ABSTRACT
The question of “who (really) governs?” implies that the Pakistan and Indian governments are simply façades for a power structure that exists in the economy, in society, or, indeed, outside the country’s borders. The centrality of this question comes from the definition of democracy that includes the requirement that there be no significant veto power over the citizen qua voter, that the citizens are not puppets, with their decisions countermanded by non-elected wielders of power. A typical expression of this appeared in the weekly column of the respected Pakistani Member of the National Assembly, Ayaz Amir (2009):
Politicians in Pakistan live under a great illusion. They think they run the country when actually they do nothing of the kind. More than even the red-stripe wearers in General Headquarters, it is the captains of industry, commerce, banking and real estate who run things from behind the scenes and wield real power. Politicians represent the face of things. The string-pullers are different.
