What is Ala Din Lamp of Democracy for?

Immensely hackled and vexed by the tyrant attitude of their despot rulers, the people of the most of the Middle Eastern and Arab countries are longing for democracy. They think the democratic system only life giving nectar (fabulous spring), remedy for their social, economic and political problems. To them democracy is the Ala Din lamp, as soon as lit, a powerful jinni appears to ask: ‘What is that you need O my lord?’ And on informing him about deprivation of their basic rights to live a peaceful, prosper and honourable life, free of any fear and anxieties, safe from being the victims of brutalities of their arbitrary rulers, the jinni will all of a sudden present them the gifts of their pleasure, freedom and prosperity.

We in Pakistan have democracy, the lamp of Ala Din, about which it is said that the worst of it is better than the best of dictatorship. We have the experience of both the despotic and the democratic governments but found a little difference in both of them. The darkness has increased while we have this lamp lit with us. What we long for is our basic needs, ridding from the scarcity of the basic commodities and their price hike, pure drinking water, electricity, gas and prior to all of this peace and security of our lives, honour and properties both in dictatorial rule and under the elected rulers. We hanker for integrity and stability of our country and our national dignity which have been mortgaged by our rulers, both the military dictators and those having the mask of democracy on their faces, to their American masters with a pledge to keep them in power against the will and wishes of the people. We have our brothers and sisters disappeared by the secret agencies with the charges of being terrorists and sold to the Americans against dollars in both the regimes.

Actually what presently we have is the second grade of democracy which leaves a little chance for us to have the rulers of our own choice. We buy the camel of democracy from America, so it becomes must for us to get it with the bell in the neck of the camel, the bell of harsh and humiliating terms and conditions. Drone attacks and even trampling our boundaries America has its right to kill or pick anyone it wants, as very recently happened in Abotabad. For about over a last decade we are bound, willingly or unwillingly, to become ‘the first line ally of America in the war on terror’. A loss of almost 30000 lives plus 5000 jawans of our military forces and more than 60 billion dollars is the cost of this alliance so far and still we are required to ‘DO MORE’.

We need vehicle and are forced to hire the driver also with it. Long before the elections are held, our masters decide it in prior who will be our ruler. Like the Arab people we were fed up with Parvez Musharaf and after a hard struggle there came an opportunity of getting our rulers elected through a fair and transparent election but long before it, in Washington, with some Arab guarantors decision was made for us whom we will have over heads as ruler. From Ala Din lamp neither there appears any jinni fulfilling our dreams and meeting our needs nor bringing any light of hope in our lives.