Whether it is the American preference or the Indian solicitousness about “democracy” in Pakistan, it is time the so-called “democratic” political leaders in that country learnt the rules of moderation and reasonableness. Just because a Benazir Bhutto or a Nawaz Sharif says that he or she is opposed to a military dictator does not necessarily bestow democratic legitimacy on them. For too long, foreign powers have played favourites in Pakistan, sometimes favouring an army general, sometimes promoting a civilian government. The “chosen” civilian regime never sought to deepen its acceptability with the people; rather such regimes were only too content to mollycoddle to this or that western power and to establish accounts in off-shore banks. Curiously enough, we in India who know a thing or two about obligations and responsibilities of democracy continue to let the “democratic” rulers in Islamabad short-change the Pakistani masses.
