Elements of dysfunction in Politics

Pakistan has many political parties. And though the debate of Army vs Democracy continues to resurface every now and then, people have yet to identify the main problem with the exchange of power. According to scholars, Pakistan is firstly divided into many factions, each promoting their own tribe, culture, values and even religion. In present day this is seen in the split of the Bhutto’s (Zardari wing) and Sharif’s (Nawaz Shairf, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz). The Bhutto’s are more regionally attached to Sindh with a lean towards Shitte culture where as the Sharif’s are Punjab based with a rather Sunii following. This shift in culture plays a great role when either party rises to power. While the bureaucracy relishes its power in Islamabad and sometimes Karachi (both being the countries power hubs), the political parties prefer to fawn over their regional counterparts. In doing so, the demographic split between civilians who vote is widened.

Military power was not a concept that was present in Pakistan during the time of independence. The Pakistani military became independent from the British and took on their role of civil subordination and political aloofness as they traditionally are. The erosion of these traditions was commenced by the gradual fall of political institutions in the 1950’s. The military began to take a greater stance to spread their influence and (along with the civil bureaucracy) soon emerged as a distinguishing factor in the decision making at the national level. The repeated military interventions in politics since 1958 and the military rule of dictators such as Zia and Musharaf, has changed the traditional pattern of relationships between civilians and military.

While the military faction of Pakistan is aligned with the elitist bloc, political parties are aligned with feudalistic blocs. Thus in a battle of powers, the major benefactors are those who hold considerable influence in the country. Pakistan has been unable to dismantle prevalent feudal structures which propel the country blindly with brute force being the driving power. Even so, Pakistan sees the rise in political parties professing to be saviors of the nation. Many parties have shed their former policies to step along the trend of secularism while others choose fundamentalist policies, thus proving that land ties are not the only source of loyalty. Political parties have risen in quantity but declined in political power, principally in relation to the military.