In this series of articles, we take stock of the improvements in Pakistan's performance and rating in the area Freedom, Democracy and governance as measured by some credible international institutions. In a highly charged political setting and polarisation, the news of improvement may look to be odd and may be perceived propagandistic. But the data would speak for itself. We would try to formulate some proposals to improve Pakistan's performance and ratings in these areas.
Among myriads of problems and sufferings, let us learn to celebrate good news and indicators as well. On three indicators Pakistan's rating has improved; one on Failed States Index (FSI), second on Freedom Index and the third on Democracy Index, all three released by renowned and credible international institutions.
Foreign Policy magazine has improved Pakistan's rating by 4 points on its Failed States Index (FSI). Pakistan is at 12, while the worst among Failed states is Somalia with a ranking of 1. Pakistan used to be ranked at 8 a few years back. We still have to do a lot of work to cross the ranking of 20 initially, and ultimately 60. There are 60 failed states in the world. India has not been included in the list of 60 failed states. Afghanistan is worse than us for obvious reasons and has ranked at 7 and Bangladesh with its peaceful coexistence is much better than us with a ranking of 25.
Similarly on Freedom Index, released by Freedom House, Pakistan has improved its position by more than 10 points over the period 2007-2011.It is still grouped among Partly Free countries. Freedom House classifies countries in three categories; not free, partly free and free. Most of the 54 Muslim countries are classified among" not free", except Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and surprisingly Kuwait who are grouped under, "partly free" status. Still more surprising and perhaps pleasing is the status of Indonesia, which has the singular honour among Muslims to have earned a place among free countries of the world along with western democracies, India, USA and Australia. Malaysia despite a lot of window dressing and marketing effort has still been classified among, "partly free" countries. Pakistan and Turkey have improved their ranking due to the increasingly strengthening democracies in the two countries. Both countries have suffered military rules and have ethnic problems that dilute freedom.
The 2010 Democracy Index makes interesting revelations and rankings. Italy and France have been downgraded into Flawed democracies and Czech Republic has emerged as a Full democracy with a higher ranking of 16, as compared to the ranking of the US of 17. As usual Scandinavian countries remain at the top of the list, as Full Democracy country. Pakistan has improved its ranking from 108 in 2008 to 104 in 2010, while India's ranking has come down from 35 in 2008 to 40 in 2010, although it is still classified in the company of France and Italy as a Flawed democracy. Pakistan used to be classed under Authoritarian regimes earlier under Musharraf, which is changed to Hybrid democracies. Sri Lanka also improved its ranking from 57 to 55, albeit marginally.
Unfortunately, at the bottom are two major Islamic countries, Iran with tall claims of democracy and Saudi Arabia with no such pretensions. However, two other major Muslim countries, Indonesia and Turkey who are growing and developing very fast have got very good rankings, comparatively speaking. Indonesia improved its ranking significantly from 69 in 2008 to 60 in 2010, and classified under Flawed democracy and closer to India. Turkey marginally improved its ranking from 89 to 87. Bangladesh also improved its ranking significantly from 91 to 83.The trend belies the pejorative that Muslims cannot have democracy.
EIU Democracy Index embodies a wider concept than is the case with some other measures of democracy. Free and fair elections and civil liberties are necessary conditions for democracy, but they are unlikely to be sufficient for a full and consolidated democracy if unaccompanied by transparent and at least minimally efficient government, sufficient political participation and a supportive democratic political culture
What is democracy can be understood in detail by following the 60 questions that the EIU model asks; 12 questions each in the 5 categories of the following;
--- Electoral process and pluralism.
--- Civil liberties.
--- Functioning of the government.
--- Political participation.
--- Political culture.
The most important questions fall into the categories of free and fair elections, independence of political parties, presence of well-functioning opposition, ability of elected parties to assume power and govern effectively without internal and external interference of other actors such as military etc. Accountability, transparency in government, independence of judiciary, public confidence in political parties and government, self- confidence and sense of freedom of individuals and civil society, groups, equality before law, due process, participation of people through membership of political parties, local government, reasonable voter turn-out and election campaigns, interest of the people in the system, opinion on adequacy, suitable performances and desirability of democracy and democratic institutions, lack of support to military and other forms of dictatorships, freedom of media, press and associations.
Why is Pakistan's ranking too low, despite improvements in the recent years, lower than Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India? Particularly disturbing for Pakistanis and the politicians should be the low ranking of Pakistan in the area of political participation, although the rating has doubled since 2008 from 1.11 to 2.22. It is still very low almost 50% that of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We will revert to this subject later in this series.
THE FAILED STATE SYNDROME Why are we characterised and declared so high on the list of Failed States, so close to Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan; only a few steps or ranks away? May be a more sympathetic evaluation could have given us a few more marks. There is a softer side of religion as well and not only extremism and fundamentalism are its offshoots. There is an immense cultural capital that is overlooked. Societies do not survive simply on physical infrastructure, and eclipse due to lack of these (important) inputs. The literatures, poetry, arts, drama, folklore, music, are also the foundations, even if soft, of societies, which often compensate more material failures.
In Pakistan's poor areas like Korangi in Karachi, there is a poet in every tenth house, and its evenings and weekends are frequently filled with "mushairas "(poetic recital gatherings). While beggars are seen, and it is unfortunate, but it is forgotten that there are those who give them. There are hundreds and thousands of NGOs and charities, which run highly equipped hospitals. More than a million students of religious madressah schools are boarded and lodged through private giving. There is a vibrant Sufi culture, which fosters forbearance, forgiving and virtue in a light manner of music and dance amidst scorching heat.
State structure is still intact, although beset by problems; strong military, adequate bureaucratic structure if not performance, a rejuvenated judiciary and healthy trends of co-operation among mainstream political parties are the positive elements, on which hope can be placed, to initiate the reform process.
There is another reason that Pakistan ranks so high on the Failed States Index, which is the existence of terrorism, conflicts, groups and factions. A significant weightage in the failed states index model concerns these issues. Unfortunately, during these years of our national life, these issues have sprung up with a vengeance. Once the situation ameliorates, Pakistan's rating would improve significantly. Secondly, a failed state does not mean that it would cease to exist in the near future or there is some imminent meltdown or bankruptcy around the corner. It is merely an index that attempts to measure performance of states in terms of certain criteria. It should be of long term consequence and should not raise unnecessary alarm bells. Unfortunately, even among knowledgeable Pakistanis, there are myths and misunderstandings regarding imminent consequences of such determinations and measurement models.
However, even if the aforementioned is allowed for, we would still be in the midst of 60 failed states. Many of us would term it as another Jewish conspiracy against the largest Muslim state. We have a large and strong army of more than one million soldiers. We have nuclear weapons. But are these power features helpful in solving our current problems? Did nuclear weapons, high military expenditure and a very large army save the Soviet Union from catastrophe and destruction. The ranking is well-deserved; a country where 25-30% of its populace live below poverty line; a country which consistently refuses to adequately fund education and health sector; a country where millions of children are still out of school; a country where its elite refuses to pay taxes and hides behind the agricultural poverty and food security; a country where tax income and revenue is devoured by military expenditure and debt servicing; a country where banks pay 4-5% on deposits and let at 17-18%, devouring the surplus among themselves and the powerful borrowers who do not pay back.
(The writer has recently published his book, "Pakistan's Development Challenges". Another of his book is forthcoming titled, "Pakistan's Development; economy, resources and technology")