PPPP: Successes & Failures of Democracy

Successes & Failures of Democracy

WAQAR ABRO

There is a notion in everyone’s mind that what are the successes of democracy in the last five year. Though, there is a big list of failures yet positive aspects are always neglected. Democracy has brought revolutionary and evolutionary changes in Pakistan. Yes,it had brutally failed to adopt welfare-oriented democratic norms but it has still delivered. Mental poverty is worst then social and economic poverty.

The main reason that always prevented democracy to thrive was intellectual bankruptcy.Though democracy brings political independence yet it is meaningless without economic and intellectual independence. In the last five years, people have started learning political system and its functioning.Today, due to modern means of communication and free media, people are more aware of politics then before. They know very well that what is going on in the capital. They in their street gossip do not only exchange their political opinions but also analyze different manifestos and past performances of various political parties.And, the main actor of this success is electronic and print media.Unavoidably, democracy is flourishing and people are keenly observing each and every thing. It seems as people are intellectually liberated. To further elaborate the successes and failures of democracy, the writer has enlisted the crux of the topic as follow;

Successes: 1) Judicial Populism 2) Freedom of Media 3) Social Media and its effects on society and Institutions. 4) Intellectual, Political and Economic bankruptcies addressed 5) Pluralism In Politics (First time ,in the history 216 political parties will contest general Elections) 6) Openness in System 7) Accountability of Army and wealth eaters 8) Political Socialization 9) Women rights to some extent addressed and their status also elevated (Fehmeeda Mirza, Shela Raza, Malala etc) 10) Legacy system nosedived 11) Mature and Harmonized Political system (APC example) 12) Provincial Autonomy 13) Independent Election Commission 14) Change in Status quo mindset 15) Constitutional Amendments.

Failures: 1) Bad governance 2) Politicization of institutions 3) Corruption 4) Target Killings 5) Poverty 6) Energy Crisis 7) Economic meltdown 8) Unemployment 9) Slaughter of merit 10) Drone attacks 11) Unfair distribution of resources 12) Balouchistan Issue 13) Tax evasion 14) Institutional disharmony 15) Sectarian violence.

Though, there may be few more points to be added in the failure list yet successes of democracy should not be neglected. Someone has rightly said that democracy may be a terrible system but it is the best system that we know. Now,the future of Pakistan is to be decided by the people in the upcoming general elections.whom they want to bring to the parliament a cheater or a changer? To conclude,the best form of revolution is the positive and correct use of vote.

Article on Independence of Pakistan Published in Pakistan Observer: Reviving lost glory

Reviving lost glory 

Waqar Abro

 

Pakistan is acronym of Persian word “Pak” which means pure and “Istaan” which means territory. Hence, Pakistan can be categorically defined as land of pure people. Before leading the topic towards present scenario, history of Pakistan should be given a focused view. Basically, Pakistan did not get independence on 14th of August 1947 rather it was made independent in the skies by the lord of heavens, earth, and all universes on 712 A.D when Muhammad Bin Qasim for the very first time hoisted flag of Islam in Sindh and planted roots of Islam in Subcontinent which immediately grew up after Hindhi-Urdu controversy in post war of independence(1857) period. Though,it took time for Pakistan to be officially independent yet it came into being on 27th of Ramzan considered as Lailatul Qadar a night better than thousands of nights on 14th of August 1947.

During the course of independence struggle, our Muslim brothers burnt their all boats to make possible an independent sovereign state yet it’s worth mentioning that Education played pivotal role in the whole struggle. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan emerged as a glimmer of hope for the Muslims. Though, he was like a drop of water in the drought yet many Muslims started pointing on their fingers over the credibility of Sir Syed. They went to such extent that they declared him through Fatwas as Kafir (Infidel). Reason of their in-depth loathe was mainly to not regain lost glory of education. They were of the view that Sir Syed wanted them to be like English but they did not understand the depth of his emphasis that it was not of English’s education but of Muslims. And, a few decades later “Allama Iqbal” endorsed the same views in his poetry. It goes without saying that “Sir Syed” was the next gardener of the plant that had been planted by Muhammad Bin Qasim. Sir Syed asked Muslims who were in the grip of chaos to acquire education. He knew that if Muslims would dedicate their head and heart towards politics their growth and separate state dream would be unachievable.

That is the same we notice in the divine instruction. Allah says 857 times in Quran to get education more than salaat and zakat. It is also worth mentioning that Allah himself chose education to guide his people however he revealed four different sacred books to different Prophets. To continue with post war period, though Sir Syed was neglected by many Mullahs yet he was helped by Allah to complete his mission. Mission of creating a separate Muslim state. Since, he disallowed Muslims to take part in politics even after the creation of “Congress” yet he himself politically declared in his two nation theory that Muslims and Hindus have different religion and culture thus they could not exist together. Moulana Abdul Haque has rightly said that “First stone of Pakistan was laid down by Sir Syed.”

Today, the same Pakistan which had been made independent after a long struggle,is in the grip of chaos. It is in the dire need of the same spirit which liberated it from shackles of Hindus and British. To make it a New Pakistan, it is necessary to revive the lost glory.

Islam: Ramzan Karim; Bless us again

 Ramzan Karim: Bless us again

The word Ramzan is derived from the word Ramz which means to burn your desires. It is the ninth month of Islamic Calendar being celebrated by almost 1.9 billion Muslims throughout the world. Ramzan is generally perceived as a month of blessings because on 27th of this month, the Holy Quran was revealed. In this month, all the Muslims hold fasts for the sake of Allah and avoid eating food from dawn to dusk. Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says that when Ramadan enters, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed and the devils are chained. No doubt, Allah showers countless blessings on his momins (staunch believers) in this month and forgives all the sins intentionally or unintentionally committed by the believers. This month itself is a blessing and full with incomparable rewards. Whosoever holds fast and fulfills all the pre-requisites laid down in the divine law, shall be highly rewarded by Allah. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Every action a son of Adam does shall be multiplied—a good action by ten times its value, up to 700 times. Allah says: With the exception of fasting, which belongs to Me, and I reward it accordingly. For, one abandons his desire and food for My sake.

There are two occasions of joy for a fasting person: one when he breaks his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord, and the (bad) breath (of a fasting person) is better in the sight of Allah than the fragrance of musk. Today, the temptation of worldly desires has gone to such extent that people have forgotten the essence of this holy month. Though, people hold fasts in this month for the sake of Allah yet they do not understand the rationale behind of holding fasts. Basically, Ramzan offers a number of opportunities to believers and promises to bring revolutionary changes in their lives. It maintains status equality, religious superiority and psychological connectivity. The beauty of Ramzan is that it is properly training all the believers through divine injunctions. It is kind of a shield; preventing people from indulging in wrongdoings, character assassinations, use of obscene language and humiliation. It preaches and promotes love for mankind, peace, forgiveness, protection from hellfire, sense of starvation and welfare of the downtrodden. Since, we believers have sunk into the ocean of nothingness , we forget the teachings of our prophet. Life of Muhammad (PBUH) is a biggest example before us. Yes, we cannot reach at such degree of humanity and spiritual superiority as attained by Rasollallah but at least we can follow his footsteps. We can also change our behavior and style of leading life by adopting the principles suggested by our Prophet. The world we have been living in, is ephemeral and subjected to end. We need to focus on the eternal world which will start from life-hereafter. And, holy months like Ramzan, gives as an enormous opportunity to walk on the path of Allah. However, it must be kept in mind that the worldly pleasures we wish is nothing before the pleasures as promised by Allah. But, the most unfortunate thing is that people give due importance to televised programs-which means to earn money- rather than focusing on divine law. Yes, televised programs help us in understanding many religious things but the spirit required to comprehend Islam appears nowhere. It is also true that most of the Muslims recite holy Quran in this month but very small ratio of them understand the glorious importance of the holy book. It is the reason we all Muslims are in troubles today. Understanding Quran means understanding Allah and the actual message his prophets. In the Surah Yaseen Allah says – Yaseen Wal Quran-ul Hakeem which means the Quran is the most wise book. And, prior to understanding Islam, it is necessary to understand Quran. Hence, it is time to attain company of Allah rather than commercializing the teachings of Allah. We need to individually realize that why Allah made us Muslims and What is the real message of Quran. Remember, in the history, most of the nations reached at zenith by acquiring spiritual attainments not by the worldly pleasures.