THE US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee is going to discuss the future of democracy in Pakistan and bilateral relations between Pakistan and America (Pakistan after the elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship). Like America, Pakistan’s democracy is also facing Trump’s populist political sleaze template in the US Congress for loyalty to individuals (wannabe dictators) instead of the Constitution. US House Speaker Johnson holds the Bible as his worldview, which upends the separation of state and religion. The Republican Party takeover by Trump’s daughter-in-law is a dark manifestation of Cannon laws ecclesiastical hierarchy of loyalty to individuals instead of the constitution. Trump is morphing democracy into a dictatorship with Christian nationalism and putting party cronies at the levers of power under Project 2025, which Pakistan is trying to defeat. Europe is already facing a rise in extreme right politics. Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Committee should also hold hearings for the future of democracy in America, UK, and the EU to help Pakistan understand the challenges its democracy faces. To stop dictatorship, Pakistan, America, and the EU should protect democracy in lockstep.
Biden needs to protect America’s democracy from Trump’s populist political sleaze template in use in Pakistan (Trump is still free after Jan 6 with 91 federal cases against him). Look at the defense of IMF protests in Washington (Trump hopes the economic crash comes under Biden’s watch, the WSJ), failure to hold free and fair intraparty elections (CJP: Democracy in both the country and political parties, 12 Jan 2024, the Dawn), and disputed election results (GOP strategy of VP fake results, denying election results and 2024 nuclear option plans to win elections). A political party’s history is its future (MAGA bombshell: RNC unveils ‘radical’ plan to upend voting in America, MSNBC). PTI government dissolved parliaments of two provinces, tried to dissolve the national assembly unconstitutionally, and dissolved the Punjab Local government with 58,000 members and engaged in record corruption (Pakistan’s transparency ranking worse off under PTI, 26 Jan 2022, the Dawn).
The message of Trump’s takeover of RNC and its funding is a reminder to the US Foreign Affairs Committee to change funding laws (Citizens United v. FEC). The world should acknowledge the state and its democratic institutions to save Pakistan’s democracy under attack from a well-funded highly organized local and international populist political sleaze template for vested stakes including accountability, the economy, and geostrategic balance in the region (The current formula, established in 2010, resulted in provincial shares increasing from 47.5% to 57.5% of total federal taxes, without a commensurate transfer of additional responsibilities. This has led to a sustained fiscal imbalance and a rise in public debt (IMF asks Pakistan to revisit NFC award, 14 March 2024).
The US military played a crucial role in safeguarding democracy during the Capitol Hill attack, despite facing backlash from Trump for prioritizing the constitution over personal loyalty. This echoes a broader pattern seen in Pakistan, where democracy has been tested by tactics akin to those used in the West, such as electoral manipulation and evasion of accountability through abuse of power. With the US Congress having firsthand experience of the Jan 6 attack, it cannot overlook the striking similarities between Trump’s populist strategies and the challenges facing Pakistan’s democracy. Therefore, the Foreign Affairs Committee must delve into the Jan 6 committee’s comprehensive findings, including recommendations for holding Trump accountable. By doing so, the Committee can effectively address the populist threats endangering democratic principles both domestically and abroad.
The Trump sleaze strategy is already hollowing democracy in advanced democracies of the West. Boris Johnson is still free after suspending parliament, which UK SC ruled as unlawful (24 Sept 2019, the Guardian). The EU is facing extreme populism with constant erosion of citizens’ human rights, right to protest, and individual freedoms, and the state, democratic institutions, and progressive parties fail to uphold democracy (The Guardian view on the 2024 European elections: a continent at the crossroads, 5 March 2024, the Guardian). Macron Government Bypasses France’s National Assembly to Pass Pension Overhaul (16 March 2023, the WSJ).
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
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