Characteristics of Political Culture of Pakistan

Characteristics of Political Culture of
Pakistan
The main features of political culture in Pakistan can be listed as follow:
Passive Role of People:

In the first place though Pakistan opted for democratic system in which all the citizens
were expected to play some role in the political process but the people have remained
relatively passive. The real power in Pakistan is wielded by the feudal lords, big
industrialists and some active leaders who exercise great power and receive the
benefits of the system. These leaders have been able to successfully give a projection
that since they played a major role in the attainment of independence; they alone
possess the capacity to provide fruits of freedom to the people. The lack of education
and political experience among the common people has also promoted this feeling. The
presence of poverty, disease and lack of education has also greatly handicapped large
section of society from taking active part in the political process.
Dynastic party system:

The lack of effective party system in Pakistan has greatly undermined the role of people
in political process. No doubt, Pakistan adopted party system on the pattern of
Westminster system, but these parties could not work in true spirit and gradually
suffered a decline because they refuse to hold intraparty elections and opted for
dynastic succession of the leadership. Moreover, no political party gained popular
support in all the provinces resulting in the promotion of provincialism at the expense of
nationalism. In short it can be said that lack of organised and competitive party system
in Pakistan has greatly affected the political culture.
Weak Opposition:
Lack of effective opposition has also greatly influenced the political culture of Pakistan.
Generally the ruling parties in Pakistan have tried to project the opposition parties as a
threat to the national security. Even when the opposition parties were permitted to
operate in the country they were not able to post any serious competition. Opposition
parties have not played an active role in the legislative assemblies, but waited for their
turn in power. No government can truly tread on the right path unless a united
opposition played an active role. In Pakistan, weak opposition parties have failed to
keep an effective check on the despotic powers of the government.
Role of Military Leaders:

The prominent role played by the military leaders in Pakistan has also influenced the
political culture of our country. The military staged four successful coups and overthrew
civilian government within few years. This became possible because the civilian leaders
failed to come up to the expectations of the people in bringing about meaningful social,
economic and political reforms. This encouraged the military leaders to assume power
on the plea of saving the country from the internal disaster and disintegration. At the
time of assuming power the military leaders held out promises of providing stability,
prosperity and welfare of the people and promised to return to democratic rule at the
earliest. However, actually once they were entrenched in power they tried to perpetuate
military rule. Even when not in direct power, military in Pakistan hold considerable sway
in the formulation of foreign and defence policies. This naturally had an adverse effect
on the political culture of Pakistan.
Violence:
The growing violence in Pakistan has adversely affected its political culture. As the
democratic norms could not take proper rules, people try to bring about the necessary
changes through violent methods. The first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaqat Ali Khan
was assassinated. Similarly Benazir Bhutto also suffered the same fate. This trend is
certainly not in keeping with the true democratic culture.
Money:
In Pakistan money plays an important role in the political culture and process. The
wealthy sections of the society are able to influence the political parties as well as the
comment and managed to get those in power who are willing to promote their interests.
This often leads to the neglect of the interests of the common people, which is not a
healthy trend.
Centralisation of Power:
Pakistan has adopted centralised process of decision-making, which naturally results in
the neglect of the people at the lower levels and gives rise to frustration. Instead of
associating the people with the decision-making process at various levels, the political
leaders have opposed decentralisation on the plea that grant of greater powers to the
lower units would pose a threat to the unity and integrity of the country. Ironically, the
local government institutions were bolstered during the military rules while the
democratic governments refused to transfer to the local governments.

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Characteristics of Political Culture of

Passive Role of People:

Dynastic party system:

Role of Military Leaders:

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