KARACHI: “With all the power that a president has, the most important thing to bear in mind is this: you must not give power to a man unless, above everything else, he has character. Character is the most important qualification the president of the United States can have.” — Richard Nixon.
Can a country like Pakistan ever have a vision for such a leader? Perhaps no; we would have many standing up to advocate the view that the personal character of a leader does not count. I beg to differ. Why should we compromise on the personal character of our leaders? I do not judge a common man on the basis of his personal morality, but certainly, I shall have a different approach when it comes to a public servant.
The world’s superpowers are entitled to be so because of their approach towards the criteria of public service. How can we forget Bill Clinton’s public apology with regard to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I would like to quote his words:
“I answered their (Office of Independent Counsel and the grand jury) questions truthfully, including questions about my private life, questions no American citizen would ever want to answer. Still, I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, both public and private. And that is why I am speaking to you tonight.”
Can we expect such an attitude from the politicians of Pakistan? Our leaders choose to remain mum over such allegations.
It was astounding to see that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has “prohibited personal attacks on opponents” during election campaigning. I beg to question, why? Why do our politicians’ foibles need to be kept hidden from public view? While the approach should be such that the electable has a clean record, ours is such that it is okay not to have a clean record because we know how to hide it. The right to express oneself freely is a very basic right and it is high time that we realise that instead of hiding our dark secrets, public servants must work towards a clean personal record. When the president of United States can be portrayed as a “liar and a failed leader” by the Republicans in their campaign for the election, then why can we not do the same? Is our leaders’ sanctity so inviolable that we cannot bear the thought of freely criticising them? I see the ECP’s decision as an absolute infringement of human rights because there can be no possible justification for keeping the depravities of our leaders hidden from public view.
Minerwa Tahir
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2013.
