Divided by conflict

The degree of differences among people, their political representatives, and their media sources “feels both obstructionist [and] unworkable” in a nation torn by strife. We are not just horrible at agreeing with one another, but also at disagreeing with one another. The words of author and journalist Pamela Paul also apply to us.

Nothing less than direct communication is necessary to address the predicament we are in. Strange things have been happening recently, particularly following the political upheaval in April. The creators of the hybrid rule eagerly anticipated the conclusion of their political engineering experiment.

Imran Khan was believed to have failed to keep his pledges from the previous year. Even his followers had lost hope and were prepared to lose the hustings in 2023. However, due to a historical twist and the string-pullers’ errors in judgement, the maverick populist was propelled to unprecedented levels of admiration by a massive surge of sympathy.

This led to huge political triumphs in the recent by-elections and revealed the schemes of the ruling class, the antics of two mainstream parties, and a mishmash of dispersed opportunists eager to play players in the game of politics.

The political engineer in charge, who was appointed by Nawaz Sharif and granted a term extension in 2019 by Imran Khan, most shamelessly revealed himself as such, with terrible repercussions for a national institution that had earned public respect for its enormous sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.

After going on a demolition rampage, the bull in a china shop adopted the palpably unbelievable posture of “political neutrality”, thereby abandoning the hybrid government put together by his henchmen in 2018. On the occasion of the chief sleuth’s important appointment, an internal power struggle surfaced.

Systematic caution was ignored, and rumours about potential future four-star candidates fed the rumor mill — a national pastime in the absence of transparency in governance and lack of dignity in political discourse.

A new social compact between the government and society is required.

The cypher issue, however, had been exaggerated. There was a breach of diplomatic protocol. The Foreign Office received word of a discussion between a high-ranking US official and our envoy in Washington via an encrypted diplomatic correspondence.

It expressed “threating” and unpleasant discontent against the relevant parties and our current administration. The National Security Committee correctly perceived this as “intervention” in our internal affairs, thus it decided to issue a “demarche” which is a diplomatic response to the superpower asking it to leave us alone in the areas of internal and foreign policy.

Unfortunately, the cypher was utilised to score political points by creating a story about attempting to free oneself from “slavery” and seeking “true independence”.

Gen Ayub’s complaint about having friends rather than masters and ZA Bhutto’s show of a letter from the same superpower to browbeat him over nuclear aspirations come to mind.

The current political climate allows for the following inferences. Despite facing political opposition, Imran Khan enjoys a sizable public following. He has inspired the younger generation to back his campaign to reclaim power.

Even though he has failed to accomplish his two protest goals — having an army chief of his choice appointed and compelling the PDM administration to declare early elections — vast public demonstrations and protest marches continue.

His ultimatum to dissolve the provincial assembly in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is another ploy to force a timetable for early elections. Particularly in Punjab, the game of thrones and political survival is being played. The position of President has been taken by an accomplished opportunist.

His king is located in Rawalpindi, and he has always been a member of the royal party. There are obvious parallels to the conflict between the federal and provincial administrations in the middle of the 1990s.

Political expediency has been sacrificed in the sake of good administration. The federal government’s designated chief secretary and IGP both gave in to political pressure and decided to take time off. The rule of law and service delivery have suffered significantly as a result of the ensuing administrative paralysis.

Political division and the economic collapse will undoubtedly have negative effects.

Imran Khan has two options: he may accept the federal government’s unconditional invitation to have discussions or he can wait until October 2023 for general elections under circumstances imposed by the PDM administration, whose “handlers” might not be available for mediation given the shift in army leadership.

As underdogs, Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan gained the respect and support of the people by refusing to follow the political agenda established by the security establishment, as we know from history. The suggested course of action is as follows.

One is that the prime minister, who serves as the chief executive, may call an all-parties meeting as soon as feasible. Each party’s general secretary or deputy chairman, along with a maximum of three party members, may be invited to the first round of national dialogue in order to finalise the agenda and begin discussions on reaching an agreement on the following issues of critical national importance: a) the charter of economy; b) the charter of democracy; and c) the charter of governance.

Two, the focus on democracy should be on parliament, the judiciary and the executive abiding by their constitutional responsibilities. Particular attention should be paid to limitations and restraints on the military and intelligence agencies to prevent them from ever getting involved in political engineering. Similar agreement should be obtained about the service chiefs’ eligibility for any further extensions.

The third step is to create an impartial commission to examine changes to the criminal justice system in order to ensure the rule of law and good governance. The leaders of all political parties may then come to agreement and sign a complete charter of economy, democracy and good governance as a public commitment to create a new social compact between the state and society after these discussions, aided by pertinent specialists.

It’s important to use this chance to rekindle the inventive spirit of democratic renewal.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2022.

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