Political parties need serious introspection

Recent political events in the country have once again demonstrated that political leadership needs to seriously reflect and re-invent itself. The controversy arising over the election for the Senate seat of Islamabad and the unpleasant and chaotic scenes witnessed outside the parliament after the vote of confidence sought by the Prime Minister are manifestations of how deep and widespread is the malice between the government and opposition politicians. Politics no doubt is about power but it is also the main vehicle for serving the people. Politics is supposed to breed competition among political parties to outsell and outperform the other. On the contrary, the war of words and frequent serious physical encounters have generated extreme bitterness between the government and the opposition. And our politics has become perfunctory and if this trend continues, it could become dysfunctional.

In Pakistan, where democracy is still in its infancy and the military exercises considerable power, these happenings further drag the country down. The mismanagement during the Daska by-election that clearly pointed toward ulterior motives on the part of the government and the controversial elections to the Senate seat of Islamabad left every one guessing how much of money has passed hands to change the loyalty of PTI party members. Democracy, again, received a serious setback.

A major reform is needed to minimise the influence of money and dynastic politics. Patronage needs to be replaced by performance as a means to attract people to vote for politicians. Political parties need to shed the burden of personality and family-oriented leadership. If the party power structure is family based then obviously it would be transplanted on the country when the party comes to power. This stifles political development and second tier leadership and other power centres start giving preference to favourites over merit.

For fighting corruption, a multi-pronged attack is needed. Merely parroting that opposition leaders are corrupt to the core demoralises the nation and raises doubts about the efficacy of democracy creating space for greater influence of the military, judiciary and bureaucracy. It is paradoxical the way corruption is being presented by the PM as though it is confined only to the political class and that too is monopolised by the leadership of the main opposition parties. There is no doubt that there are proven cases against them that need to be pursued relentlessly. But corruption, and that too, big corruption, exists practically across all major elected and unelected institutions and power centres.

True, there is widespread corruption and only a few government departments that could be considered free of this curse. It acts as a lubricant in facilitating their performance. But using a broad brush to paint the entire political class as corrupt is not only unfair but highly detrimental in the interest of the nation. It is clearly a national malice and a holistic approach in dealing with it would be necessary. Looking at corruption through a narrow political lens while it is flourishing across a wide spectrum of national institutions including the business community, land mafia, etc, is not going to go away that easily. Merely harping on it relentlessly in a monotone will push away even the modest foreign investment that Pakistan attracts.

Another critical aspect in reducing corruption is the attitude of the society, which seems to be generally indifferent towards it. There is a need for sensitising the younger generation in particular by emphasising on its overall impact on the economy, moral standards and every aspect of human behaviour. There are several weak areas on the legal side that need to be amended and new laws need to be introduced to deal with corruption cases. Even the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that was created with the specific purpose of combating corruption seems to have only partially succeeded in its mission. And has been criticised not only by the political parties across the board but also by the judiciary.

China, a socialist economy that has experienced one of the fastest growths among nations during the last four decades, has addressed the curse of corruption and has been only partially successful. Japan, South Korea and Vietnam with liberal economies do face problems with mega corruption at the top. Defence deals are the most lucrative area where the potential for corruption exists. French defence firm DCNS has been involved in corruption cases in 2017 and has been accused of bribing intermediaries close to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak in a $1.2 billion deal for the sale of French Scorpion submarine. There was also a serious scandal about the sale of French submarines to Brazil. A few years ago, the famous Swedish arms manufacturer, Bofors, was indicted for bribing top Indian politicians and the air force chief. In Pakistan, a former naval chief was tried and sentenced for indulging in bribery. A few years back some generals were investigated for corruption and were penalised. Lately, the Pakistani construction industry magnet was awarded a heavy sentence for mega corruption. It is not surprising that he is considered close to several important politicians, retired civil and military officials and other government functionaries. In developing countries corruption is more pervasive and highly damaging due to their fragile economies and weak institutions.

Furthermore, smuggling, and drug and human trafficking are another manifestation of corruption and decay of societies. It leads to exponential rise in criminal activity besides having serious side effects on the quality of politics, public health and national economy. The chaotic conditions in Afghanistan and a fairly long and desolate Iran-Pakistan border with militant and criminal groups operating on both sides is a conducive environment for corruption. Political governments have played only a secondary role in combating criminal border activity by leaving it mostly to the army and rangers to handle it.

The recent brawls and indecent behaviour between the government and opposition parliamentarians was a stark reminder of how low our politics has stooped. Politics of vengeance and rowdyism is not what people voted them for.

Pakistan’s destiny lies largely on how its politics and politicians adapt to serve the people and the country and not themselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2021.

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