Disgruntled politics

The political canvas is ripe with somersaults, and not many are sure as to what it entails. An Islamabad court’s decision, after a brief hiatus, to once again remand PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in police custody over his alleged threatening remarks against the Election Commission has rolled out a formal forum for agitation in the country. The PTI as well as many more, from other sides of the divide, believe that the contention to try Fawad under criminal procedure is unwarranted, and the government is unnecessarily exhibiting its bias. Secondly, the return of Maryam Nawaz from London after a self-proclaimed 100 day respite from proactive politics is fomenting the puzzle of electioneering. Last but not least, the claim from former Prime Minister Imran Khan that there is a plot to exterminate him, and the subsequent surprising withdrawal of security from him, has made it too unnerving.

The question now being asked is whether the country is heading towards elections, or not? Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are constitutionally-ordained to hold polls by April, and so is the necessity for the vacant National Assembly seats, which are now more than 100. This is where the mindset of the sitting dispensation is being read very closely, as there are hints of delaying the polls under the pretext of security threats and the plummeting of the economy. But such a figment of imagination, whoever is seized with, does not come to address the problems that the country is faced with. There is no room for delaying elections under the Constitution, and efforts to quick-fix it through exigency legislation would be a disservice to democracy.

The good point is that there are saner voices on both sides. The President of the Republic too has spoken his mind, calling upon the stakeholders to foment a consensus for chartering a way out. He, and his likes, are in need of being heard, in an endeavour to channelise the country towards the path of representative politics. Vilification and intimidation will be counterproductive as the chips are down.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2023.

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