ISAS Briefs

Democracy gets established only with practice. If any proof is needed for this proposition, Pakistan’s leaders and its people need to look just across the border – at India. India was born with a considerably more political maturity than was the case with its sibling, Pakistan. It had a well-developed political party that had not only fought for independence but had also defined what an independent India would look like. Unlike the Congress Party, Pakistan’s Muslim League was a one-issue party – the establishment of an independent state for the Muslim community of British India. Once a part of that dream was realised, the party drifted and was lost in the political wilderness. India, on other hand, moved quickly to establish a political order. It appeared, in May 2013 – when the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) won a convincing victory in the elections and assumed the reins of power from the rival Pakistan People’s Party that was allowed to complete its full five-year term – Pakistan too was headed towards political stability. But that has not been the case so far.