The democracy debate

Discussing democracy in the light of Panama case raises some critical questions regarding civilian authority and the role of establishment

Since the JIT report came out, liberal and progressive writers have raised the following three issues: politicians have been targeted for accountability in Pakistan while some other institutions are beyond it; acts of the JIT could be categorised as a soft coup as without the establishment backing, such an investigation would not have been possible; civilian authority continues to run in cycles with restarts every few years ensuring the army’s upper hand.

The writers have quoted examples of Memogate leading to Ambassador Haqqani’s ouster, after his falling out with the military on the wording of Kerry Lugar Bill, retired army personnel’s involvement in Imran Khan’s dharna in Islamabad to destabilise the PML-N government, and the Dawn Leaks affair which led to resignations of various ministers without an actual discussion on the veracity of the news story suggesting a major policy disagreement between the civilian and military leadership.

Given such a history, these writers have put the onus on the establishment for the current woes of the prime minister, the damning JIT report and perceive the Panama affair as a dent on the chances of civilians gaining strength in devising the strategic policy of the country, especially vis-a-vis India and Afghanistan.

As the debate rages within a circle which usually has a coherent position, it becomes important to articulate one’s position so as to evaluate it later with the luxury of hindsight.

The first point raised is what some have described as a ‘principled stance’: how can one assess this as accountability when Musharraf was allowed to go on a much more serious charge, or General Kayani’s brothers’ cases of corruption are on the back burner, or no mention has ever been made of the Generals whose children have become filthy rich e.g. the Haroon brothers?

Although I accept the ‘principled stance’ position, I think its repeated articulation leading to lamentations ignores the merits of the case, which is exactly what the media did in the Dawn Leaks case. Further, while the moral idealism highlights the existing power differentials of actors in the country, it also ends here disregarding the changing political economy of accountability where media is an important player.

Here, the electronic media dynamics need to be carefully assessed in understanding why the Panama Issue has dominated the news for the last eight months over all other critical policy issues. Can the PTI, the third largest political party which has staked its political future on the issue by mobilising public opinion through mass rallies, be expected to expend its political capital against a non-political rival.