Sohaib ul Hassan
I was extremely confused when I first time heard these words. A very short sentence having a deep meaning.
Pakistan is the only Islamic nuclear state. It is a democratic country. But most of the time after its creation, it is facing dictatorship.
So here the question arises what is a dictatorship? The very first answer is the rule of a dictator, who denies the basic right of protest and political activities of people. Do you all know who imposed the first dictatorship or martial law in Pakistan?
Interestingly It was not by someone from the military department. It was imposed by Malik Ghulam Muhammad from the finance department. Returning back to the topic, Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under martial law(1953-1954, 1958 – 1971, 1977 – 1988, 1999 – 2008)
To understand the great words of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto we have to go down the basic difference between Democracy and Dictatorship.
Democracy is the government of people, by the people, for the people. The basic characteristics of Democracy are equality, political freedom, rule of law and everyone have the right to vote whereas Dictatorship is the government by a single person or dictator that acts as a whole nation. The main characteristics of dictatorship are the suspension of the election, rule by decree, lack of civil liberties, repression of political opponents, and proclamation of the state of emergency without acting in harmony with the rule of law.
Abraham Lincoln says: Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters”.
From my point of view, Democracy is enjoyed by people and it gives a great deal of liberty to people and the power is in the hand of the masses.
Pakistan is a democratic country where every citizen has the right to enjoy their lives according to the constitution of Pakistan.
If people are enjoying their basic rights, that is the biggest defeat to the minds supporting dictatorship.