Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results

The present government represents none other than itself. They have come by force. They are staying by force. They have decided to continue by force. It is the force that they are using to legitimise their rule and their narrative. The interior minister openly threatens to use more force if the situation on the ground does not reflect the image he has in his mind — a compliant public. What Imran Khan did to the Sharif family is now being returned to Khan’s political clan in the same coin. Every speech that Maryam Nawaz makes is about Khan. Her every word is dipped in hatred for a man she wants to see disqualified, out of power and mistreated by courts and jails. In other words, she wants to see the fate of her father rewritten for Khan.

The frequency with which Khan would use the word chors (thieves) for the Sharif family is now used as often for Khan. Since the Sharifs after coming to power could not find any substantial corruption charges against Khan, they resorted to using a frivolous alibi, the Tosha Khana case, to indict him. How can an act attributed as legally permissible become the reason for indictment?

The law of Tosha Khana allows the rulers to buy back gifts given by other countries after paying a percentage of the total cost of the gift. Khan did precisely that; instead of keeping the gift, he sold it. It can be called morally incorrect, but how can it be considered legally wrong? The irony is that courts, instead of putting this open and shut case to rest, are siding with the ruling elites to bring the so-called justice, which has long lost meaning in Pakistan’s lexicon of the judicial system. The other argument for why Khan did not disclose the hefty amount he received after selling the watch is again frivolous because, according to Pakistani law, any monetary exchange between two people is a personal matter. On this ground, Khan was exonerated in the Bani Gala case, which was an indictment against Khan for not declaring as assets the money he had used to buy the ranch.

Though we have the penchant for calling politicians the villain of Pakistan’s political soap, this villain ever gets a role to play because the higher judiciary and the so-called establishment give them a break whenever it suits the three of them to be together in the same boat. So it is not just by chance that the parliament has been rendered ineffective and inefficient. The place where the politicians belong, where matters related to the people of Pakistan belong, from where emanates rule of laws to govern the country is deserted. However, judges and generals are vibrant, as if they are the elected representatives. They debate, decide and put a seal of endorsement on the issues that belong to parliament. It just so happens that a party that falls out of their favour is given the taste of its own medicine.

When in power, every political party is all about opposition bashing. Though the parliamentary form of government demands this tug of war, in a true spirit, it is about protecting the country from the excesses of power. In our case it is about keeping the opposition out of power. Therefore, we indulge in mudslinging, hate-mongering and smear campaigns instead of constructive criticism.

Using force and aggression is a state’s prerogative, but not as a tool to keep their blue-eyed boys in power and silence opposing voices. Pakistani politics has become a personal vendetta.

How Khan banished and hated Sharif was wrong. How Maryam is bashing Khan is wrong. What the powerful institutions are doing to politicians is wrong. What they all are doing to the people of Pakistan is a crime.

Change as many drivers (leaders) as possible. The crisis will only deepen. The rent-seeking, business capture, patronage seeking governance vehicle (system) will not move an inch. The catchword is reform, not a new man/party on the saddle.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2023.

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