Democracy and rule of law

In his speech at the Lahore Bar Council, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftekhar Mohammad Chaudhry, while staying within theoretic constraints, addressed the question of rule of law, the absence of which is responsible for a general chaos and conflict in this society.
Calling for the restoration of the 1973 Constitution, he observed that the constitution being the fundamental law and a source of unity and stability in a country, allowed democratic institutions to play their designated role as well as to protect and promote the basic rights of the citizenry.
"Democratic process," he said, "strengthens judiciary, which in turn promotes rule of law and provides strength for the sustenance of democratic institutions." In other words, strong democratic institutions and the rule of law are two faces of the same coin.
At present, there are three major conflicts going on in this country that can be pinned on the absence of strong democratic institutions. One is the denial of justice to the weaker sections of society, which often times leads to people taking the law into their own hands.
The second conflict has arisen from a collective sense of deprivation in the smaller provinces, especially Balochistan, where radical elements have taken up arms against the state in the pursuit of what they deem as their legitimate political and economic rights. The third is about the people's right to rule through their elected representatives.
The 1973 Constitution may not be a panacea for all that ails the society at present, but it certainly shows a way forward. A product of political consensus, it underlines the concept of equality before law and respect for the fundamental rights of all. The concept, needless to say, is intrinsically linked to democratic governance of which accountability is a central tenet.
The Constitution provides the basic framework for the resolution of the vital issue of provincial autonomy, which is at the heart of the violent unrest in Balochistan. Surely much water has flowed under the bridges since the Constitution was framed.
Still, the Constitution offers the starting point for a serious debate and resolution of the present troubled state of relations between the smaller provinces and the Federation. And of course, it specifies what form of government and electoral processes and mechanisms the country has to have. And to ensure that the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state function effectively within their respective spheres, there is a system of checks and balances based on the concept of separation of powers.
This reduces the chances of unsavoury confrontations between them that can trigger situations like the present judicial crisis. Reverting to the CJ's central theme, democracy based rule of law is the path towards the resolution of present chaos and conflict.
Another fast growing conflict is the one generated by extremist elements in the tribal belt as well as settled areas of the Frontier province. It has become all the more urgent, therefore, that conditions are created in which all the mainstream political parties play their role to arrive at a national consensus on how best to stop the escalation of that extremely dangerous situation.