CSS 2013 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | Successes and Failures of Political Parties in Pakistan
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Question breakdown
This question has two parts in which we are asked to discuss the Successes and Failures of Political Parties in bringing about meaningful Political Change in Pakistan.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Changing Paradigms of Political Parties
3-Successes of Political Parties in Pakistan
4-Failures of Political Parties of Pakistan
5-Critical Analysis
6-Conclusion
Introduction
Political parties have played a pivotal role in crafting the country’s political landscape. After its inception, Pakistan has experienced various changing political trends that have overshadowed the workings of democracy under the rule of dynastic politics and the rise of third-party influence. However, few significant achievements and unaddressed failures have stagnated the wheel of the country’s growth and welfare. The role of military involvement and a war for the enactment of democracy have been the most crucial and upheld in the successes and failures of political parties.
Changing Paradigms of Political Parties
Before digging deep into the successes and failures of political parties, it is necessary to briefly look over the transition phases of these parties in the quilt of democratic paradox. The lack of a systematic approach towards fulfilling their claims and promises has widened the gap in political stability in Pakistan;
- ✓From a Two-Party to a Three-Party System
From 1988-2013, Pakistan’s panorama has historically been influenced by the two-party political system with the rise of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh and the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) in Punjab, the two provinces, constituting a big chunk of the vote bank for the country. Nevertheless, for the last decade, a transitive phase in breaking down the domination of the two-party system can be observed with the emergence of Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led by the motive of “justice, humanity and self-sustenance”, gaining popularity in the third province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). The admirable surfacing of former cricketer Imran Khan in the Political environment created a fragmented political environment with the fame of the anti-corruption narrative. The shift from a two-party culture to a third-party system led the political paradigm towards coalition politics with diverse representations of doctrines and manifestos.
- ✓Change in Tradition of Royal Politics
The very next decade of Pakistan, after its inception, had been marked by a decade of unconstitutional chaos and immediate martial laws. Then comes an era of long-dominated dynastic politics in a tug-of-war to chase democratic reign. A disrupted politics between the twenty-two royal families, including Bhuttos, Sharifs and Chaudhrys, prevailed over five decades and faced a gradual transition in the tradition of family politics. As a third party, Imran Khan challenged the dominance of elites by galvanizing urban, young and middle-class voters. This transformation in political trends disillusioned the public with heredity politics, where power was transferred to the descendants of the same family rather than being decided on merit. In addition, the rise of social media and political awareness in youth, following an accountable and transparent system, compelled the elite to move beyond family-oriented leadership. Though it has been resilient to rebuttal royal politics entirely, a significant political shift has been created in the loophole.
- ✓Reshaping Provincial Political Monopoly
The hegemony of traditional family politics in Pakistan is intertwined with provincial governance. The monopoly of family rule is deeply entrenched in the political roots over the name of regionalism and ethnic loyalties, which has stifled the trend of diverse politics and has marginalized the representation of minorities and ideological movements in provinces. However, the rise of political consciousness among the middle class and youth has disrupted long-term monarchist rule and consequently urged the central government to intervene in provincial grievances.
- ✓The Anti-Status Quo Agenda of PTI and its Ideological Appeal
Discussing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is essential because it has filled up pivotal loopholes in Pakistani politics and made a significant change in the political landscape. PTI’s chairman, Imran Khan, stepped into the ground with the anti-status quo agenda and changed the political discourse of youth and middle class towards the unresolved issues of governance, transparency and corruption. The politics of patronage, practised by PMLN and PPP, was disillusioned by the youth and urban middle-class vote bank. The rise of third parties mobilized the desperate public with ideological appeals based on the model of “Riyasat-e-Madina” and a welfare state which resonates around diverse modern parameters to form a society. Nevertheless, Imran Khan’s vision, blended with Islamic values, couldn’t deliver his narrative and slogans, making him fall prey to intense criticism by opposition parties and public voters. However, a significant change in public awareness still hinders family politics.
- ✓Politics of Manifesto
Pakistan’s politics is profoundly enticed by the politics of manifesto, enriched with aspiring promises that consistently lack substantive fulfilment on practical grounds. This reflects the gap between political claims and implementation. Political parties, including PPP. PMLN and PTI proposed their manifesto, addressing the widespread public concerns of unemployment, inflation, security issues, justice and development to grasp a greater vote bank. Still, a disconnection between campaign rhetoric and practical implications keeps on gaining the mistrust of manifesto politics.
Successes of Political Parties in Pakistan
Apart from analyzing changing political trends in the Political environment, however, there are some inevitable successes of political parties as well, elucidated below;
- ✓Mechanizing Democracy
Institutionalizing democracy has always been a perplexing yet contradictory matter for political parties. Political parties, mainly the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Noon (PMLN), played a significant role in establishing the writ of democracy. In 2013, a successive transfer of power from PPP to PMLN marked the first completion of democratic tenure in the country’s history. Despite several military interventions, both political parties tried hard not to derail the democratic turn despite ideological conflicts.
- ✓Restoring Civilian Supremacy
The role of political parties has proven pivotal in restoring the supremacy of the democratic regime in Pakistan. The era after the 1980s is marked as a period of troika when PPP and PMLN spearheaded the reinstatement of civilian rule against the forceful military intervention of General Zia ul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. The mutual alliance of both political elites emphasizing the Movement of Restoration of Democracy (MRD) and the Charter of Democracy (MoD). These movements pushed constitutional reforms to reduce the military influence and counterbalance the dictatorship by strengthening democratic institutions. However, their internal conflicts and corruption cases reinforce the military to exercise its behind-the-scenes power.
- ✓Constitutional Reforms
Constitutional reforms are counted as one of the notable successes of political parties. The 18th Amendment, a fundamental reform, was championed by PPP and PMLN along with other small regional parties, aiming to strengthen parliamentary wings and decentralize the power, enhancing more autonomy to provincial governments during military reigns. Political parties held hands to protect the constitution from authoritarian dominance following a legislative gateway to amend, restore and revise parliamentary structures.
- ✓Political Awareness
Political parties, mainly highlighting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), entrenched political recognition among youth and middle-class voters across various demographics. This twist in the political fold compelled regional politics to focus on the demands and expectations of youth and suppressed fragments of society.
- ✓Legislative Achievements
Another significant achievement of political parties is the legislative advancement of crucial societal issues. Under the leadership of PML-Q, parliament passed the Women Protection Bill in 2006, empowering women to sue the guilty against any unethical activity if observed or experienced. Benazir Income Support Program is another marked successive program of PPP to mitigate the poverty line by providing financial aid for the welfare of the lower middle class.
Failures of Political Parties in Pakistan
However, there are still many political objectives which are required to denounce political and economic instability and are counted as a failure of the political parties of Pakistan;
- ✓Fragile Democratic Culture
Despite being ingrained deep into the system, political parties have failed to enact democracy in the country. Family politics and the transfer of power only to descendants of family heads like Bhuttos and Sharifs have always been hindrances to the growth of internal politics, young leadership, and innovative political mindsets.
- ✓Failure to Resolve Governance Issues
Political parties have always failed to resolve unresolved governance issues, and parliamentarians consistently fail to address corruption, institutional ineffectiveness, undemocratic tenures, and nepotism. Corruption cases have afflicted almost all the parties, including PPP, PML-N, PTI, and PML-Q. Curbing increases inflation, citizen safety issues, unemployment, and the delicate education and health sectors are still undetermined for the public.
- ✓Political Instability and Disputes
Political parties are usually observed to be engaged in contentious politics based on personal tug of war instead of focusing on national interest. Thorough protests, sit-ins and political clashes halted the way forward to stability. The war of power between PTI and PML-N eroded the democratic process subsequently. Moreover, the policy of political victimization through state institutes against opposition leaders contributed to threatening the political stability.
- ✓Inability to Overcome Military Influence
One of the chief reasons for political instability in Pakistan is the military’s intervention in civilian rule. Military influence over national policies like foreign and security affairs has been exacerbated over time, and parliamentarians have failed to curtail its dominance. The toppling of democratic governments, mainly led by General Zia ul Haq and General Pervez Musharaf, has been a critical challenge for political parties to deter.
- ✓Ethnic and Sectarian Differences
Pakistan is the landscape of archival ethnic communities that started their struggle for survival right after independence. Political parties often aggravate ethnic, sectarian, and regional divisions for their interests. For example, the Mutahidda Quomi Movement (MQM) has been denounced for igniting ethnic tension in Karachi. The same ethnic differences were observed in the Baloch and Pashtun communities against the Punjabi based on resource disparity. Political parties are also indicted for exploiting the religious sentiments of different sects for their personal or political gains.
- ✓Collapsed Economy
Another lingering failure of political parties is the collapsed economy. Economic crises, soaring debt, fiscal deficits, and delayed implementation of economic policies often lead the country to IMF bailouts. Economic stability is directly proportional to political stability, but all the successive governments, including PML-N and PTI, couldn’t justify their claims of enacting economic reforms and curbing growing inflation.
- ✓Weak Judiciary and Governing Institutions
Political parties have failed to establish a pressure-free judiciary and the smoothness of publicly alleged cases. Other governing institutions like police, bureaucracy and intelligence have also been derailed to safeguard personal business and political interests. These institutions are perceived as defenceless and mistrusted due to the engagement of political use for judicial activism against the opponent party, which has brutally undermined the judiciary’s credibility and its instruments over the ordinary citizen.
- ✓Security Issues
Terrorism, Militancy, Blasphemous cases and failure of law and order have been one of the unaddressed and growing concerns of the public. Despite having the National Action Plan and Counter-Terrorism Agencies, political parties have failed to safeguard the lives of ordinary citizens from these perverted ills of our foreign policy and weak trial system.
Critical Analysis
Let’s critically analyze the overall engagement of political parties in fabricating political systems and democratic parliaments. It can be easily assessed that party politics have contributed less in their national achievement and have remained fiercer in the context of collapse and frustration. Despite all governing instruments, including state constitutions, national action plans, economic reforms and structured governing institutions, parliament has badly failed to address the nation’s core concerns. Authoritarian influence and dynastic politics are intertwined in a tug of war to over-emphasize each other. Suppose political parties come together on one page against military intervention. In that case, even then, they can’t sit together because of internal conflicts, which ultimately strengthen military elites to exploit them behind the curtain. The democratic process can never be transparent unless the worth and importance of an ordinary citizen are considered equal to the cost of political elites.
Conclusion
Political parties in Pakistan have played a meaningful role in bringing about political change, both with its pros and cons. On the one hand, PMLN and PPP hailed hands together to strengthen democracy and amend influential constitutional reforms in the form of the 18th Amendment; on the other hand, PTI came forward by creating political awareness and an anti-corruption narrative among the middle-class masses. However, many political failures are also fabricated along with the achievements of political elites. The politics of nepotism and forming an interim government to curb opponents affected by military dominance, unresolved corruption cases and weak judiciary trials have curtailed the state’s political, social and economic stability in the long run.
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