CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN'S NEW ROAD TO DEMOCRACY

This article examines the formidable challenges confronting Pakistan as it embarked on a new path to democracy following the death of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1988. The study analyzes the political, economic, and social landscape inherited by the new democratic government led by Benazir Bhutto. The research explores key challenges, including the powerful and entrenched role of the military-intelligence establishment, the legacy of Zia's Islamization policies, a struggling economy burdened by debt and defense spending, and deep-seated ethnic and sectarian divisions. The paper argues that these structural obstacles posed a significant threat to the consolidation of the nascent democracy. The analysis concludes by assessing the prospects for the survival and success of the democratic experiment in the face of these immense pressures.

The restoration of democracy in Pakistan in 1988 after eleven years of military rule was a moment of great hope, but it was also fraught with immense challenges. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the obstacles that lay on Pakistan's new road to democracy. The study begins by examining the complex power dynamics of the post-Zia era, with a particular focus on the "troika" of power shared between the President, the Prime Minister, and the Chief of Army Staff. It argues that the military establishment, despite its formal withdrawal from power, retained a decisive influence over national security and foreign policy, thereby constraining the autonomy of the elected civilian government. The paper then delves into the socio-economic challenges, including a precarious economic situation and the legacy of Zia's policies, which had deepened religious and ethnic fissures in society. The research analyzes the difficult task facing the new government of balancing the demands for democratic reform and social justice with the powerful interests of the military and the landed elite. The findings suggest that the transition was not a clean break from the past but a contested process, where the new democratic institutions had to constantly negotiate their space with the enduring structures of the authoritarian state. The paper offers a sober prognosis, highlighting the fragility of the new democratic order and the difficult path ahead for its consolidation.