PESHAWAR
\nPakistan, a country born from a monumental democratic struggle on August 14, 1947, has weathered countless political storms in its 77 years of existence.
\nFrom democratic governments to dictatorships in Pakistan, the nation\u2019s journey has been marked by political instability mainly due to wrangling between political forces for power.
\nOne persistent challenge has been the derailment of democracy through politics of agitation, long marches, and allegations of corruption against the political governments in the past, resultantly the country\u2019s economy was badly suffered.
\nThese irrational events, often spearheaded by the opposition parties or political leaders, have not only disrupted the democratic process but have also hindered the country\u2019s political and economic development besides increased mass problems.
\nProfessor Dr. A.H. Hilali, former Chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Peshawar, pointed out that agitation politics\u2014characterized by long marches, sit-ins, and street protests\u2014poses a significant threat to democratic governance in the country.
\n\u201cDemocracy derives its strength from the people\u2019s vote, not from agitation rallies on streets or blocking of roads,\u201d Dr. Hilali said, emphasizing the developed nations achieved economic heights by ensuring political stability and continuity in policies, rather than by pursuing disruptive movements or revolutions to achieve power through back channels.
\nProfessor Dr Hilali said that Pakistan\u2019s political history has unfortunately reflected a pattern of instability, often triggered by dissatisfaction with election outcomes, resultantly democracy have been derailed four times in the past.
\nDespite the abundance of natural resources, significant geographic location and a large population, he said opposition leaders have yet to realize the full economic potential of their country.
\nHe attributed this to the frequent interruptions in democratic process, where elected governments were overthrown on charges of corruption besides due to a lack of political tolerance and respect for electoral mandates.
\nHe said the absence of a strong constitutional framework in the early years after independence and the untimely deaths of founder leaders\u2014such as Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948 and Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951 had further hampered the country\u2019s democratic evolution.
\nHe said the political landscape became a battleground of competing parties when opposition groups accused the ruling elite of rigging elections, sparking unrest and instability in Pakistan.
\n\u201cOne of the most significant examples of agitation politics in Pakistan\u2019s history was the 1977 general elections, which led to the overthrow of the elected Govt of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,\u201d he said.
\nThe opposition alliance i.e Pakistan National Alliance (PNA), launched a nationwide agitation claiming electoral fraud after ZA Bhutto\u2019s Pakistan Peoples Party won a landslide victory in the 1977 general election.
\nDespite Bhutto\u2019s frequent denial of any rigging, the PNA\u2019s protests escalated into widespread unrest, leading to overthrowing of an elected Bhutto Govt on July 5, 1977, marking the beginning of the third dictatorship in the country.
\nHe said the cycle of political intolerance continued into the 1980s and 1990s after successive governments of PPP and PMLN were removed on allegations of corruption and electoral manipulations.
\nDr Hilali said as a result of political chaos, the Govt of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif\u2019s Government was dismissed and democracy was derailed for the fourth time on October 12, 1999.
\nIn 2014, he said a new chapter of political unrest unfolded when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder, supported by Dr. Tahirul Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), launched an aimless sit-in against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government at Islamabad, accusing the PMLN leadership of rigging the 2013 general elections.
\nThe PTI\/PAT allegations, however, were rejected by an independent high powered commission of SC led by former Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, which found that the elections had been conducted fairly.
\nDespite the Commission ruling, he said the protests continued for months, further deepening political divisions in the country where no elected Prime Minister has completed its five year constitutional term.
\nIkhtair Wali Khan, PMLN KP Information Secretary said that PTI has not learnt lessons from history and has again given an agitation call for November 24 which was totally unjustified.
\nHe accused the PTI leadership of engaging in \u201caimless agitation politics\u201d that will only create political chaos besides added to the difficulty of the masses. \u201cPTI agitation was meant to get relief for the PTI founder who was charged in various cases,\u201d he said, adding only courts would decide cases of the PTI founder.
\nWajid Ali Khan, former KP Minister said PTI Nov 26 agitation was a political gimmick. He said PTI was known for taking pressure on state institutions to get relief.
\n\u201cLike PTI\u2019s 2022 flopped long march, the PTI November 24 agitation call would also be rejected by masses of KP who kept their distance of the proposed aimless march.\u201d
\nHe argued that PTI leadership\u2019s rhetoric has increasingly targeted state institutions, and that their attempts to undermine democratic processes are damaging to the country\u2019s political and economic stability would be bound to fail.
\nHe said people of KP were largely associated with the transport and tourism sector and will economically suffer due to blockage of roads and motorways.
\nThe PMLN leader said that PTI\u2019s agitation was meant to divert people\u2019s attention what he called from \u2018poor governance\u2019 in Khyber Pakthunkhwa where Billion Trees Project was taken over by the NAB and BRT was facing over three billion financial losses due to ill planning that turned Peshawar into a traffic mess.
\nThe experts said our country\u2019s history was a testament to the resilience of its people and the enduring hope for a democratic future, hoping that PTI leadership would show political maturity and will fight cases of their leader in courts rather than streets.
\nThey said the challenge for Pakistan\u2019s leaders, both in government and opposition, is to rise above personal interests and work toward a more tolerant, democratic, and politically stable environment.
\nThey said that democracy was not a product of long marches, but a result of continuous, constructive engagement with people and accepting political mandates, adding only then can Pakistan begin to realize its true potential as a democratic and economically prosperous nation.
\nIkhtair Wali Khan said that due to agitation politics, internal differences within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have emerged ahead of the planned protest on November 24.
\nHe said Peshawar East\u2019s General Secretary of PTI, Taqdeer Ali, and Senior Vice President Malik Salim have reportedly resigned apparently due to disagreements over distribution of positions in the party besides not taking PTI local leadership into confidence on the proposed Nov 24 agitation call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR Pakistan, a country born from a monumental democratic struggle on August 14, 1947, has weathered countless political storms in its 77 years of existence. From democratic governments to dictatorships in Pakistan, the nation\u2019s journey has been marked by political instability mainly due to wrangling between political forces for power. One persistent challenge has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-444510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n