South Asia and beyond

6.       Projection of Sea power between navies of major powers will start to become evident

7.       Many nations would look for modern armament procurements

8.       There will be further Arab Style revolts around the world

9.       The early cold war era will start to return

10.   European Union would face decline and demise

Political Trekker Team

Secularism and Pakistan

By Alee Rafi

“You may belong to any religion or caste or creed-that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” – Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Years have passed since the early demise of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, yet his idea behind Pakistan remains a mystery to many. Jinnah attempted to make sure that Pakistan would not end up as a theocratic state, however today, that seems to be a major part of our national policy. Jinnah however wanted to lay down the foundation of a secular nation that would be a haven for all religious minorities, instead of a symbol of persecution, class differentiation, sectarian violence and a war in the name of Religion. This article takes a look at Jinnah’s vision of a secular Pakistan.

What is Secularism? To address this we must realize who is a secular person? To the layman, it is a person who is not concerned with religion. So when we claim that a nation is secular, do we ask it denounce religion? Or does it simply set religion aside? For a country to be secular it does not have to be unreligious, it just needs to differentiate between its constitutional powers over the masses and its power, ability and need to control their beliefs. The state must then respect religion in all its shapes, forms and sizes. It must adhere to all sorts of believes, and most importantly it must not interfere.

The state, as an institution serves the masses. Differentiating between them on the basis of religion, defies that purpose. It creates ethnic tensions, paves the way to sectarian violence and promotes hatred and differences in the society, shifting the balances of power. For power is the ability of an individual, group or nation to get their will over the will of others. The state then becomes the symbol of this overwhelming power for the majority, and one of hate for the minority. The minority, ultimately feeling unjustly dealt with, mistreated; repel some of their frustrations back on to the state.

Pakistan has been the breeding ground of ethnic and secular differences for 64 years. It has seen ethnic violence, rants and rages. This land has witnessed horrific incidents on the name of religion, and faces the sternest of challenges from the radical terrorist outfits, waging a war in the name of religion. It is also home to lunatics and extremists, using religion as their shield to commit the most heinous of crimes. Rape, Murder, Slavery and Torture: all in the name of superiority over another.

We see Bavarian laws imposed that constitutionally permit you to get minorities executed if we are able to prove in the feeble courts of law, an unjust action by the minority against Islam. The implementation of such laws is crucial, and Pakistan has failed to properly manage it. On the other hand, we fail to see the same sternness when it comes to the persecution of the Hindu, the Sikh and the Christian. We fail to see the minorities being treated as equals, as brothers and sisters, as humans. And so, religious laws implied by the state pave way for such inequalities, injustices and differences. It allows one to use religion to commit the most unholy crimes, it permits one to use religion, to denounce another, and it enables one to claim superiority over another, all on the base of religion.

This paradox of using religion as a tool has to reach a climax. And it can only be done by separating religion, from state-affairs. Pakistan will always remain a Muslim-majority country, it will always condone practices that pose a threat to that majority, but that does not mean it has the right to undermine all other religions which are a part of Pakistan. For they too, are a part of our identity. When we won this nation, we won the right to stop the persecution of Muslims, not the right to persecute the new minority.

Keep Visiting!

Ladies and Gentlemen, apart from politics I will soon be posting some interesting things about energy and global warming issues!

Is the Decline of the West Really Coming?

By Muhammad Bakht Jamshaid Baryar

"Decline and fall of powers, religions, cultures, societies, nations and countries has been a constant theme of socio-political history of the world. In different eras different powers have ruled as superpowers. From the last many centuries Western world and its culture has been the epicentre power and prestige"

Different eras have witnessed the dawn and demise of a wide array of powers. In the due course of time; nations, cultures and religions have made their presence felt around the globe. The waves generated by these strongholds of economic and military might have almost always been felt far and wide around the globe.

From the powerful and dominant Persians to barbaric but fearsome Mongols, superpowers have always been present around us. When one vanishes into the sands of time another comes and fills the void vacated. The concept is analogous to the scientific principal of convection. That is when hot air rises, cold air blows in to replace it. Similarly, rise and fall of powers has been a constant theme of our political history.

History is the greatest lesson that was and will ever be taught to mankind. It teachers that fall is inevitable and all face eventual decadence primarily due to the complacent human nature and partly due to mistakes committed on part of the powers.

The fifteen century saw the European society which had been once riddled by dark ages rising to establish itself as a powerful culture and political force around the globe. Great Britain which became the symbol of a typical Western nation rose to become a superpower only to be replaced by the United States of America in the early 20th century. Western Society steadily became the ''Super Society'' of the globe. In a matter of years; its culture, its language, its traditions and values started to be adapted around the globe.

 The West as it has become known over many years has today embarked on the journey of steady decay and decline. This process starts as soon as a power or dynasty reaches the crest of its power, a saturation point. The decline of the west is not only evident in political but also in economic, military, diplomatic and cultural arenas as well. This decline is coming about due to the culmination of strategic, military, diplomatic and political failures committed on part of the Western leaders since the dawn of the new age.

The western world has committed great blunders since the dawn of 20th century which have started to cost it dearly. Since the end of the Second World War, West has undertaken several adventures based on short term goals neglecting the long term effects of its actions. The era before 1945 was marked by a general attitude of isolation and appeasement of ruthless western dictators which led to massive destruction in the shape of the second Great War.

The era after 1945, interestingly was smeared by the ''Cold War'' rivalry between the western world and the Soviet Union; the soviet society was a cross between western and eastern societies. Jumping into unnecessary wars and conflict areas such as the Vietnam, Cuba, Middle East, Afghanistan and Korea were massive strategic and military blunders in part of the West. This alienated the West from the rest of the world being dubbed as ''modern imperialists'' and ''neo-colonialists'' and thus increased the number of nations that wanted to see the end of the power of the West. Accompanied by the massive economic losses in these wars, social and political trouble at home proved to the world that Western nations had dug their own graves.

The ideologically alienated, militarily stuck in quick sand, politically dubious and strategically imbalanced West has today found itself in a bed of self created problems. Military adventures such as the Afghan War in 2001 and the Iraq conflict in 2003 has made more enemies to the west than friends and has aggravated rather than solving problems. The void left by the departure of USSR in the international world had to be filled by some force and the West pathetically failed to fill the vacuum created by the demise of Soviet power. Terrorist forces and figures such Osama Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri came and filled the void. Soon enough names and powers such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Haqqani Network were to be found on the tongues of many people especially Muslims estranged by the Western world.

On one hand the West itself gave birth to terrorist outfits sometimes by befriending them and then leaving them in lurch turning them into foes. At other time these outfits rose out of hatred and enmity to the western world. Simultaneously, there was a group of antagonist nations that had always been enemies of western power, influence and culture such as Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.

The confluence of these events and trends with the ''Re-Awakening East'' as predicted accurately by Bertrand Russell was a great blow to a West already showing signs of decline. The new Asian tiger economies and the rise of the ''Chinese Dragon'' meant the ultimate fall of western economic monopoly and military dominance would come in the near future. All that remains to be seen today is that when this fall would come.

The super society of the Western world has been declining and decaying gradually over the years, which is yet another cause of the decline in question. Western culture has been disintegrating slowly in the wake of massive technological advancements and scientific achievements. Today, people in the west are so preoccupied with work and technology that culture, society, social life and traditions have faded into the background. Given the state of affairs, if it continues would definitely result in the destruction of western culture and society; it must be noted that culture and tradition are the foundation pillars of any nation.

Through the lenses of psychology and patterns of human behaviour another theory can be offered to make reasonable judgements can be made about decline of powers and nations. ''Complacency'' is an inseparable part of human nature; long term military, economic, strategic, cultural and diplomatic success can cause complacency and ultimate decline. If one takes a look into the pages of history we can witness the fall of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Middle Eastern Muslims, Indian Mughals and Chinese Imperial Dynasties which came through complacent attitudes developed after years of power and prestige. Something similar seems to be developing in the West, which has started to take its power and prestige for granted.

Changing world situation means that the west which has already committed many blunders, will have to strive very hard to maintain its position. As shown by historical facts, political errors and mistakes committed and patterns of human behaviour, the decline of the west becomes inevitable. Economically, not just the west but generally the world is going into a meltdown. In such circumstances the rise of small nuclear powers such Pakistan, Iran and North Korea will become serious strategic hurdles for the west. When coupled with the rise of China as a super power, the prospects of West seem even bleaker. In such circumstances, any sane person can safely conclude that the wheel of time has ended its favourable reign on the west and that new age is about to dawn.

Time, is the only thing that can prove when the decline that is definitely inevitable will come for the western world. History will once again open its archives to list down those once considered masters and rulers of earth. A new age, is about to dawn in which the aces of power shall shuffle once again as it has been happening continuously over history.

Today, the world stands at cross roads where a new era is about dawn and a new age is about to make its presence felt in the shelves of history. Fortunes shall be overturned for some and lost treasures recovered by others. New powers will rise to fill in the vacuum left by west, new super cultures would shape themselves and new alliances would be forged. The reason behind it is the apparent and most certain decline of the West which has now become inevitable in wake of the all reasons mentioned earlier.

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
Abraham Lincoln