Causes of Political Instability In Pakistan

By:                                                       

ALLAH Reham Abdullah                                    

Causes of  Political Instability In Pakistan

Table of Contents                                                                   

1)    Introduction                       ………………….           

2)    Causes of Political Instability     …………..                                       

a.     Law and Order Situation      ………….             

b.    Influence of establishment     ………….             

c.      Influence of neighbor countries      …...            

d.    Corruption                      .....………………                  

e.      Energy Crises                         ………….             

3)    Conclusion                         ………………...                         

                                                                  

Introduction

Political instability is defined as the process whereby the political life or atmosphere of a country or nation suddenly changes or fails. When the political situation of a state or region is not certain because it has a high possibility of changing or getting disturbed, then we say there is political instability in that state or region.

It is common knowledge that political instability retards/slow down the development and progress of a country. In order for a country to develop and move forward there should be a stable political atmosphere.

Pakistan has been facing political crisis from its birth till now. In this long period many government changed but unfortunately they all could not maintain the political environment stable. Political instability is a situation when the uncertainty among the government structure expand due to some basic causes and it eventually end up the current government. We all know when a ruling party faces this sort of uncertainty so they don’t do well for the public. They become unable to make polices for the development of the country. The internal matter gradually becomes uncontrolled. Law and order situation also become worse. The opposition parties take the advantage of this situation. They lead the public and compel them for strikes and all these things. eventually the governing government have to leave, if they don’t then there is big possibility that a dictator take the hold and all the development ,internal ,foreign policies is stopped .this is what happening in our country. And after completing 60 year we still could not find our destination and even direction.

Causes of Political Instability

                                                    Pakistan has failed to establish a political stability due to constitutional conflict, absence of stable democratic government, economic problems, and influence of establishment, influence of neighbor country, weak control on institutions, energy crises and lack of social growth etc. So law and order situation is one of the causes of political instability.

a)    Law and Order Situation

                                                     Since our country came into being existence it is facing political or law and order uncertainty. The big challenge that Pakistan confronting is among several other problems is law and order situation

The law and order situation arises when there is insecurity, threat of violence or violence arising due to a host of factors disturbing the ordinary conduct of life and businesses in a society. Organized crime and terrorism are usually viewed as two different forms of crime, increase of which directly worsen law and order. Organized crime is generally held to focus mainly on economic profit (but not always limited to it), while terrorism is said to be motivated chiefly by ideological aims and by a desire for political change.

 The law and order situation in Pakistan is alarming. There is no rite of Govt. Almost daily many target killing incidents are being observed in the different areas of Pakistan. Since last few years thousands of people are died in different bomb explosions and suicide attacks. People of Pakistan are feeling a consistent risk of security. So this led to a political instability.

b)      Influence of establishment

                                            

                                               Pakistan has been heavily influenced historically by the military. Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958-1971, 1977-1988, and 1999-2008).

 The Pakistani military is the 8th largest in the world are well organized. Military coups are not uncommon in Pakistani history, the most recent occurring in 1999. Pakistan became officially ruled by civilian rulers in 2002 with the occurrence of parliamentary elections and the promotion of Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamalas as prime minister, a civilian. Along with the military there are two other powerful political entities, the Pakistan's People Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). However, the military remains very influential to this day in domestic affairs as well as foreign affairs.

c)      Influence of neighbor countries

                                                            Geographical location of Pakistan is very               important and almost all of its Neighbor Countries are very important which also effects Pakistan greatly. Neighbor Countries of Pakistan with whom it shares border are; Afghanistan, Iran, China, India,

Influence of neighbor countries also effect political stability in a country, like India is violating our border and every day 5,6 civilians were killed so this also led to political uncertainty.

  Moreover, the indirectly contributing factor towards the worsening political situation is external interference of other powers for their selfish interests. In the already disturbed conditions their interference made the scenario worst. Pakistan is a rich country in terms of important minerals, gas and important coasts the quest of resources and being a gate way towards the hot waters has made Pakistan an attractive country for external powers.  

d)    Corruption

                           Corruption and mismanagement of the wealth of a country by the leaders in different institutions of the country also a cause of political instability. Corruption has over the years been shown to be one of the biggest factors responsible for political instability in many countries all over the world and as well in Pakistan. The more corrupt a country is, the higher the likelihood of that country becoming unstable.

Mass unemployment and poverty can easily trigger political instability in any country. When majority of the people in a country are impoverished and cannot find jobs to do, then they outlet their anger on the government and that leads to instability in the country. Many countries have suffered from instability as a result of this. Suppression of opposition parties by the ruling government. When members of the opposition parties are deliberately targeted and prosecuted for noapparent reason, then this can easily give rise to instability in the country.

e)      Energy Crises

                       

                            Energy resources are the backbone of social economic development of any country. It is essential for the production and making of goods and other things which contributes a lot of revenue in the budget of Pakistan. Energy is essential for running machinery in industrial facilities, industrial devices, lightening the cities and running the system of transport. Pakistan is experiencing the worst economic crisis since its creation. Factories and power looms are being closed down and the people do not have any idea what to do. There are many factors which have contributed towards the energy crisis and the government has failed miserably in solving this problem of load shedding.
Pakistan has been unable to build any major dam in the country. The population has been increasing very rapidly since 2000 and no government has started the work on the proposed Kalabagh Dam in the region. As the population has been increasing the electricity demand has also increase but the supply has remained the same. There are three other major reasons for the energy crises. They are circular debt, mismanagement of resources and corruption.

             

                      

Conclusion

There are many reasons behind political instability in Pakistan. After the failure of one policy, government does not considers its failure and announce another policy without studying the aftermaths of the last one. Party leaders have their own interest and aims. It is difficult to point out all causes of unstable Heavy taxes and unemployment are crushing the people and they are forced to live below poverty line. Load shedding, high prices, and target killing especially in Karachi city are the gift for common people. Law and order conditions are out of control and all institutions have badly failed to provide justice to a common man. A system of fair accountability would help improve the situation.
The only solution is allowing the oppressed people of Pakistan to share decision making process with transparency and accountability from top to bottom. We need to strengthen our political system and institutions, develop an active and sustainable growth, eliminate corruption, provide timely justice, enhance employment, start steps for population control, seek consensus based political solutions, and resolve ethnic, sectarian and religious fault lines.