Democracy and Pakistan, an oxymoron

United States President Joe Biden has invited around 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy in December, including major Western allies and also Iraq, India and Pakistan, according to a list posted on the State Department website recently. But why Pakistan? No doubt, it is called a parliamentary democracy. But is it really?

The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and "autocratic governments" at the heart of his foreign policy. The "Summit for Democracy" will take place online on December 9 and 10 ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year. It is aimed at "galvanising commitments and initiatives across three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights".

Pakistan has failed on all these counts. And repeatedly. After independence in 1947, Pakistan was established as a parliamentary system based on elected forms of governance. However, the military has ruled for over three decades (1958-1971, 1977-1988, 1999-2008) and it has been difficult for democracy to take root because of governing conflicts.

The first five-year term of an elected government started in 2013 and 2018 signifies the first democratic transfer of power, record proves. In Pakistan, civilian governments are subject to military influence and pragmatically accommodate the army in order to reduce the chances of a coup. The Pakistani army is the de facto ruler of the country abetted by the ISI. We all know the fate suffered by Nawaz Sharif who sought to strengthen the civilian government.

It could safely be averred that Pakistani governments' survive at the mercy of its Army and this in turn draws its strength from citing the "Indian threat". How did Imran Khan become the head of the government? Is it not due to the Army's intervention in the election process? "Yeh jo dehsat gardi hai, is ke peechey wardi hai" (terror is backed by the military) was a popular chant during the 2018 elections and cast aspersions on democracy taking root in Pakistan.

There is evidence to suggest the military ran a campaign of intimidation and threats to secure Imran Khan's position by suppressing his political opponents, the judiciary, media, and activists. Firstly, the media was subjected to unprecedented pressure, raising concerns that the army was carrying out a silent coup. There were widespread abductions of journalists, censorship, and financial ruin of establishments that refused to toe the official line — do not cover or praise the PML-N, focus on the winning image of PTI and Imran Khan.

Geo TV, the country's largest broadcaster, was forced off air for weeks. Dawn, the oldest newspaper, was threatened for interviewing Sharif where he suggested Pakistani militants were responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The brazen suppression of two of the largest media houses was a warning to the rest to fall in line.

The suspension of media and press rights highlighted the excess of military influence on the electoral process. Then the vote banks systematically broke down. It was an election under the shadow of threat and 'democracy' won again in Pakistan. It is a shame that Biden treats countries like Pakistan as democratic even!