Sajjad Ahmad Khan
Politicians have always heated up the market of sales and purchase of conscience to protect their interests and power
As the conditions of the world change, so do the political cultures of the countries. Changes have also been taking place in Pakistan’s political culture for some time now; but unfortunately most of the changes are based on negative, immoral and unethical tendencies. The political leaders are promoting a milieu of animosity and malice. Today’s political culture is very different from the past in many respects. In the past, political values were different, leaders had higher mental calibre and they would adhere to the ideologies with strict principles.
Regressive changes are occurring in the political culture of the country. The main cause behind this traumatic politics in Pakistan is the venomous mind-set of political groups and the idee fixe to downthrow their opponents in any case. Our society is heading towards extreme polarization while political leaders are tearing each other’s clothes off for power and regime. The power-hungry leaders are not ashamed of that the state’s legs are trembling because of their lust. The hearts of the youth are full of odium. Imran Khan, like the hero of Punjabi movies, bellows at opponents from the container. Oddly enough, young men see a macho man in Khan’s ululates. The PTI is using social media to spread hatred in a highly organized and modern way. Every now and then, you will see a disgusting post on social media, in which the opponents are remembered in derogatory terms. In this regard, the party has enlisted thousands of people who are pursuing the party’s immoral and undemocratic agenda. We have lost all grip on ethics and cultural values. Sadly, Imran Khan himself is cultivating this gladiatorial mentality among the youth. These are the leaders who stab the sword of death in the chest of democracy and later blame the army. Politicians have always heated up the market of sales and purchase of conscience to protect their interests and power.
The whole nation witnessed the horrific scenes of Imran Niazi’s fascism on May 25. Perhaps no one in the history of Pakistan has seen such a frenzy in the name of democracy. Believe me, the whole nation is in a catch-22 situation as to where they are going and what will happen to them. Pakistan is on the brink of economic crack-up and so far there is no ray of hope across the tunnel.
The performance of the PTI government for four and a half years has been very disappointing. Previous governments borrowed about Rs 25,000 billion in 71 years, while Imran Khan added to it Rs 20,000 billion in four and a half years. No doubt the previous governments had also taken loans, but their borrowing targets were clear, while Khan’s loans went into unknown pockets and squandered.
Prejudice aside, if the ground realities are analysed, it becomes very clear that the real threat to democracy is only from the elected representatives. These are the elected representatives who, in the guise of politicians, strangle democracy for their own interests. It was the worst day in the history of Pakistan’s democracy when Khan stood on a container and used the “finger of the umpire” against the elected government. It was a momentous moment for democrats to react, but they remained silent. Had it been remedied in time, the political cum social myeloma would have not been spread in the body of the nation, particularly the youth. The love story between Khan and the army did not last long. The two organisms linked to symbiosis soon became foreign bodies to each other. The suspicions between the two lovers began with the transfer of the Director General of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in October 2021. The Army was shocked when Khan unexpectedly refused to sign the transfer order of the Director General (ISI). From this incident, the army deduced that Khan Sahib has a frivolous temperament and putting such a person in the driving seat is tantamount to suicide. Now, Imran is bludgeoning his makers, through fiery speeches, saying that genie is out of the bottle, so keep distance. Imran Khan has warned the army that he has metamorphosed into a Frankenstein. But bringing Khan to power and then humiliatingly ousting him from the government is a testament to the fact that neither friendship nor enmity is good with the army.
This danger can only be averted if the people are aware of the importance of the vote and are able to choose the right representatives. Because democracy represents the collective will of the people. It is a process that people start with rational decisions and stick to it by following the principles of mutual understanding and cooperation. True democracy is perpetuated by the light and strength of education. Because only an educated person is capable of realizing high values like freedom, equality, justice and rule of law.
Imran Khan’s long march failed to achieve its goals and now like a ‘spent hen ‘ he is hatching eggs in KP for another Azadi March. He kept threatening that the movement would be bloody and this statement caused a lot of damage to the economy of the country. From the March 8 movement until the April 10 vote of no confidence, the stock exchange continued to falter due to the uncertain situation. The PTI government is gone but the country is still suffering from economic and political crisis. Unfortunately, no thankworthy steps have been taken by the new government to alleviate the miseries of the people. The new government of Shahbaz Sharif is hesitant and is looking for strong ground to establish its foothold.
