Lahore, February 13: In a National Workshop over the Assessment of the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan, members of the Democracy Assessment Group, Representatives of the cross section of society and media analysts expressed concern regarding the situation in Balochistan. The only way forward in Balochistan is dialogue with all stakeholders and development in the province, said the participants.

The National Workshop was organised by PILDAT at the launch of the annual report on the Assessment of the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan covering the period from January � December 2011. Mr. Ilahi Buksh Soomro, Former Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan chaired the workshop while the other representatives of the Democracy Assessment Group included Mr. Omar Khan Afridi, former Federal Caretaker Minister, Mr. Cyril Almieda, Assistant Editor, Dawn, Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Vice-president National Party, Mr. Javed Hafeez, former Ambassador, Mr. Shahid Hamid, Senior Advocate Supreme Court, former Governor and Federal Minister, Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, Lt. General (Retd.) Talat Masood, Defence Analyst, Dr. Hasan-Askari Rizvi, Defence and Political Analyst, Mr. Mujib ur Rehman Shami, Editor in Chief Daily Pakistan, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director and Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director of PILDAT.

Mr. Shahid Hamid, Senior Advocate Supreme Court/former Governor and Federal Minister, while presenting the Assessment report said that it has analysed the democratic system and not just the federal and provincial Governments. Democracy this year has scored 49% compared to 45% the past year. One of the best developments regarding Democracy during is that there is overwhelming support for democracy in the country. More than a decade ago the Prime Minister could not have talked of a �state within the state� in the Parliament and still remained Prime Minister. The incumbent Prime Minister publicly questioned the military establishment and he is still the Prime Minister which is a sign of improvement. Secondly, it could be said that the intolerance in the society has increased. Thirdly, the 18th Amendment is a major positive development with regards to democracy. As a result of the 18th Amendment the issue of devolution has been largely resolved. One of the failings is the absence of Local Governments in the country. The independence of the judiciary is a positive developments but the lower judiciary saw no improvement and the National Judicial Policy 2009 was not fully implemented. The law and order has partially improved but the situation of Balochistan is very poor. Overall the fruits of democracy have not been seen in the form of good governance. He also said that the immediate challenge to democracy is the holding of a free and fair election. Civil-Society should put the pressure upon the Election Commission to use the powers at its disposal to ensure free and fair elections.

Lt. General (Retd.) Talat Masood, Defence Analyst, said that it should be celebrated that political parties are supporting a democratic system and are not calling for any unconstitutional measures. Another positive development is the rise of other institutions such as media and judiciary which has reduced the representativeness of the military as the final arbitrator of national affairs. Poor governance remains a challenge and threat to democracy in the country. Democracy within the political parties is in poor shape which should be improved. As far as civil-military relations are concerned, some improvements have been seen however there was stress between the civilian and leadership over the issue of Memogate. It should also be acknowledged that the Public Accounts Committee in the Parliament under the leadership of the Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Parliamentary Committee on National Security under Senator Mian Raza Rabbani have improved their performance. The Accountability law remains pending in the parliament which is a great question mark on its performance.

Mr. Cyril Almeida, Analyst, said that one of the issues regarding the media is the threat to lives of journalists. However, it is also true that the space to be critical of state and non-state actors remains intact. Secondly, very little is known about the funding of the media houses which is a question mark over their transparency. As far as participation in the political process is concerned, one of the problems is lack of widespread access to internet but once these barriers are removed it is seen that the people want to participate in the political process.

Mr. Javed Hafeez, former Ambassador, said that there are some negatives and positives as far as Foreign Policy is concerned. Historically, most accords with international and regional powers were not debated publicly in the country. The institution within the Parliament such as the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has performed poorly and has not provided active oversight over foreign policy. Parliament does not ratify accords which is a noted as a concern. Pakistan was elected to the UN Security Council for the 7th time with India�s support which is positive. As far as the Parliament�s effectiveness regarding implementing international commitments at national level is critical, it was given a low score of 37% which is very low.

Dr. Hasan-Askari Rizvi, Defence and Political Analyst, said that democracy is not just results but also a process. We should consolidate upon the positives and use democracy to address the problems of governance.

Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Vice-President National Party, said that there is no Government in Balochistan and Frontier Corps (FC) has unlimited control over the province. The human rights abuses are of serious nature and the civil-society should put pressure of the Government to resolve issues of the province. Dialogue and development is the only way forward in Balochistan.

Mr. Jehangir Badar, Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party, said that political parties within Pakistan have always worked against each other and damaged democracratic process. However, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto started the process of reconciliation which the PPP is implementing today. All the political parties in the parliament today have formed a coalition with the PPP which is a manifestation of the reconciliation policy of this government. Only elections are not symbol of democracy but there are many challenges ahead which need to be tackled by all stakeholders together.

Mr. Ahsan Wayne, Secretary General, Awami National Party, said that democracy could not flourish because of the ineptitude of the initial leadership of the country. One of the positives is the process of devolution in the country which was started under the present government. It is important that all political parties are supporting democracy.

Ms. Sajida Mir, MPA from PPPP, said that Parliamentarians are representatives of the people and they should fulfil the great responsibility that the people have given them.

Mr. Mohsin Leghari, MPA from PML, said that democracy cannot flourish if the political parties are not democratic themselves. Political parties have already �fixed� the Senate elections within themselves which is undemocratic.

Ms. Saira Dar, from Concerned Citizen Society of Pakistan, the issue of Balochistan is a great challenge to democracy and very little is known about the situation in the province.

Mr. Shamshad Ahmed, former Foreign Secretary, said that PILDAT should continue the process of assessing democracy. Furthermore, he said that we should highlight the systemic issues in our democracy and look for ways to improve them. Although we have a democracy now we need to improve upon it. The issue of Balochistan is very pertinent and has now become a threat to the country�s existence. Foreign policy can be defined as the sum total of your national objectives and interests. Once we reach a consensus regarding our objectives it will automatically reflect in our foreign policy.

Ms. Shumaila Rana, MPA from PML-N, said that there is no democracy within political parties and this is the greatest cause of concern. Political parties are hereditary organizations.

While welcoming the guests Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, said that PILDAT has adopted the framework of International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) for Assessing the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan. He said that while assessing the quality of Democracy we should bear in mind that the Government is one important part of democracy but not the basis for the whole assessment. This Assessment deals with the society as a whole and not the Government alone. This report is based on four main pillars which are Rule of Law, Rights and Citizenship, Representative and Accountable Government, Civil Society and Popular Participation and Democracy beyond the State. The main message of this Assessment is that despite all challenges and problems democracy has moved forward in the year 2011. The overall score of Democracy has improved to 49% in 2011 compared to 45% the previous year. The immediate challenge to democracy is a free and fair election in the country. It is imperative that free and fair elections take place for democracy to move forward.