Question

Describe five features of non-democratic Pakistan general Musharraf

Answer 1

In Pakistan General Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999.

v  He overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief Executive’ of the country.

v  Later he changed his designation to that of a President and in 2002 he held a referendum in the country that granted him a 5-year extension.

                             The government in Pakistan under General Musharraf cannot be called democracy because:

v  People may have elected their representatives to the national and provincial assemblies, but those elected representatives are not really the rulers. They cannot take the final decision.

v  The power to take the final decision rest with the army officials and with General Musharraf and none of them are elected by the people. This happens in many dictatorships or in monarchy.

v  Pakistani Medias, human right organization and democracy activists said that the referendum held by Musharraf was based on malpractices and fraud.