Azadi March: Saving Democracy

The moment has arrived which was feared by the Pakistani government since it assumed power in 2013. People have flocked around the dissident leaders, determined to take down the rulers who, in their opinion, have done nothing to fulfill the promises made before the elections. Most importantly, the basic reason for the uprising is the alleged rigging in the general elections.

Whenever there are protests anywhere in the world, there are some people who actively participate while a larger number of people support the cause passively. Similarly, there are always some people who oppose the cause actively and a bigger number which opposes it passively. There is also a group of people, generally larger than all other groups, which remains neutral or apathetic. Usually the success and legitimacy of protests in a democratic environment, among other factors, depends on these numbers and ratios. In the case of current protests in Pakistan, although Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri have succeeded in mustering a number of active supporters bigger than what was expected earlier, there is a considerable number of people opposing the cause. The actual reasons range from simply the affiliation with N-League to complete ignorance of the demands of the protesters, but the base of all their arguments happens to be the notion that the protests will derail the democratic process that had seemingly become stable after a long period of dictatorship. This view was reinforced after Nawaz Sharif announced that his government is ready to form a judicial commission to investigate the alleged rigging. For many people, the protests after this announcement are totally unjustified.

Had this announcement been made about a month ago, at least Imran Khan would certainly have waited to see if this works, before giving a call for protests. But it seems like Nawaz Sharif tactically timed the announcement. It was very difficult for Imran Khan to call off the protests at the eleventh hour. He had mobilized thousands of workers who were in the danger of being demoralized. It was supposed to create a win win, in the sense that Nawaz Sharif was going to benefit from every possible outcome. In case Imran Khan cancelled his protests, his workers would lose the morale and he would have surely lost some support and Nawaz Sharif could have bought time in which he could have strengthened his position. In case Imran Khan pushed forward with his plans, which he eventually did, the announcement was supposed to provide a stronger argument against his narrative and as a result there would have been a reduction in the large number of people gathered around his cause. Unfortunately for Nawaz Sharif, it apparently didn’t work. Although that announcement is being used as an argument and those who opposed Imran Khan’s views have used it to ramp up their “save the democracy” mantra, it had almost no effect on Imran Khan’s supporters. The turnout in PTI rallies proved to be more than expected.

As for saving democracy, the question is whether the current government is actually democratic? Do people want to live in an actual democracy or all they need is a mere illusion? Can a government, which is being blamed for rigging by a significant number of people and which has done nothing so far to prove the legitimacy of the elections through which it assumed power, be called democratic? If people are afraid that democracy will be derailed, they should know that the current government has already derailed democracy. There is actually nothing to lose.