International Law
A distinction is sometimes made between a republic and a democracy in the context of the American Constitution. It is maintained that the USA was established as a republic, but degenerated into a democracy. Does this have some implications for the Constitution of Pakistan?
The parliamentary system, embedded in the British model, has collapsed in this country. The British people waged a prolonged struggle for their rights and brought their parliament to a position of supremacy. For the people in Pakistan it is an alien system. The people do not understand it nor are they concerned with the conventions and traditions imported from Britain, as these too are alien. The parliamentarians themselves do not understand this system...
Many claims are made by jurists and scholars that Islam has its own form of democracy and political system; but when it comes to practical implementation there is very little to rely on. It is also claimed that Islam has its own system of distributive and social justice. In the light of such claims, what form will the Islamic democratic system have in the present times, and what political structures will be implemented? A ruling is required within the context of the current democratic and political system prevailing in Pakistan.
The first question a non-Muslim asks on hearing the word “sharī‘ah” (pronounced sha ree ‘ah,) is: what is the sharī’ah? This is a perfectly natural question. The correct answer, however, is not known even to ninety-nine percent, or more, of the Muslims. Those who attempt to answer cause more confusion than clarity. We will first note the typical answer very briefly for identification, without reproducing the various answers, as pursuing those answers is not the purpose here.