The people of Pakistan have contempt for their Parliament, according to a demo-skeptic op-ed published at Pakistan's Voice of East magazine.
Hussain Saqib penned the article for publication on 6 November. It follows a similar demo-skeptic article at the Passive Voices, also by Saqib, calling for a presidential system to be restored in Pakistan rather than the current flawed parliamentary system in the country.
Saqib referenced a comment made by Salim Bukhari, who had been apparently subject to a crackdown by Pakistan's PEMRA information agency and had apologized for insulting comments against the elected Parliament. Bukhari had apparently called members of Parliament by a term translated to "pimps", perhaps a reference to their tendency to amass wealth and power by morally questionable means.
The crime of Bukhari was "stating the obvious", in Saqib's opinion. The people of Pakistan may in fact be demo-skeptics who agree with how he characterized MPs, considering the apparent democracy as consisting of "cheats, thugs and imposters" who seek only personal profit by entering into politics. Saqib notes that MPs often forge their academic qualifications in order to be considered suitable for office, and abuse their power to promptly change the law to make it easier for them to remain in office despite forged qualifications.
#MontOrder Why Pakistanis Have So Much Contempt For Their Parliament?: By Hussain Saqib It is ... https://t.co/xtfAXBpPUt @VoiceofEastMag— Mont Unofficial (@MontOrder) November 6, 2015MP's are not the "saints and sages" they are elected to be, Saqib says, much as he also argued in his Passive Voices op-ed. Pakistan is, Saqib says, victim to "crooks entering the House through fake degrees, rigged polls and proceeds of crime who insult the august house of Parliament." Because of this, their ability to conduct the national economy responsibly or avoid corruption should be questioned, he implies.
To conclude, Saqib says Pakistanis do not respect the officials elected to represent them in Parliament. Questioning the validity of such a democracy, he compels us to ask the kind of question demo-skeptics like to ask, "Why [do] people rejoice when some military dictator packs up the democratic dispensation to bring in stability and prosperity through competent, honest and presentable technocrats"?
If Saqib's argument is sound, stronger rule might be needed in Pakistan, whether by diminishing the power of corrupt MPs or by revising the political system to presidential rather than parliamentary democracy.
US #Syria loss is bitter as 'ground troops' die trying to stop #Russia in #Latakia Province https://t.co/8B5RbO46Dd pic.twitter.com/i5yqO4ZWHX— The clubof.info Blog (@ClubOfInfo) November 8, 2015
