Musical chairs

Ours is among the few countries on the globe where public interests are put on sale for political interests. The trust – though mainly fabricated and rigged – that the public puts in the politicians ultimately ends in power, privilege and primacy for these politicians and their henchmen. Once in power, they forget the masses on whose support they keep on feasting riches, protocol and glory.

Though polarisation and undemocratically democratic culture characterises Pakistan’s political landscape, the ongoing political drama depicting the opposition’s no-trust vote against the Prime Minister testifies a more horrifying trend. Ground for political musical chairs is being prepared with political parties putting all-out efforts to claim their “due” share of power. And the stratagem isn’t about right and wrong or a duel between good and evil; it’s a scuffle for power, privilege and position.

Amidst the soaring political mercury level in the national capital, the political parties lobby in whatever way and capacity to safeguard their political future. Din, cacophony, mudslinging, personal attacks, vulgarity, filthy attacks and brouhaha lie at the very foundation of the unfolding political theatre. With a surge in the political heat, moralities, ethos and political etiquettes appear to be evaporating fast. Calling names, personal attacks, abusing and insulting each other has become a norm in Pakistani politics. Alien to political conscience and morality, they engage in filthy verbal fight. Rather than being men of lofty standards, they speak vile and vulgar language. Horse trading, threats, coercions, huddling, appealing and appeasing electables is central to their campaign.

The systematically deprived masses serve as fuel and fodder to the elite’s hunger for power. It is the elite-sponsored public miseries that the political class exploits through tall promises. Hard-pressed by circumstances with no silver lining in sight, the masses are easily lured through tempting pledges.

However, when facing threats to their privileges, they play public support drama to help buoy their palaces of sands. Through populist slogans and falsified narratives, they attend to the hopeless public. If they fail to gather the required support, they exorbitantly flow cash to buy support of the downtrodden sections and muster up rallies and marches.

Though the objective of such public gatherings are framed around public grievances and directed against the opponents, they are nevertheless aimed at safeguarding political careers. The marches in March by the country’s leading political parties in the name of masses are nothing but the mockery of country’s democratic values in heist of meagre public funds.

Clouds of uncertainties hover above our heads. What is certain in the midst of uncertainties, as usual, is absence of concern for public good and the larger interests of the country. Though every political party boasts of being the public champion and call others corrupt and impotent, the fact is that a majority of the country’s political class hardly think beyond vested interests.

It’s these megalomaniac political tendencies that have reduced democracy in our country to a sorry saga of rigged elections, hereditary succession, rotation of power among the elite, the swinging potential of electables, and the stuff. The rigged and rugged public support is used to befool the masses. The so-called public support serves as a shield to their sins and a safeguard for their perks, privileges and political future.

Regardless of who wins the prevailing political drama, the improvised democratic culture, the larger national interests and the common public good are bound to emerge a looser.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2022.

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