The PTI’s stance is not encouraging.PHOTO: SAMEER RAZZAQ/FILE
The crisis engulfing the country holds everyone in suspense. But this is also the time that the actions, words and intentions of key political figures will be noted and remembered for the future. While most political leaders have shied away from saying too much, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has come forward with his perspective. It is not an encouraging one.
Lashing out once more against corruption, Imran Khan has demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari immediately step down, describing him as the source of virtually all evil in the country. We do not know quite how he has reached this sweeping conclusion. But it is uncertain how President Zardari’s exit would solve anything. It is also an irony that those who stand for principle, or at least claim that they do — seem to have no hesitation in violating it. To keep any semblance of order in the country, the Constitution needs to be adhered to and followed. This document lays down a clear methodology to dismiss a president. If President Zardari is to go, this process needs to be followed. If it is not, we risk further chaos. The same holds true as far as Imran Khan’s call for an immediate announcement of a polling date goes. There is a laid down method for this and it makes little sense to ignore this method. And as for the PTI complaints about ‘pre-poll rigging’ and the Election Commission (ECP), it should be noted that the ECP has been constituted as per the law. The law cannot simply be set aside to serve particular needs.
The mainstream political parties at present hold a pivotal place in the current scenario. The PTI’s stance is not encouraging. The party has, of course, been invited by Tahirul Qadri to join his sit-in. The response is being watched. But what we need right now is a willingness to follow the law of the land, to stick firmly to the clauses it lays down and thus prove that our parties are willing to rise above their own interests and follow laid down rules rather than following routes designed by themselves, and for themselves.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2013.
COMMENTS (35)
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LOL .. ET ... dont act like you dont know where the corruption really stems from!
@Billoo Bhaya: You are certainly entitled to your political opinion and your analysis is well placed but don't you think calling the person heartless is unfair? I can turn around and bet a million dollars that he stands taller than most of his critics because he has contributed something to this nation by building SKMH and Namal, regardless of his political orientation.
Why do you only have a thumbs up symbol for comments and not a thumbs down symbol so that people could vote comments down too? Is it that you are afraid of people exercising their opinion fully?
I don't know why ET quality of editorial and article is going down. It is time to do some research and get some few professionals on board.
@Falcon: Not really. Just calling a spade a spade. IK is a contrived fellow; has no emotions therefore never feels the pulse of the people. Ostensibly he would like us to believe that he does. He is always at all contrived photo shoots, never part of the real story in the photo. After the stunt pulled by Qadri, politics of the Punjab has been transformed for the next general election. Qadri has fractured the vote in the Punjab between four parties from previously two; namely PML-N, PPP, PTI and Qadri nominees, from a strait PML-N vs PTI split before yesterday. The biggest loser in all this is IK.
@Billoo Bhaya: It seems like you and @Ch. Allah Daad are soul mates when it comes to IK bashing.
@Ch. Allah Daad: You are absolutely right. I did not think this angle. In a Dharna his supporters will turn his house into a public toilet. Now I understand IK's selfish stance. IK is a big Phoney.
Imran lives in Islamabad, therefore he will not ever announce Dharna in Islamabad. Its impossible to call guests in your city and do not invite them to your house. He does not want them to fill his home with filth and garbage.
how angry the poor little writer of this article is! May God give this ignorant folk some knowledge to see who the root of evil is & what wrong is actually happening in country..Amen!
I agree following the law and the constitution but where in our constitution it said to head a party and a president at the same time. How come a head of a one party will be unbaised and holds free and fair elections.
@Anand Kumar: We appreciate your concern as it relates to saving us from our army. I'm sure you'd prefer if we didn't have an army. We'll take our chances with Imran Khan.
@billoo bhaya
what boat mate? Boat turned out to be a raft....
I get the feeling that everything was scripted to denounce PTI for supporting Qadri, except the fact that PTI didn't....but I guess everyone still went ahead with thier pre-prepared lines. lol
Pakistan and Imran Khan dont get it. Corruption is a problem the world over. Not only in Pakistan! The problem in Pakistan is structural-the army runs the country! The army hogs the budget! The army controls the civilians. Its the Pakistani army! Only when we get a politician who can boldly state that it is the Pakistani army which is the problem and starts to address that, can Pakistan start turning around. Imran Khan is going to be a huge FLOP!
IK missed the boat Mate
Although I am not the supporter of PTI, yet I have to justify his apparently unconstitutional stance keeping in view the remote control mechanism adopted by President Zardari to prevent the growth of undiluted parliamentary democracy in the country. Delaying tactics of the government to announce dates for caretaker setup and holding of general elections amply proves this.
I cannot fathom how can you say Zardari's presence will not affect elections. Firstly, him holding two offices is unconstitutional, that alone ensures his ineligibility for office. Second the ECP has not been formed by following recommended practices, making many appointments in the ECP illegal. .
The above two only, justify Imran Khan's stance. Care to elaborate how you consider his demands 'not good news'? While you're at it, can you define what is good news in your books?
Even someone like Najm Sethi has appreciated IK's decisions in this matter. The editorial staff at ET must take a look within and raise the intellectual standards here.
@salman: So better stick with the inventor ! Not follow the follower. PML (N) has clearer vision than PTI because PML(N) is demanding it for quite sometime, while PTI has recently been doing this.
Sorry to be that straight but this article is a complete joke. I think IK made one of the most mature choices of his political career by not joining the Qadri long march. I don't understand how some people can still see negative in his 7 point agenda. Unreal !!
if some one wants to get famous awl he has to do is to make false allegations or write against popular party pti ... n if yew notice nowdays in tribune.com.pk ull only see articles against pti n imran khan.... biased media ...
Had PTI joined hands with TMQ, nobody would have stopped martial law. This edit seems at least two days old.
@Ricky
The fact is that majority of Musharraf party are now in pmln. A couple were even standing behind mian sahib at his press conference today.
Keep writing and pull him down! At the end you will have pulled the entire population down with him.. Best of luck.
Khan sahib says that his party is going to sweep election.If that is the confidence then any rigging should be taken as collteral damage which, off course, doesn't effect overall results.His uncostitutional demands shows lack of confidance about him sweeping election.
I feel like laughing with these bookish editorials and opinions. Asking a president or a government to step down is a constitutional right. This is a norm everywhere in the democratic world. People come out on streets against a government and government tries to address there grievances and one way of addressing grievance is by dissolving assemblies or resigning. How naive of you to call a legitimate concerns and demand from PTI, to be unconstitutional.
I do not understand where this writer is coming from! the fact that PTI did NOT join TuQ and his Long March and gave the explanation that TuQ is doing something unconstitutional proves that he is "willing to rise above their [his] own interests and follow laid down rules rather than following routes designed by themselves, and for themselves." All IK and PTI want to do is follow the constitution and come into power through the ballot and not pressure like TuQ is trying to do. how is that unconstitutional?
Also what useless argument is this: "Lashing out once more against corruption, Imran Khan has demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari immediately step down, describing him as the source of virtually all evil in the country. We do not know quite how he has reached this sweeping conclusion" HOW HE REACHED THE CONCLUSION THAT ZARDARI IS THE SOURCE OF ALL EVIL? maybe cuz he's the president of the country where everything bad is happening, maybe JUST MAYBE that is how he reached this "sweeping conclusion" maybe, just maybe mr zardari is corrupt, maybe just maybe we have hit rock bottom during his tenure!
bias article, bias writer! go learn how to report or dont report at all!
ET seriously? Demanding President resignation is not something that IK alone has done. Seriously I get it your beloved PPP is down the drain but this hatred of everything IK is just bad for your health. You have become obssessive about IK man need treatment ASAP. Oh and while we are at it, could we plz stop using principals and morality none among us can claim it, least coming from this "august" newspaper. (since most my post never get passed hoping this one does).
ET is a dedicated PPP worshiper.
A very fair and balanced editorial by ET to support democracy in Pakistan not any party or group. LHC has no jurisdiction on the fed govt. Only in Pakistan one HC of a province picks up other province elected politicians and make historically wrong decisions against them. Why is only LHC not SHC, BHC or PHC active against the elected politicians of other provinces? LHC has the darkest history and it only adds to the fact that from Pakistan's first PM to ZAB to BB were all killed in just one city of Punjab. Justice Ibrahim has an immaculate record and never been a PCO judge. He is appointed by consensus as the most neutral person to be the CEC. Even the bogus voter lists prepared by Mush and his allies have been corrected to avoid rigging. Yet the hate mongers are calling wolf. There are two types of politicians one have hopes to win some seats in the coming elections no matter what. The others are constant losers and never won seats in elections and their only hope to power is the backdoor of dictatorship. We remember the faces in Mush's govt and the same parties are demanding no elections but selection.
This is a ridiculous editorial. All my support is with Imran Khan. Zardari is indeed the root of all evil, if you don't blame the head of the state for all mess in the country then who is to blame?
Give me a break ET! Your tirade against Imran Khan is disgusting. There is nothing wrong with asking the President to step down. Of course in doing that one would have to assume that he still has an iota of self-respect or introspection left in him. Never has a president in the history of Pakistan been hated as much and never have we seen a government so inept. Imran Khan is perfectly within his right as a voting citizen of the country to ask the President to step down. Every other person in the country feels the same way. There is NOTHING unconstitutional about that.
What you have failed to mention (obviously) is that Imran Khan has refised to become part of Tahir-ul-Qadri's agenda and has categorically said that he believes in the impartiality of the ECP and its ability to hold the elections. He has also said that he will only seek mandate from the masses via an election. But of course, why would you want to mention that?
I have yet to see an editorial devoted to the President's disregard for the requirement that he needs to be impartial. A president that hosts his party's CEC meetings in the Presidency is far from unbiased. That he routinely directs public monies into flouting his party's agenda is another issue. If he remains in office there is no doubt that he will actively campaign for his party and that itself is a direct violation of his office. But then what is new about that?
I didn't even feel like reading beyond your first paragraph. You could have also written an article encouraging that PTI is helping the democracy by not joining the long march. But that would require seeing the glass half full, which ET authors find very hard to do.
This is a ridiculously biased editorial. . . What is "We do not know how he has reached this sweeping conclusion" mean? IK has clarified that Lahore High Court has ordered that President cannot hold dual offices. Is this upholding the constitution? . . If the ECP is constituted per the law, does that justify pre-poll rigging? As you put it, is the "law being set-aside" to "serve particular needs" by pre-poll rigging? . .
As far as the law of the land goes, apparently it only applies to those outside parliament. Reconsider your bias please.Sir...last year pmln also started a go Zardari go movement....so it's not just pti who thinks Zardari has to take some blame....unless pmln were just trying to fool us again. Regarding he rest of pti statement...they have not said or done anything unconstitutional. ...but I guess got were going to write this article no matter what pti did. You probably won't publish this comment either.....
So what happens when laws and constitutions are made to keep a kleptocracy intact? Thank you for being so intellectually edifying as always ET editors!!