The Price of a Closed Elite: Why Pakistan’s Democracy Must Open Up
On Independence Day, the image of President Asif Ali Zardari pinning the Nishan-e-Imtiaz to his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was more than a moment of paternal pride. It was a potent symbol of a political system where power is not only inherited but publicly celebrated as a family heirloom.
Bilawal’s right to ambition is undeniable — as is the right of every Pakistani boy or girl. But here lies the contradiction: in our political reality, the path to the highest office remains blocked for most, reserved for a narrow circle of families and entrenched interests.
In a democracy worthy of its name, the premiership should be a path, not a birthright. A girl from Balochistan should be able to aspire to it without needing a feudal surname. A boy from Waziristan should not require a business empire to lead his country. In other democracies, such stories are not just possible; they are the norm. Barack Obama rose from community organizing to the presidency, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated a powerful incumbent with a grassroots campaign, and fresh from an upset victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo in the primaries, Zohran Mamdani now sets his sights on City Hall, daring to confront New York’s most entrenched power brokers. These victories were not accidents; they were the product of systems that are genuinely open, competitive, and responsive to public will — systems with independent electoral commissions, open primaries, and media scrutiny that curbs the excesses of entrenched power. In Pakistan, by contrast, such mechanisms are either weak or absent, leaving the political field tilted towards dynasties.
This imbalance is why the bright student from a Karachi slum, the farmer in rural Punjab, or the teacher in a remote Waziristan village — despite their talent, vision, and leadership potential — often find the gates to meaningful political participation firmly shut. Our parties function less like democratic institutions and more like family-run enterprises, where advancement is determined by proximity to the throne rather than service to the people.
We do not need to dismantle the ambitions of the wealthy or the influential — only the barriers that keep the majority outside the power equation. Achieving this requires a fundamental shift in our political culture. It means mandating genuine internal party democracy, enacting campaign finance transparency to level the playing field, and empowering local governments to become real nurseries for future leaders. It may even mean creating new provinces to decentralize power and bring governance closer to the people.
Pakistan’s future cannot be built by a select few while the majority watch from the sidelines. The choice is urgent and stark: we can open the gates now and build a democracy where the highest honors are earned by those who rise from the streets, or we can watch as the highest offices are simply passed down, one generation at a time.
