Civil Society-Democracy Nexus in Pakistan

The article aims to examine the relationship between civil and democracy in a historical context, and find its traces in Pakistan. There are different ways in which the term ‘civil society’ has been interpreted and explained. The concept has both political and sociological aspects, with the former playing a key role in promoting democracy and the latter facilitating development in community as a parallel agency in relation to government. The fact that civil society is a promoter of democracy as well as a development agency puts it in direct opposition to the government. In an undemocratic or semi democratic setup, civil society thus faces stiff resistance from the ruling clique. In Pakistan, where true democracy has not taken root, this situation exists. Because of lack of understanding of the notion of civil society, NGOs have become synonymous with this term, provoking harsh criticism. The media, on the other hand, has failed to bring the entire concept of civil society and its role in democracy to full public view. The article tries to explore these complications from the perspective of civil society and democracy in Pakistan.