A government consists of 3 branches; legislature, executive
and judiciary. In terms of power, rather than a hierarchy, it is comprised of a
horizontal organizational structure. The power afforded to each branch is played
off against each other as a means of providing checks and balances. This system
of checks and balances is generally referred to as the separation of power in a
government.
The Government of Pakistan, sadly, has always had an inequitable
distribution of power because the executive is more powerful than the assembly
(or legislature). This can be directly attributed to Pakistan’s postcolonial
legacy.
Britain’s colonial rule in the subcontinent was fueled by
economic incentives and as such, their policies with regards to the colony
aimed to derive maximum value from local trade at the expense of the natives,
and to oppress in case of any unrest. For governing the colony, they developed
a state apparatus suitable for enforcing such policies. This resulted in the
strengthening of the civil and military bureaucracy, i.e. the executive branch.
This is referred to as the over-development of the State by sociologist HamzaAlavi.
Following the decolonization process, the British were
replaced by a ruling class that had once collaborated with them. Rather than
introducing reform, this new ruling class perpetuated the same policies as they
served to strengthen their own position. In this manner, the executive has
enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy than the legislature. Executive powers
even have the authority to step in and take complete control of governance by
declaring an emergency or martial law. In the event that such a thing happens,
the Pakistan National Assembly lacks the power to do anything about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment