The scary scenes

What happened on May 9 would not have been imagined by any patriotic Pakistani or a well-wisher of another country. It was all heart-breaking to see some misguided individuals burning their own house and desecrating monuments of martyrdom with little or no shame! Was it planned, contrived or the outcome of spontaneous outburst is yet to be determined but what has happened is a scar on our collective identity as a nation. This could have been avoided with a few reconciliatory steps taken on time both by the government and the PTI leadership.

But first some hard questions should be asked from those who make and break political order every few years without any constitutionally designated role or public mandate. Why do people rise against the state now and then in different parts of the country? Why would otherwise sane and patriotic people choose to use violent means to be heard? Why do we witness and experience so much intolerance in a country that was supposed to be a model of compassion, place for peaceful coexistence and embodiment of equality?

A person tends to commit suicide when he has no hope left to live with dignity or lose power over his destiny. The May 9 events (which cannot be justified on any ground) should be understood as a form of collective suicide that reflects anger, frustration and utter hopelessness. When laws are trampled under the guise of maintaining order, when fundamental rights are violated to sustain power, and when doors are shut for honest political discussion, expecting peace and stability would not be short of a grand delusion.

Let us have a look at some specifics. There has been a staggering brain drain of professionals over the last one year, economy is teetering on the brink of default with inflation breaking records, industrial production is down by double digits with corresponding rise in unemployment, and the rupee has lost half of its value with little chance of bouncing back in the near future. Investment is moving out more than coming in, thus making the vicious cycle of poverty unbreakable.

To add insult to injury, we have probably the worst government in history which cares more about settling scores with political opponents using all possible means, fair or foul, than to reverse the downward trend. The entire government machinery, at both federal and provincial levels, seems to have bean greased to efficiently crush the opposition and silence dissenting voices. What has been done across the breadth and width of the country has no precedence even in martial law regimes. Blatant abductions, mysterious killings, beatings and dragging, and breaking into homes to intimidate women and children have become the new normal.

What the government has done so effectively so far is to get rid of accountability mechanisms and do away with rule of law. Who would have imagined that the champions of democracy would treat the Constitution as a piece of paper and the Supreme Court with so much disdain! Instead of serving the common man, who can no longer afford healthcare, education, and even food for family, the government has virtually made the country a banana republic.

We should not forget the then East Pakistan. Economic exploitation and political deprivation created so much resentment and anger that the country started to unravel within a few months. The use of force proved counter-productive as it reinforced the belief that power was more important for the ruling elite in West Pakistan than people in East Pakistan. The toxic combination of greed for power and a sense of superiority caused death of the very ideology that had tied the two geopolitically distant brothers together.

Sanity and better sense should prevail now so that healing starts throughout the body. The military establishment should take the lead as it always did in the past during institutional confrontation or political crisis. It can leverage on its relations with all political forces and institutional strength. Instead of reacting to the evolving situation by playing partisan role or making favourites, it should transcend institutional interests and create an enabling environment for democracy to move forward as the basis for national integration and economic prosperity.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2023.

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