Najm us Saqib
Somewhere in Islamabad, four legal luminaries and a prominent politician were sitting around a table. They had just heard the new Chief Justice of Pakistan lamenting the fact that if the court’s verdict on the 2017 sit-in at Faizabad had been implemented, future serious incidents could have been averted. Soon after hearing this breaking news, the discussion on the necessity of reforms in Pakistan’s legal system took a U-turn. The recording device placed under the table was continuously blinking.
First: The narrative is hardly animated by the veracity of its argument. It is surprising to see certain elements appearing on the national scene during certain specific periods of political unrest. They come, they conquer and then they vanish. Then we see certain politicians who rule the country for some time and go into hiding just to reappear again, holding the flag of a different political party but making the same old promises. The tv screens seem to welcome them with open arms again.
Politician: When we were in power, no such nonsense was allowed. Our party worked for the welfare of the people of Pakistan with all sincerity. The towering personality of our leader became a threat to the powers that be. The country was on its way to unprecedented development. Unfortunately, our progress was halted mid-stream.
Second: By the way, who halts your progress and why don’t you resist the opposing forces? You come to power through public support. By bowing out of the arena while complaining about the unnamed forces, you guys embarrass your voters as well as their discretion. Suddenly, democracy becomes the ultimate objective, not realising that it was for the people and not the other way around. By singing sad songs of your sudden political demise, you tend to get the voters’ sympathies, not realising that the people wanted the end of inflation and not your soap operas. When in power, who stops you from doing good for the people? Never mind, let’s not dwell on these age-old clichés. Tough luck. We were born in this country, and we should accept our fate. I wonder why we still believe in the political process.
Third: Another part of the mix is the deliberate attempt to keep things ambiguous. They say that the general elections will be held in the last week of January. There are seven days in a week. Why couldn’t they specify a date? If the delimitation process has been completed within a few days now, why couldn’t they do it in September? If the Supreme Court had observed that the elections should be held within ninety days, why did the ECP insist on implementing 17(2) of the ECP’s Act while delaying the election date? Talk about the rule of law in this country. It is surprising to note that all political parties have accepted the vague announcement as such. Talk about Pakistani politics.
Voice: You don’t have even the slightest idea about the political process taking place in Pakistan since independence. Quote me a time when the constitution of Pakistan was brought in to do justice across the board without having some vested interests behind.
Third: No matter how things pan out, we will remain the same. I don’t care when the elections are held. To me, it is immaterial which political party comes to power following the elections. It doesn’t bother me if a coalition set-up emerges, or a single party sweeps the elections. Neither am I concerned about the ‘free and fair’ nature of the elections. To me, the elections have not been able to solve any problem. Looking at the pattern, a coalition government will be the outcome and that is, if ever the elections took place. Haven’t we just experienced the performance of a sixteen-month-long coalition set-up? By the time they had sorted out their inter-se power-sharing issues, it was time to go. The vicious cycle of political uncertainty would continue and all of us will be talking about an imminent default again. Won’t we? Honesty of purpose, Sir, honesty of purpose is the need of the hour. And frankly, I don’t see such a miracle happening in Pakistan.
Voice: Honesty of purpose? Excuse me, Sir. At least you should not talk about honesty and loyalty. You reaped the fruits of power from the platform of a political party for decades, but you are presently pleading a lawsuit against another party’s leader. What a glaring paradox. Honesty of purpose? In a different age, perhaps, but not in the foreseeable future.
Third: Some people blame the Establishment for all the follies. My question is: why did you let them in? Why couldn’t you sort out your matters amongst yourselves? As they say in the Western military philosophy, never give the first inch, why would you knock at their door the moment you land in the opposition dugout? Why can’t the politicians of this country run the political system on their own? And don’t tell me they don’t let you do so. If that is the case, why don’t you quit politics and do something else?
Politician: When we were in power, we ran the country without the Establishment’s help although we were on the same page for a long time. If you want, I could give you a rundown of …….!!
Voice: Come on, Sir. To begin with, why do you have to drum up the story of being on the same page? Why do you feel obliged to be on the same page, in the first place? By the way, which page do you write the stories of the cooperating bureaucrats and judges on? Isn’t it true that the only aim a political party pursues is to stay in power and in the process, you are not concerned about which page is being added to the illustrious political history of Pakistan? In all fairness, you should be on one page with the people of your country.
Fourth: Allow me to add another facet of our politics here. When facing the courts, why do the politicians suddenly fall seriously sick and are shown lying in a hospital bed with several needles piercing through their skin? They get out of the hospital’s hale and hearty the moment any deal gets through. The most surprising element in this saga is the people’s acceptance of this gimmick. Somehow, they feel it justified ‘under the circumstances.’ Talk about the people’s sense of politics. I don’t know who said it, but it seems true to me. You get what you deserve.
Politician: When we were in power……….!!!
Voice: Don’t worry, Sir. You will again be in power. Soon.
The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com.
