The judiciary in Pakistan has termed India as an ideal country and a good example of democratic setup in the world. It said further that the political leaders in India exhibited the virtue of tolerance on many occasions.
According to the report, the Supreme Court Bench in Pakistan comprising 11 judges, constituted to hear the legal challenges to president Parvez Musharraf’s re-election in Uniform, has cited the example of Indian democratic setup as the ideal one.
Justice Chaudhry Aijaz Ahmed, one of the members of the 11-judge bench, said that the difference between India and Pakistan is that Indian political leaders exhibit tolerance. In Pakistan, the political leaders lack it that is necessary for the smooth running of democratic institutions in any country.
Justice Ahmad said this in response to a statement that was made by Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for retired judge Wajihuddin Ahmad, during the hearing. Ahsan had said in a statement during his argument in court that India was a good example of a democratic state. Wajihuddin Ahmad argued in the court that Musharraf was not qualified to contest the presidential election because the Constitution did not allow it.
Ahsan said:
The army depends on unity of command. At the same time, the state depends on dispersal of authority, sharing of power, accommodation and tolerance. India can be quoted here as a good example of a democratic state.
He also said in the court that intelligence agencies did not play any role or interfere in general elections. He indirectly referred the alleged involvement of Pakistan’s intelligence in national politics. Further, Justice Javed Iqbal, head of the 11-member bench, said that army generals were not invited by the political leaders to contest elections in India.
This may be called as the great irony of later half of the 20th century that after partition, India developed democratic institutions and setup whereas in Pakistan, the military rulers dominated the national politics. After 60 years of Independence, India is being rated as the ideal country for the smooth running of democratic institutions and people’s faith in it while Pakistan is still fighting to develop the real sense of democracy.
