Compassion and kindness

Some things should be above political vendettas.

Humanity, common decency, the dignity of fellow human beings, should be extended to political opponents and allies regardless of past acrimony. Political leaders are not just people tasked with making policy decisions, but are also symbols of a country’s moral trajectory. If they discard basic humanity and embrace cruelty, then people will come to associate cruelty with politics, nurturing further distrust for a political system that is already synonymous with dishonesty in the minds of the people of this country.

How Nawaz Sharif has been treated by the current government is nothing short of cruel. Even if he is guilty of everything he has been accused of, even if you believe he had it coming, even if you think this is all his own fault. A man should not be forced to come so near death’s door before we allow him basic medical treatment. Neither should a daughter have to spend time in a cell wondering if she will ever see her father alive again. That is psychological torture.

I do not believe that someone has to support the PML-N to say this. It is a simple argument on humanitarian grounds. It is applicable to everyone regardless of their political leanings.

The current government showed its callousness in its reaction to initial reports about Nawaz Sharif’s health. It let vengeance blind its humanity. It sneered and laughed, calling the former prime minister’s condition a ruse that the PTI was too sharp to fall for.

It was wrong. Which makes Firdous Ashiq Awan’s comments about Sharif’s condition even more sickening in hindsight.

The problem with those in power indulging in even a pinch of cruelty, besides humanitarian reasons, is that it sets a dangerous precedent. Such actions are not easily forgotten, and will eventually come back to haunt the PTI. The cruelty shown to political opponents today has the tendency to create a vicious cycle. Cruelty by those in power may result in them facing cruelty when they no longer have it. And some measure of the blame for that will lie on the PTI’s shoulders for opening the gates to the practice.

The PTI’s populist rhetoric creates a binary of “good” and “evil”; the “corrupt elite” versus the “people”. Such binaries end up meaning that only one category of people deserve our compassion — the others deserve what they are getting. But such binaries have helped set up tyrants and megalomaniacs. They have left, throughout history, countries drowning in cycles of violence that they struggle to resurface from. This country has had enough violence; we should try compassion for once.

In Nawaz Sharif’s own political journey, the PTI should have learned lessons from history.

Once upon a time, Nawaz Sharif thought he too would always remain in power. He even thought about bestowing the title of “Amir al Muminin” upon himself. But his downfall came at the hands of Pervaiz Musharraf. Then, fairly recently, the PML-N once again seemed unstoppable. Enjoying a majority in Parliament with little realistic opposition, it seemed the PML-N was here to stay for a long time. However, the PTI ascended, and today the familiar faces of the PML-N are all in prison. The history of this country shows that power can be lost very quickly in an unstable democracy like ours.

Imran Khan does not seem to realise this. He does not realise that the same cruelty he shows today may grasp him when he no longer holds power.

Many people have made the argument that Nawaz Sharif should not be given exceptional treatment. After all, what about all the other prisoners who languish in our country’s horrible jails without medical treatment?

It is of course true that every prisoner, regardless of their crime, should be given humane treatment. To make that point, however, does not require that we sacrifice a man’s life. An argument regarding mass injustice does not mean that we refuse to remedy an individual case of injustice. Forcing one man to suffer will not quell the suffering of the multitude.

Instead, can we not use the example of the suffering of a former prime minister to make a broader point about the agony of our justice system? Pakistan’s justice system needs reform. Enough people have suffered and died because of this fact. We do not need to argue that one more person needs to go through the same fate. Our prisons, our courts, our police, all fail to uphold the rule of law and basic human dignity.

So, we, the people of Pakistan, must raise our voice and demand from this government that it reform our justice system so that people are treated like human beings. That the Constitution’s guarantee of dignity and due process be upheld. The PTI came to power promising that it would change the way our criminal justice system worked. They have not enacted a single reform regarding that. Yes, VIP prisons should be abolished, but so should the inhumane conditions in regular prison cells.

It is impossible for Pakistan to progress if it continues to play the politics of cruelty.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2019.

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