Course: Political Parties and Pressure Groups in Pakistan (545)
Level: M.Sc. Semester: Autumn,2022
ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Q.1 Define the different party systems as one-party system, two party system, multiple party system and non-party system. In your opinion which party system is suitable for democracy and also discuss the role of that system in development of democracy?
Governments often have two-party or multi-party systems, with each group possessing distinct ideologies and legislative policies. Examine the similarities and differences in governments with two-party systems compared to those with multi-party systems.
Two-Party vs. Multi-Party Systems
If you own a smartphone, you no doubt realize how many brands and models now exist. However, this wasn’t always the case. Historically, when smartphones were first invented, there were only two major models. While the original two models are still the dominant brands on the market, the influx of other competitors with similar products has made buying a smartphone a daunting task.
In general, having all that choice is a good thing, but after a while, all the models start to blur together and it becomes too much to distinguish between all of them. This comparison is very similar to the two-party political system of the United States and the multi-party systems of countries such as India, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Mexico.
Q.2 What were the reasons of formation of IJI Alliance in 1988. Critically analyze its role as an opposition party against the government of PPP.
The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (lit. Islamic Democratic Alliance; acronym: was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance comprised nine parties, of which the major components were the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), National Peoples Party (NPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), with PML accounting for 80% of the IJI’s electoral candidates. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, under director Hamid Gul, had a major role in forming the right-of-centre political alliance. Care had been taken to ensure that the alliance comprised nine parties to generate comparison with the nine-party Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) that had campaigned against PPP in 1977.
The head of the party was Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, but its most resourceful leader was Nawaz Sharif, a young industrialist whom Zia ul-Haq had appointed chief minister of Punjab. Sharif was vying for control of the Pakistan Muslim League, which was headed at that time by former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo.
It won only fifty-three seats in the National Assembly, compared with ninety-two won by the PPP.
Q.3 Critically analyze the role of PTI as an opposition party during 2013-2017.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML–N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and it is the largest party in terms of representation in the National Assembly of Pakistan since the 2018 general election. With over 10 million members in Pakistan and abroad, it claims to be the country’s largest political party by primary membership as well as one of the largest political parties in the world.
Despite Khan’s popular persona in Pakistan, the PTI had limited initial success: it failed to win, as a collective, a single seat in the 1997 general election and the 2002 general election; only Khan himself was able to win a seat. Throughout the 2000s, the PTI remained in opposition to the presidency of Pervez Musharraf, who had spearheaded a military government under the Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid (PML–Q) since the 1999 coup d’état; it also boycotted the 2008 general election, accusing it of having been conducted with fraudulent procedures under Musharraf’s rule
Q.4 Analyze the factors that led to creation of Mohajir Qaumi Movement in Pakistan. Critically evaluate role of MQM in politics of Pakistan.
The Mohajir Qaumi Movement Pakistan formerly known as Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi), MQM-Haqiqi is a political party claiming to represent the Mohajir in Sindh, Pakistan whose leader is Afaq Ahmed.
The Movement was originally established by Afaq Ahmed & Altaf Hussain in 1978 as All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organization (APMSO), in Karachi University. Presently, the movement is known originally it was as “Muhajir Qaumi Movement”, a break away faction from the original Mohajir Qaumi Movement which was later established as “Muttahida Qaumi Movement”, headed by Altaf Hussain, who is living in self-exile in London. In 2017, Muttahida Qaumi Movement was split and a separate party Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan was created by Farooq Sattar, who split it from MQM founder and leader Altaf Hussain and MQM-Altaf based faction was later started rendered as Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London. Later Farooq Sattar was expelled from MQM-P for violating party discipline policy. Some may relate his expulsion to the non-negotiable stance of giving a ticket to Kamran Tessori who was not very popular among other MQM leaders.
Q.5 Elaborate the performance of political parties in development of democracy in Pakistan during 2008-2020.
Pakistan’s short history as a country has been very turbulent. Fighting among the provinces–as well as a deep-rooted conflict that led to a nuclear stand-off with India—prevented Pakistan from gaining real stability in the last five decades. It oscillates between military rule and democratically elected governments, between secular policies and financial backing as a “frontline” state during the Cold War and the war against terrorism. Recent declared states of emergency and the political assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto indicate a continuing trend of economic and political instability.
Overview
When Pakistan became a country on August 14th, 1947, to form the largest Muslim state in the world at that time. The creation of Pakistan was catalyst to the largest demographic movement in recorded history.