The power of conviction

It just takes one man’s unyielding conviction, self-belief and one small incident to set the process of change

The famous quote by Hellen Keller “While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done,” perfectly represents the feelings of the majority opinions of analysts and public during the nine months court case of the Panama Papers. Despite overwhelming evidence on lifestyle and assets beyond accounting there was a general understanding that in this country justice is delayed, dodged, diverted by the rich and powerful. This belief was based on a 70-year-old experience of many similar cases on the power holders being dismissed or quashed. Thus the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has created shockwaves not only in the country but all around the world.

The legal angle of this case can be debated and discussed for years to come. The politics behind it will be a matter of discourse forever. Opinions and analysis will change. Strategies and policies will vary. But what was and will not change is the belief and conviction of Imran Khan who spent 21 years of his life telling people it can and will be done, that truth will prevail, that all it takes is more effort, that persistence pays off, that change is inevitable.

The Panama Papers case may change Pakistan’s political history but more important it will change the approach of the people who had started believing that change especially in the upper echelons is just an empty slogan. The 70-year consistent pattern of hoping and then being disappointed had created a mindset of cynicism where any chances of accountability and justice were written off. Thus, this result will not only set legal precedents but will also set social and mental precedents that are key to making a society believe in themselves and their power to reform and progress. Let us see how those behaviours and beliefs had deliberately been entrenched by our leaders and will be substantially challenged by this judgment:

1. If you are a politician you are a VIP: Holding a public office was all about pomp and show. Big black cars, protocols, roads cordoned off, security bowing and saluting, had become a norm where it was understood that with the office these are the perks that are legally yours. The 126-day sit-in was again instrumental in creating that education in people that we as citizens have a right to question this social atrocity. It was only when the video of an ordinary citizen asking an MPA and an ex-minister to leave the plane as they had delayed the flight became viral that the VIP culture has now become a matter of avoidance than a matter of pride for politicians.

2. Government resources are for the government: For years the belief that budgets and resources were rituals that could be passed without more than a ceremonial protest had been entrenched. The fact that taxes were being imposed on political convenience was also considered a public office prerogative. It was only when the opposition made a legal and media strategy to challenge it that the media discussed it and people started questioning this allocation. An example of this awareness was when Maryam Nawaz was appointed as the chairperson of the Rs100 billion youth loan scheme. A young lawyer legally challenged her merit and credentials for this post. When her degrees became a court and media topic, she had to resign. Again this encouraged a new wave of challenging allocations. Cases on Orange train, domestic labour abuse, unmerited promotions in the National Accountability Bureau, etc, are examples of this change.

3. Government servants are servants of the government: It was understood that institutions working in the government sector were only answerable to the government. The mindset of public servants was that rather than the public their job was to please their masters. They would pay homage to their master’s families and would be rewarded with posts and international transfers. However, this norm has also been challenged. Muhammad Ali Nekokara who refused to use force on public during the Islamabad sit-in was threatened and discharged from his post as a penalty. He did not give in and fought his case for almost two years in the court and was recently restored to his office. Similarly, the recent Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan mishap where the chairman harassed his officers into tampering with the record backfired when an officer, Maheen Fatima, had the courage to tell the truth to the Federal Investigation Agency about this incident.

It just takes one man’s unyielding conviction and self-belief and one small incident to set the process of change. In the 1960s, America was an oppressed country where blacks were treated worse than dogs. It was Martin Luther King who said “I would rather be a man of conviction than a man of conformity,” who encouraged one ordinary black woman, Rosa Parks, to refuse to give up her seat to a white man that set up the civil rights movement that changed America forever.

In winning the World Cup in 1992, building two world class cancer hospitals, establishing an international university, it has been the power of Imran Khan’s conviction that has made financially, legally impossible things to become possible. Panama Leaks judgment is another example of his unique unflappable unyielding, stubborn and obstinate faith and conviction in the potential of this country that has renewed hope in the process of transforming Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2017.

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