Pakistan doesn't need controlled democracy

The opening session of Pakistan's newly elected National Assembly has raised hopes and revived fears about the country's return to democracy.

The hopes are the result of unprecedented cooperation between the leaders of major political forces. The fears stem from Pakistan chequered history of political manipulation by an over-arching establishment.

A weakened General (retired) Pervez Musharraf is already warning against "confrontation" between the presidency and the newly elected parliament. The politicians, notably Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari, have made it clear that they want a return to constitutional rule without conflict.

Pakistan has one of its best chances of finding political stability if Musharraf can resist the temptation to follow the pattern of viceregal rulers dating back to Governor-Generals Gulam Mohammad and Iskander Mirza during the 1950s.

There would be no confrontation if parliament is allowed to exercise its sovereignty. Musharraf may not want the elected parliament to vote on the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), the decree that he used to amend the country's constitution once again in November 2007.

The majority parties in parliament argue that it is the parliament's privilege to examine the arbitrary amendments to Pakistan's basic law. By claiming that the PCO should not be debated Musharraf is failing to adhere even to that precedent set by his military predecessors.

In the past, the military or civilian executive have constantly circumscribed the legislature in its functions, if and when the legislature was allowed to exist at all. Political parties operated in the shadow of larger than life figures, slandered, jailed or exiled with alarming frequency.

And then there were the ubiquitous intelligence agencies, hidden from public view but frequently seen pulling the strings in Pakistan's complex political drama.

If the new parliament is to represent a new beginning for the country then political parties must be given an opportunity to operate without the constraints of the past. The legislature and political parties are important institutions and, along with the judiciary and media, they are essential for Pakistan's evolution into a normal, functioning democracy.

Given the result of the February 18 election, and the army's critical decision to disassociate itself from politics, Musharraf simply cannot expect to rule Pakistan with a veneer of elected, albeit powerless, institutions.

Democratic rule

Pakistan has aspired for democratic rule since its inception. Power has alternated between civilian-democratic dispensations and military rulers claiming to control institutional decline, political chaos, and economic disarray.

When Musharraf took power he promised to restore democracy within three years, after creating institutional checks and balances and introducing reforms that would forever end the alteration of power between authoritarian military rulers and ineffective elected civilians.

Even before he achieved the status of a US ally, Musharraf had started espousing political ideas that rested on his continuation in office rather than on the effectiveness of institutions such as an independent judiciary or a government truly accountable to parliament.

It should by now have become obvious to all that various plans for controlled democracy have compounded Pakistan's problems.

Pakistan needs democracy, not controlled democracy. True democracy facilitates peaceful removal from power as well as the prospect of returning to it. Losing office while respecting dissent and accepting the role of national institutions is not as bad as risking everything.

Instead of trying to impose or manipulate the fulfilment of his will by creating new polarisation, Musharraf should work with parliament and let the constitutional democratic process take its course.

Husain Haqqani, Director of Boston University's Center for International Relations, is Co-Chair of the Hudson Institute's Project on Islam and Democracy. He is the author of the Carnegie Endowment book 'Pakistan Between Mosque and Military' (2005)