Pakistanis are excluded from country's decision making process.

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Musharraf is saying Pakistan is becoming more and more democratic as the day passes,
Human Right groups are saying the other way…

Pakistan human rights attacked

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4680796.stm

By Barbara Plett
BBC correspondent, Islamabad

Pakistan is becoming less democratic, rights activists say

**Pakistan’s independent Human Rights Commission says people are increasingly excluded from the country’s decision making process. **
Activists releasing their annual reports said despite modest achievements, there had been little progress in human rights last year.
They say the government’s lack of democracy and transparency is at the heart of the problem.

**
Pakistan, they say, is becoming less, not more, democratic.
This, in turn, is undermining human rights. Whether it is the rule of law or social welfare the Commission said, the system is not working.
**

“There’s a complete secrecy of government. People are not a part of it. The militarisation of every part of Pakistan and it is rapidly increasing,” says Asma Jahangir, the Commission’s chairperson.

“The population is kept away from not only decision making, but there is a kind of a curtain around how decisions are made.”

Growing despair
The Commission said despite much wanted press freedom, more journalists had been detained or told not to publish or had simply disappeared.
And it said the weak were becoming more vulnerable.

For instance, there were new laws to curb violence against women but no significant decline in that violence.

There was also growing despair because of poverty and lack of opportunity. As a result, more people were killing themselves or turning to crime.

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Re: Pakistanis are excluded from country’s decision making process.

We all know this, except some Mush supporter like to pretend otherwise :rolleyes:

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Re: Pakistanis are excluded from country's decision making process.

Not even AMERICANS are included in their country's decision making process. It's just a mirage. American government itself manipulates its own people to make them support its policies.

And so called 'Human-rights commission' always has a negative view about any third-world country.

It's just that some people like nicole LOVE Pakistan so much that they think it is appropriate to share ANY negative news about Pakistan here.

HATRED AND BIGOTRY AT ITS BEST. Indians on Pakistani forum. :p

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Re: Pakistanis are excluded from country's decision making process.

Let the masses of a people with a stagnant 25% literacy rate any more than 50% say in national decisions and you end up getting what we've repeatedly had since 1948-1999, minus few years in between here and there. Dont get me wrong, i know how important democratic governance and decision making is, but the point I firmly believe in at the moment is that the national mindframe-and we're talking of the vote banks; the grass root level society that actually goes out to vote on election day-is not ready or equipped or educated or smart enough YET to make right use of this highly acclaimed tool called democracy. So at least for 25 more years the best form of governance for Pakistan or any society like ours is partial authoritarian preferably the authority being based on bonapartism.

In simple terms, we've all tried the various alphabet combinations-PPP,IJI, MMA, MQM, PML, JI, etc and have tested all possibilities and are sure the outcomes in case any of these is preferred ever again would be no different from the past. We have intelligent reason to believe so. If we refuse to follow the wiser option again who loses? So why fuss over nothing and follow the slogans of self-centered and self-interest directed professional politicians with no track records of significant public service and worry a common citizen about things that dont concern him. What concerns and should concern a common man of a country are bread, clothes and shelter. If a military government with a previous record of excellence in its specialized arena, as well as part time profession i.e. governance, is doing well and better than civilians and is improving and bringing about advancements and doing if not all, then some right things, there should be no reason to panic over cliched slogans coined by crooks of politicians.
By the way the greates violaters of human rights in Pakistan are the jagirdars, zamindars who have their private forces, jails, dungeons, slaves, torture chambers and refuse being subjected to any authority at all and shun the concept of state law and order. It is these very people who have formed various political parties and aspire to govern the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Let's just hope our national education level rises fast and our national intelligence level increases so the masses can actually judge on their own, for their selves, whats good for them and what's not.

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Re: Pakistanis are excluded from country's decision making process.

PA- Not quite, There is no comparison between rights in US/UK, etc and in Pakistan. Of course US/Uk are not perfect, but if you have a problem, you can see you representative and he will help. If there is a big issue and enough of his/her constituents contact him/her he will vote according to their wishes.

However This Nicholos John guy is not the best person to post this.

HZ- what you say was also said about India, and look where they are going now. The problem is Pak has never been allowed to develop. Every govt has been directly , indirectly controlled or overthrown by the Army who continue the looting.

What we need is a sustained period of democracy where the parties realize they need to listen to the people instead of looting as much as they can, because they know they will not last, no matter what they do.

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Re: Pakistanis are excluded from country's decision making process.

I disagree on several grounds. India and Pakistan got freedom the same time and the people are not really all that different. Secondly, what we normally mean by literacy does not automatically translate to the 'illiterates' don't know how to judge people, get information or vote. As I am sure you know, leadership at national and local levels make all the difference. But as I said, the people were really not all that different, so why would the leadership be markedly different between the two countries? Again, local leadership is lot more important here than the central.

One theory is that the influence of religious leaders is significantly less in India than in Pakistan. If a critical mass of leadership comes from religious sources locally, we can see how focus, priorities and politics will be different.

(any / most) Religous leaders focus on their idea of morality, superstitions / rituals etc as ends in themselves and so everything else takes a back seat.