Us versus them

Democracy is all about co-existence, and not about muscling your rival out of existence. Unfortunately, the political culture in our country has stooped to such a dangerously ugly low that political adversaries are openly hurling life threats at each other, as if mortal enemies like Moriarty and Holmes.

Rana Sanaullah’s no-so-veiled threat — either Imran Khan will exist or us — cannot just be dismissed as an off-the-cuff remark given that he is the country’s interior minister, having the whole law-enforcing machinery at his disposal. Even if he is frustrated into such a sensitive and inflammatory reaction — because of Imran Khan’s day-to-day tirade chockfull of abusive words and allegations of chor, chor — that does not pass as an excuse, as he, being a responsible official of the ruling dispensation, is required to exercise restraint and express calm.

On a more serious note, Sanaullah’s intimidating words ring the same tone as udhar tum, idhar hum, meaning “You rule there [in East Pakistan], we will rule here [in West Pakistan]” — an oft-quoted slogan by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto linked, by many, to the Fall of Dhaka. Seen in combination with Maryam Nawaz’s frequent calls for crushing the “Fitna [Imran] Khan”, Sanaullah’s reaction speaks of totalitarian tendencies harboured by top leaders of one of the two oldest parties of the country.

Equally hostile, however, run the sentiments on the other side also; and it’s not just about using indecent vocabulary but fostering public hatred of political opponents. To Imran Khan and his companions, it’s not a political duel, but a holy war to free the country from the “lustful” clutches of the “corrupt” and “looters”. Hence it’s fair to use whatever is there in their political repertoire.

This ‘us versus them’ mindset does not serve the cause of multi-party democracy where the opposition is required to act as a counterbalance to the government’s power and authority. There is thus the urgent need for tempers to cool, egos to deflate and sense to prevail.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2023.

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