With by-elections less than a week away, uncertainty vibes are rife about the future politics. Is the system likely to be transformed into presidential? is the question being often debated.
How will the technocrat Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz deliver after assuming the office is anybody's guess. If President Pervez Musharraf does not doff his military outfit, what will be the reaction of a strong opposition and what is the future of Parliament?
As for opposition, the system is neither parliamentary nor presidential. The Parliament has been stripped of its sovereign character and one man (President Musharraf) is calling the shots, is the consensus view of the opposition.
In strong contrast to this view, President Musharraf has insisted in a string of statements that federal parliamentary democracy has been fully restored. "The system in vogue, best suits the country," he viewed.
It goes without saying that the by-elections are of academic interest after Shaukat Aziz was declared successor of Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain within hour he (Shujat) was named Jamali's successor.
There is no ambiguity about Shaukat Aziz's elevation as prime minister, as the government cannot afford to see him losing in the by-elections.
A common perception here in the Capital is that President Musharraf wouldn't shed his uniform and will maintain the status quo, or even if he decided to quit as the chief of army staff, he will assume the office of PML chief while Shaukat Aziz will work as a mere administrator.
Some analysts even did not rule out the possibility of general elections by mid of next year.
On the current and future political scene, views of politicians from diverse parties were sought.
"Nothing is perfect. But if your are looking for perfection, you have to work hard. I am optimistic that with the passage of time, democracy will take deep roots," commented Central Information Secretary of ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Senator Tariq Azeem.
He said that the Parliament would also take full course in due time and already it was vibrantly taking up issues and on certain key issues, the ruling coalition and the opposition adopted identical stance such as on the issue of Iraq war and the abduction of Amjad Hafeez and two other Pakistanis in Iraq.
He rejected the allegation that the Parliament was not sovereign, saying had it been so, there would have been no joint resolutions and other business in both Houses of the Parliament.
Opposition parties' full participation was another proof of the fact that parliamentary democracy was in vogue, he contended adding that the future of democracy was brighter.
To a question, he said that no one should doubt about the Parliament's future, as both the President and Prime Minister had said on several occasions that the assemblies would complete their term.
Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarians Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar believed that the basic characteristics of democracy were not fulfilled after the elections, saying neither the power was transferred, nor the Parliament given its constitutional role and above all a uniformed President was keeping all powers in his own hands.
"I don't see democracy flourishing even if these basic conditions are met, because the judiciary was yet to take oath under the Constitution. It has taken oath under PCO," he maintained.
Senator Babar contended that there would be no change for betterment, after August 18, it would be a mere change of face and not from 'dictatorship' to parliamentary democracy.
One of the ruling allies, Rao Sikandar Iqbal-led Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentary Party leader MNA Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi said the future of democracy was bright.
When asked about election of Shaukat Aziz as premier, he said the edifice of democracy was not based on one or two individuals, but it is rather wholesome in nature. He defended the uniformed President, saying that the 17th Amendment has given him constitutional cover.
"I don't think, President Musharraf's uniform has anything to do with democracy or the Parliament," he asserted.
Deputy Secretary-General of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, however, had an altogether different point of view. He said there had been no transfer of power even after the elections.
"The majority party was not in a position to raise its voice for power transfer. We don't see good future of democracy if President Musharraf did not quit one of the two slots," he cautioned.
Raza Mohammad Raza, senator of a nationalist Pakhtoon Khawa Milli Awami Party, said that after the 17th Amendment, there was virtually martial law imposed in the name of democracy.
"The things are expected to go from bad to worse, if the status quo continues after the bye-elections, which appears to be the possibility," he argued.
In the federal parliamentary system, he said, the Parliament is always held supreme and it works as a unifying force as far as the federating units were concerned, but here, an individual that too a non-elected one is running the country.
To a question, he said that the assumption of office by Shaukat Aziz would further consolidate the military rule and grip of the bureaucracy on the system.