A person casting ballot

The goal to get an independent state for the Muslims in the Indian-Subcontinent was achieved through a democratic struggle under the leadership of Quaid-E-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.  Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a staunch Democrat, which is quite evident from his entire political life. When Congress resorted to violence during the days of Second World War, Quaid refrained from that and adopted more legal methods than the popular ones.

The Quaid while addressing at the Kingsway Hall, London, Said “Democracy is in the blood of Musalmans who look upon complete equality of man. I give you an example. Very often when I go to a mosque, my chauffeur stands side by side with me. Musalmans believe in fraternity, equality, and liberty”.

These words echo the vision of father of the nation regarding the future state, Pakistan. But as soon as Pakistan came into being, he died of TB and there was no one to carry his mission forward. The murder of Khan Ali Liaqat Khan further undermined the stability of the nation; looters, plunders and corrupt elite took over the country and started working for their own vested interests instead of serving interests of the nation. Till 1956, there was no constitution and the government of India act 1935 acted as the de-facto constitution of the country.
The constitution of 1956 was never a unanimous constitution and was full of disagreements even among the rulers of the time.

This constitution had run the country for only two years when Sikandar Mirza (Governor General of the time) took over the country, abrogated constitution and put an end to the democratic setup. This act of him was in cohesion with the then Army Chief, General Ayub Khan but later, Ayub Khan turned his back on him and imposed Martial Law. Sikandar Mirza was dismissed as well. Under Ayub Khan, Pakistan got its second constitution and a phase of relative stability but in 1969 he handed over his power to General Yahya Khan. General Yahya Khan imposed another Martial Law, suspended the 1962 constitution and announced fresh elections.
The elections of 1971 brought a catastrophe for Pakistan when the country was divided into two pieces, due to the greed of Generals and politicians.

Under immense pressure due to fall of Dhaka, General Yahya Khan handed over his power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who had won most of the seats in West Pakistan.  He held early elections in 1977 and won a landslide victory. The opposition blamed him for fraud in elections and stage massive protests. General Zia imposed Martial Law and suspended the constitution of 1973. Bhutto was later hanged on the charges of murder. Zia ruled for about eleven years and his period came to an end with his death in his C-130 helicopter.

Elections conducted by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan resulted in a major victory for PPP but the decade of 90 brought out political confrontation at the front. Two major political parties, PPP and PML, were in constant confrontation with each other and ultimately resulted in taking over of the military in 1999. Musharraf with all his power formed another political party of opportunists called PMLQ.

In 2007, when Pakistan was entering into a transition, he declared an emergency in the country and judges were removed from their posts. Elections were delayed for sometimes but at least we saw a transition towards democracy. The formation of the government after 2013 elections was the first transition of the democratic government towards another democratic government. This can be called the first milestone of the history but we need to stick with democracy to pass through an evolutionary process instead of seeking a revolution.