By Saad Hafiz: The primary eligibility criterion for electoral candidates in most parliamentary democracies is evidence of citizenship and a clean criminal record. In Pakistan, aspiring candidates appear to need a certificate of religious piety as well. The interpretation of constitutional articles determining eligibility seems more suited to candidates in a religious order, where conformity with prevailing religious ideology and practice is a necessary requirement. But politics is a secular affair, aiming to achieve distinctively worldly ends through distinctively political means. It follows that the actions of governmental representatives themselves should rely on logic and science. This necessitates that the proper standard for selecting a country’s political leadership should be effectiveness, not piousness. Evaluating a candidate’s political and leadership credentials is more important than proving that they are ‘good’ Muslims. As … Read entire article »