Pakistan Facing Political Bewilderment

Muhammad Ajeeb

London: One of the country’s biggest drawbacks is that it has for a long period been ruthlessly and mercilessly ruled by the connivance of feudals, wealthy families, senior bureaucrats, and army generals, who have inflated their bank balances and increased their property portfolios to monstrous dimensions both within Pakistan and abroad. The greed of these men and women knows no bounds. Ironically, to date, they have managed to escape all forms of accountability and scrutiny. It is a crude and ugly fact that all aspects of governance, from top to bottom, continue to revel in corruption, but the Parliament remains unwilling to introduce any punitive measures against this deep-rooted evil.

The election process, which should serve as a sifting mechanism to root out hapless politicians, is coerced to maintain the status quo. The politicians contest elections just to win by hook or crook through every conceivable trick.

They first use pressure on the poor masses and if this proves ineffective, they are only too prepared to bribe the voters. Huge sums of money are spent unchecked during elections simply to maintain political control. In this short-circuiting democratic process, political parties have manifestos written on the back of envelopes which are quickly discarded with promises made but never implemented.

When in power, elected politicians are more concerned with recouping the money they spent on getting elected than doing something tangible for their constituents. The whole system has become riddled with mismanagement, incompetent governance, corruption, lawlessness, favouritism, nepotism, and extortion at the beckoning of multiple mafia interests.

Pakistan remains a class-ridden society of the fabulously rich or the extremely poor. A negligible number have succeeded in socially enhancing their status to middle-class ranks.

On the economic front, the manufacturing sector is crippled and non-productive. This is having a devastating impact on the lives of workers and their families. In the absence of any form of welfare support for those deprived of regular employment and income, the poor are disproportionally disadvantaged.

The war of words on electronic and social media has intensified between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and dominant factions of the military establishment. The judiciary is also divided and deeply stained by being partial to political interests in its deliberations and judgements on the interpretation of the constitution of the land.

The media houses are equally not impartial, playing tunes to the pleasure of their paymasters. Their political affiliations and crude biases are so obvious. Thus, the provision of accurate information and impartial observations is simply not there. Social media has become a platform for fake news, personal abuse, and vile and toxic language.

It is sad to note that Pakistan has become a country where all important institutions have become mismanaged, corrupt and dysfunctional. The poor masses are left to suffer in misery and destitution.

The incumbent government, comprised of many well-known corrupt, looters, and plunderers of the national exchequer, is proving incapable of rescuing the economy and deteriorating law and order. Unfortunately, the opposition is not what it claims to be. It also consists of a few corrupt, inept, power-hungry, and former and present supporters, and activists of extremism and dictatorship.

The hierarchy of the opposition has used the religious card to the maximum for political gains. It is rigid, hypocritical, self-righteous, and egoistic, and equally prepared to incite and exploit the sentiments of the trodden masses. When it suits the purpose, they are prepared to implicitly and explicitly endorse the agenda of the establishment. It is no surprise that people are bewildered and angry.

Although all politicians pontificate about democracy and real freedom, they are not willing to instil such sublime principles and values in the functioning and practise of their parties. Such slogans are used as political rhetoric.

Hence, in the absence of any viable and prudent political leadership, and a divided military establishment; Pakistan is standing at the crossroads of uncertainty and confusion, desperately gasping for a political settlement but none is forthcoming.The war of nerves between the government and the opposition has intensified after the Supreme Court’s decision. The decision of the Election Commission (EC) of March 22 to hold elections on October 8 has been overturned by the court and the new date of May 14 has been announced.

Whereas the decision has been hailed by the PTI as a victory for the constitution and democracy, it has not been explicitly accepted by the coalition government. The Supreme Court is criticised by the government for being partisan and politically biased.

The Supreme Court is divided and in disarray. The bench to decide on this important constitutional issue started with nine judges but ended up with three. The remaining six disagreed with the Chief Justice in initiating Suomoto against the decision of the EC and, hence, either did not participate in the deliberations or voted against it. This apparent political indulgence of the Court in party politics has generated heated debate in the legal profession and raised much-anticipated controversy. The government’s position on this expected decision of the court is unclear and ambiguous.

My view is that this is not going to be the end of this saga. In Pakistan, anything and everything can happen out of the blue. However, the elections still seem like a remote possibility, but further polarisation and unrest with a worsening economy are clearly on the cards.

Hence, the prevalent political and institutional inertia prevents the country from moving forward. It keeps the should-be agents of change occupied with their never-ending problems of survival. In such a dysfunctional environment, when the level of frustration and despondency reaches its climax, it either ends in apathy or chaos and violence.

Against the backdrop of Pakistan’s short history, replete with all these shortcomings, the route to recovery would be difficult, if not impossible. It would require a new political force with unambiguous ideology capable of enacting the principles of democracy and the freedoms associated with them with full commitments and determination to achieve a democratic base that has at its centre the legitimate representation of all segments of disfranchised society in the power structures of the country. In order to achieve this objective of inclusive participation, a comprehensive review of electoral law is a must.

If and when the democratic and progressive political system is established on the above lines with the expressed will of all social classes, it can embark upon radical reforms of all the major institutions, including the military establishment, with a new sense of direction and confidence to tackle internal and external challenges with independent foreign and economic policies to end the enslavement of America and subservience to any other powerful nation.

It has to be stressed that the present players, whose sole aim is the acquisition of power, which they can continue to use mainly for protecting their own interests and the interests of their class, have no genuine desire to improve the quality of life for the masses or see Pakistan breaking the shackles of foreign control on route to true democracy, freedom, transparency, tolerance, peace, and prosperity.

The author is former Lord Mayor of Bradford UK.

The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.