On July 28, yet another Prime Minister of Pakistan was sent packing in yet another seemingly

popular decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Though the verdict has resulted in debates on
the quality of the judgement and the application of article 62 of the Constitution of Pakistan; the
devil, however, is not in the details. If Pakistan is to establish a culture of democratic continuity
alongside genuine accountability, it would have to take a holistic approach to further develop the
democratic setup to make it more inclusive and responsive to the people of Pakistan.

Firstly, it must be realised that the policies of populism and intervention in the name of
accountability have failed to achieve any accountability worth mentioning. From constitutional coup
to martial laws, and from Islamisation of the constitution to the judicial activism; Pakistan has seen it
all. Yet, the quest for accountability has only gained traction. This is because the reliance on intrusive
methods to acquire accountability is no substitute to developing legit mechanisms of accountability
and institutional checks-and-balance . Therefore, an understanding needs to be developed that the
true accountability can only be acquired through objective and uniform application of law and
democratic principles.

Secondly, accountability is the responsibility of the state, and not the government. Hence, the failure
of yet another Prime Minister to complete the tenure is the failure of the state to evolve beyond a
democracy limited to rhetoric, procedures and formalities. To this end, the Parliament would have to
step up. It needs to take steps to further the democratisation process to make the institutions
answerable to the people by devolution of power. So long as the institutions responsible for
regulation, justice and accountability are kept dysfunctional or controlled, there will always be
stronger state and non-state actors willing to fill in the power gap in the name of justice and
accountability.

Thirdly, the state must realise that in a democracy the rights of the citizens and the legitimacy of the
government goes hand in hand. It is, therefore, imperative that the Parliament reviews various
undemocratic and draconian laws that have not only resulted in imbalance of power among
institutions, but have also snatched the rights of the people. These laws include, but are not limited
to, the military courts, cyber-crime laws, articles 62 and 63, the second amendment, and the
blasphemy laws. The state also needs to hasten the integration process of FATA and the people of
Balochistan so that all people of Pakistan can equally benefit from the democratisation process.

Lastly, the government needs to fully utilise the role of media as a watchdog and allow unhindered
freedom of speech. By keeping certain institutions beyond the scope of media, debate and
accountability, the government is merely cultivating a culture where civilian institutions are taken as
synonymous to inefficiency and corruption. For the roughly two-thirds of the population of Pakistan,
that is below the age of thirty, this is a dangerous perception. Therefore, the rule of law and
accountability would have to be across the board and all-inclusive.

To sum up, it is about time that the democratic process be taken to the next logical stage to improve
the dispensation of freedom and justice to the people of Pakistan. The polity of Pakistan has to
realise that the true accountability can only be achieved through nurturing democratic culture and
institutions. This process will take time and effort, and will be less dazzling than the politics of
dharnas, suo motu or quick judicial petitions. However, many a times, the harder thing to do is the
right thing to do.