In the name of democracy

After the recent turmoil and situation in the country, I am forced to go and understand the basics of
what is being discussed in our Parliament by its members. I start from my searches of the
definition of the word democracy. It is defined as:
1. Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens are meant to participate
equally either directly or, through elected representatives, indirectly in the proposal, development
and establishment of the laws by which their society is run. The term originates from
the Greek (dmokrata) "rule of the people",
[1]
which was found from (dmos)
"people" and (kratos) "power" or "rule" in the 5th century BC to denote the political
systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym
to (aristokraent turmoil and tia) "rule of an elite".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

2. Democracy: government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested
in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy

3. Democracy : A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state,
typically through elected representatives:
Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/democracy
I continued to look in the dictionaries like Chambers, Webster and so on and everywhere it is mentioned
elected members. So when the honorable members of the parliament state the elections were rigged on
the parliament floor and even the governments interior minister has said in the parliament that the votes
are not verifiable, the question that I would like ask the honorable members of the parliament is how are
the members elected.
And if the members are not elected, how can this be democracy! I would like my parliamentarians to answer
this question especially Mr. Aitizaz Ahsan and Mr. Khursheed Shah for the great respect I have for them.
Maybe with your experience and knowledge you are able to correct my understanding of the word
Democracy.
If not I would request them to stand in the parliament in the morning and say that this is not democracy and
define what do we call the current form of government which all the parliamentarians are united to
save. Oops! Are all these parliamentarians sitting in the parliament? It means that all the people who were not
elected and have come to the parliament through rigging are not eligible to sit in the parliament. What
happens to the sanctity of the Parliament? When citizens of this country are not allowed to enter the
parliament then how can those people sit inside the parliament? Does that not bother the honorable
members of the parliament who believe in true democracy?
It is just like I tell that a normal person cant come to my house if he asks permission to enter but if he
forcefully enters I will let it be because I cant do anything about it. In my humble opinion, I should at least try
to get those people out.
In my opinion the honorable parliamentarians (people who were elected by the people) have a responsibility
to get rid of people (Ghuspatiay) from the parliament who have forced their way and are not elected
members. Otherwise, as a citizen of Pakistan, please explain to me the greater cause for which you are not
doing so and what are we salvaging except more rigging in the next elections.
The message being given today is that, once you get in the parliament building through whatever means the
person will stay there for five years. It is then surely worth the investment of buying ballot papers and
returning officers, as five years is ample time to get the investment back,
There has to be another way..Dont look at me for the solution as you are the constitutional experts.
Will the Supreme Court be able to explain this in light of our constitution and law of the land?
Democracies around the world
Well there is another statement that kept on coming again and again that if the prime minister resigns the
democracy will be derailed. I have a few examples from around the world.
1. The Prime minister of South Korea resigned recently on 27
th
April 2014 because of ferry sinking in
which 300 people died. What? Why would he do that as he was not in charge of the ferry and neither
had he made the ferry? He resigned over the claims of the relatives of the people on the ferry that the
government did not do enough to save them. Thats democracy and a real leader. I respect the guy
from my heart.
Source : http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/27/south-korea-chung-hong-won-resigns-
ferry-sinking
2. The Prime minister of Latvia (longest serving PM since it won independence in 1991 from Russia)
resigned because the roof of a supermarket collapsed. He was not the architect or the builder of the
supermarket. He resigned because the building was constructed during his government and he
suspected errors in the construction. It is the governments responsibility to ensure the building are
correctly built. As the head of the government he resigned. I announce resigning from the post of
prime minister, taking political responsibility for the tragedy, Respect earned.
Source : http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_11_27/Latvia-PM-resigns-after-Maxima-supermarket-
collapse-in-Riga-2322/
Source : http://www.buzzfeed.com/catesevilla/latvias-prime-minister-resigns-after-54-people-die-
in-superm
3. Estonian Prime Minister resigns due to corruption charges. He was not convicted, he was charged. A
democratic norm to resign from post of influence if charges are levied.
Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/24/estonian-prime-minister-resign-after-9-
years.html
4. The list of Japanese Prime ministers show you a series of Prime ministers that resigned for different
reasons including the charge of misuse of personal funds (serial # 50) and on breaking a campaign
promise (serial # 60).
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_Japan
Some questions I would like to ask:
1. Do you think that these people were stupid to resign on these issues which in our country would
never be linked to the prime minister?
2. Do you think this has to do something with honor and the reason South Korea and Japan are one of
the finest most successful nations around the world?
Do you believe that the Prime Minister of Pakistan should not resign when people were killed by the state
while he was the prime minister? I am not mentioning the number to avoid a debate.
Do you believe that the Prime Minister of Pakistan should not resign when he has been elected as the
prime minister as a result of rigged elections? Technically as per the definition of democracy this is not a
valid parliament and therefore he is not an elected prime minister. Elected prime minister would be one
who is elected by the elected members.
I would request the elected members to respond to this letter (if they have time) to convince a citizen of
Pakistan on the democracy in Pakistan.

Thankfully yours

A common man, Citizen of Pakistan & student of Democracy.