Anti-democratic intervention in the air due to corrupt government: Pak editorial

ISLAMABAD - Democracy has never taken roots in Pakistan because of military interventions, but even an avid supporter of democracy is put between a rock and a hard place when a democratically elected government starts to lose credibility, an editorial in a leading Pakistani newspaper has said.

“The diminishing returns of a corrupt and incompetent democracy are leading to the inescapable suspicion that something is in the air, in the possible shape of an anti-democratic intervention,” an editorial in the Daily Times said.

It noted that while Gilani was correct in saying that “the media, the masses and the political parties are very clear that democracy is the need of the country,” as military rule was inherently a recipe for disaster, this, however, did not mean that the PPP-led government could afford to be complacent or sanguine.

Pointing out that the ‘Save democracy’ slogan was beginning to sound like a fading refrain due to the criticism of the present government in the wake of corruption rumours doing the rounds, it said that there could not be smoke without fire, and “the government must pull up its socks and clear its own Augean stables.”

“If the government does not deliver and function better, it would start losing its grip on the situation. The height of incompetence that we witness in most government departments is making people wonder if the government is drifting,” it said.

Even though democracy was needed for the progress and development of Pakistan, the increasingly fragile incumbent structure was fast losing popularity and support amongst the masses, the editorial said, adding, “Before the situation gets any worse, the government must start to deliver. Pakistan has waited for democracy for a long time; let’s not let it go to the dogs once again.” (ANI)