TODAY, like other democratic transition states, Pakistan is a county in transformation– facing the imbuing challenge of political unity and stability in the aftermath of election-2024. By any reasonable accounts of political correctness, apparently the crisis, the Pakistani nation undergoes, it actually provides the opportunity to revitalize our national unity via forming a broad-based national government. Efforts are underway to establish a national government, which could ultimately revitalize the scope of federation in Pakistan. With a reconciliatory credo, Pakistan’s political leadership can resolve the current crisis.
Federation of Pakistan: Pakistan is a Parliamentary democracy with a federal government and four provincial legislatures. In other words, there’s a federal government at the centre (i.e. Islamabad) that takes care of national affairs on the whole and then there are four provincial governments that are entrusted with the welfare of the provinces. Pakistan is a multi-ethnic state with multi-party system which makes coalition formation a sine qua non of democracy in Pakistan. Academically put, federalism refers to a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (such as states or provinces).
The major principle of a federal government is the division of powers between the central government and its constituent units, better called federal units. The adoption of the federal system as a leading form of the government by the majority of nation-states is richly evidence to the fact that it is more appropriate for societies of a heterogeneous nature than the other forms of government such as the unitary state or confederation. A considerable number of nation-states are composed of different ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups, yet the Pakistani case is different as its units are coherent and united. But like other growing democracies and economies, Pakistan is confronted to face different state challenges.
Federalism –the pivot of national unity: There are multiple geographic, economic and demographic variations that demanded special apparatus of management. As security, economy and identity were the common goals of all units; federal system ever remains the most suitable answer to these issues and demands in the case of Pakistan. All the while, democracy must also flourish within the structures of political parties.
The provincial political landscape: The territorial division of Pakistan splits the country into four provinces (Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh), two administrative units (Azad and Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan) and Islamabad operating as a distinct federal territory. Despite the fact that these regions are generally distinguished by their linguistic and ethnic characteristics, there is a common feeling of nationhood among these units. Obviously, these cultural diversities seem diffused in a federal level, for instance, Sindh has been the historic centre of PPP support, whereas the PMLN has generally been favoured in Punjab. In matter of NA constituencies, the Punjab province plays predominant role in the formation of a federal government.
National unity and political stability: Political stability denotes perennial peaceful conditions in a country. It owes its prevalence to a host of contributory factors including good governance, social harmony, absence of social fault lines, a strong justice-dispensing edifice, absence of economic disparities and social justice. And most importantly, there is a strong bond of connectivity between political stability and economic development. Objectively put, Pakistan’s political and national struggles underpin a notion of reconciling the goal of national integration with the imperatives of national security. And above all, adherence to respect of our state institutions, particularly of our defence forces is a sine quo non regarding our national unity and stability.
The urge of a broad-based coalition: Needless to say, the political history of countries ruled by coalition governments provides us with many examples of broad-based national governments. Most of these were governments based on a national consensus and created in response to an acute military or economic crisis. A national government is the embodiment of a de facto representation of the national political parties, duly represented in Parliament. And yet, the current crisis acts to be a motivating force for forming a national government beyond an epidemic of political antagonism. Arguably, the present crisis creates a base of solidarity and provides the political system with a time out expediency, during which important decisions that fall into the national consensus can be made.
Multiple challenges posed to Pakistan: Today, Pakistan is entailed by manifold challenges that include the ongoing economic and political unrest accompanied by growing terrorist attacks, especially by the Afghan-India backed TTP. One of the mega challenges before the future coalition government will be to overcome the economic and financial crisis by carrying out economic policy reforms. The country lacks the foreign exchange needed to pay for necessary imports and inevitable loan debts. In a nutshell, the future coalition government must be committed to strengthening democratic institutions; strengthening the rule of law and governance; improving human development and sustainable goals; developing the energy infrastructure; building strong foreign relations and improving internal security.
And yet, efforts to form a coalition government gained momentum after former Premier, Nawaz Sharif, on Friday appealed to rival political parties to join hands to pull Pakistan out of its current turmoil. As per the election results of the National Assembly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has succeeded with 75 seats, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with 54, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with 17 and other seats going to smaller parties. The Pakistani nation hopes that the religious parties as well as the winning PTI Independent Group will play a constructive role in national politics.
To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 in the National Assembly. Since its creation, Pakistan has sufficiently learnt to deal with the political crisis. And there is no iota of doubt that the current crisis is a litmus test for our political leadership of displaying political sagacity. Our political leadership must be cognizant of the fact that the key to resolving the current crisis lies in building a national consensus on the federal level. Understandably, sometimes, a state needs the crises to turn challenges into opportunities. It is a positive development that Pakistan People’s Party has ensured to support the Muslim League -N to form the federal government.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the strategic and nuclear issues.
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