Nawaz Sharif, lifelong-anointed head honcho of his own faction of Pakistan Muslim League, is being quoted saying only stronger “democratic” political parties could guarantee Pakistan’s security, prosperity and its stability as a federation.
Well said certainly; but unarguably not even understood by him himself, and definitely standing little prospects of being materialised practically at his own hands, let alone anyone else. Just look around, and can you say honestly if any of the parties occupying the national centre-stage is democratic even remotely. Aren’t they almost all the fiefdoms of dynasties and overbearing individuals? His own is in the grab of family siblings and scions. Political parties become strong and grow stronger if they are democratic internally. And that means if they apply the recognised democratic principles to their working and functioning. Can you say of this about the outfits parading on our national political landscape as political parties? Except for Jamaat-e-Islami, none holds even true party elections. They all go through a fake ritual just to meet certain legal requirements. In reality, it is just nomination, no election at all. When these parties are so spurning of electing their leaders and office bearers, how can you expect they would be giving full play to democratic norms, principles and practices in their running? Truly, these parties are nothing more than principalities of princes and princesses where their word is the writ and final. And these eminences’ pretences of leading democratic outfits are a huge charade, which indeed sits perpetually banefully at the nation’s democracy project. For the founding, nurturing and promoting of a democratic polity, democratic parties are of essence. But never ever we have had them. It is only the dynasty or individual dominated entities that have become our eternal companions. And that has stifled the process of constant infusion of fresh blood, fresh vigour and fresh vitality in the political parties, so essential for the growth and advancement of democracy in a country.
Change is indeed palpably an anathema to this nation’s political parties, in any event. Ironically, at this point in time when certain political “leaders” are asking for the heads of the services’ chiefs for some recent military collapses, none from amongst them ever steps down after their parties’ electoral humiliating defeats. Instead, they go out yelling they had been cheated out of victory.But this is quite a norm in established democracies the world over; as for one, in Britain, which our self-styled democratic leaders of their spurious democratic parties hold up as their model of democracy and democratic practices. There, a party’s defeat is owned up by the leader who lays down the baton at once for the election of a new leader. This is just unimaginable here. And so are the intensive internal party debates to evolve party policies and lines on national issues that the British political parties undertake, as do their peers everywhere in established democracies. Here it is the party “leader” who has the first and the final say. And in Britain their political parties are the ladders for talented and promising commoners to get atop in political prominence, party stewardship and national leadership. Here, the parties are the crushers of talent, promoters of mediocrity and pushers of servile obeisance and fealty. In his own PML (N), where are those strong-willed brave leaders who had kept the party afloat in the teeth of a dictator’s tyranny while Nawaz himself was luxuriating abroad on a bargained-exile to escape the torture of imprisoned life?
All thrown out of the party’s inner counsels; isn’t it? In any case, now that he has spoken of stronger democratic parties for the country’s wellbeing, will he set the pace? For now being quite a frequent resident of Britain, he would know after the Labour party’s defeat in the last British election, two Miliband brothers contested the party poll for its new leader, with the younger sibling clinching the post. Expecting of Nawaz to open up his party to a leadership from outside the dynasty is expecting too much. But for the strength of his party and for the strength of democracy in the country, would he set a party poll in which the two Sharif brothers like the Miliband siblings would contest for the party leadership in the true sense to make it a little bit democratic? Will pigs fly? Let’s see.
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