Democracy in Pakistan

{{short description|none}}  {{EngvarB|date=January 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}} Politics in Pakistan refers to the ideologies and systems by which Pakistan was established in 1947.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Niall |title=Empire: how Britain made the modern world |date=2003 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-0-7139-9615-9 |edition=1. publ |location=London}}</ref> As envisaged by the nation's founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan is a nation-state, constitutionally a democratic parliamentary republic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Mohammed Ali Jinnah {{!}} Biography, Accomplishments, Religion, Significance, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammed-Ali-Jinnah |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The national cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Pakistan has executive power and the president is the head of state elected by the electoral college.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part I: "Introductory" |url=https://pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part1.html |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=pakistani.org}}</ref> Pakistan's political system is based on an elected form of governance.<ref>{{Citation |last=Harriss |first=John |title=Political change, political structure, and the Indian state since Independence |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203878187.ch4 |work=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics |date=2012 |access-date=2023-10-05 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203878187.ch4 |isbn=978-0-203-87818-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The democratic elections held in 2008 were the first to conclude a 5-year term in the nation's political history. However, since the country's inception, the military has had disproportionate power over state affairs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Altaf |first=Hina |date=May 2019 |title=History of Military Interventions in Political Affairs in Pakistan |journal=CUNY Academic Works |via=City University of New York (CUNY)}}</ref> Several military interventions have disrupted Pakistan's democracy. These interventions include takeovers by General Ayub Khan (1958-1969), General Yahya Khan (1969-1971), General Zia Ul Haq (1977-1988), and General Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008).<ref name=":0" />

==History == In the wake of intensifying political instability, the civilian bureaucracy and military assumed governing power in 1958. Since its independence, Pakistan's political system has fluctuated between civilian and military governments at various times throughout its political history, mainly due to political instability, civil-military conflicts, political corruption, and the periodic coup d'états by the military establishment against weak civilian governments, resulting in the enforcement of martial law across the country (occurring in 1958, 1977 and 1999, and led by chief martial law administrator-generals Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf respectively).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/56039330/Democracy-in-Pakistan|title=Democracy in Pakistan|first=Azeem|last=Afzal|access-date=26 December 2011}}</ref> Democracy in Pakistan, however imperfect, has been allowed to function to varying degrees.

The 2018 Pakistani general election was allegedly interfered with by the Pakistan Army. An year earlier, the army had a fallout with Nawaz Sharif for attempting to curb the military's traditional dominance of politics. Sharif was removed from office after his disqualification by the Supreme Court and subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption charges. Sharif deniend wrongdoing while suggesting a collusion between the courts and the military.<ref name=":1" /> In a HARDtalk interview, Haroon Hameed, the then CEO of Dawn, claimed that Pakistan Army had influence over the elections. Hameed cited the military’s social media and use of bots and trolls by the intelligence agencies. He additionally mentioned censorship faced by media outlets like Geo TV and Dawn.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shahid |first=Kunwar Khuldune |title=Why the Pakistan Army Is Vying to Influence the General Elections |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/why-the-pakistan-army-is-vying-to-influence-next-weeks-general-elections/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The 2024 Pakistani general election while deeply flawed and with claimed electoral irregularities demonstrates a "continuity of an electoral process that has historically been subject to political engineering".<ref>[https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/inside-pakistans-deeply-flawed-election/ Inside Pakistan’s Deeply Flawed Election, Journal of Democracy, Ayesha Jalal, February 2024]</ref> A February Gallup poll ahead of the election found that around 70 percent of Pakistanis lacked confidence in the honesty of their elections.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Siddique |first=Abubakar |date=2024-02-08 |title='Nothing Will Change': Pakistani Army's Alleged Election Meddling Dashes Hopes For Real Transformation |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-election-military-meddling-army-khan-change/32807995.html |access-date=2026-04-21 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-02-06 |title=Pakistanis' Discontent Reaches Record High Before Election |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/609752/pakistanis-discontent-reaches-record-high-election.aspx |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=Gallup.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Current status== Until 2013, Pakistan did not experience a democratic transfer of power from one democratically elected government that had completed its tenure to another. All of its previous democratic transitions have been aborted by military coups.<ref>Aqil Shah, The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan |(Harvard University Press, 2014), p. 1. [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674728936] {{ISBN|9780674728936}}</ref> In 2024 Pakistan was autocratizing according to V-Dem Democracy indices.<ref name="j496">{{cite web | title=Democracy Report 2025, 25 Years of Autocratization – Democracy Trumped? | url=https://v-dem.net/documents/54/v-dem_dr_2025_lowres_v1.pdf | access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Democracy in Pakistan}} Pakistan Category:Pakistani democracy movements Category:Political history of Pakistan