Another ex-premier bites the dust

The infamous joke – where the judge tells the lawyer to quickly conclude his arguments as he had to hand down punishment to the accused standing trial – made the rounds once again as the ‘powerful circles’ emerged victorious and another former prime minister bit the dust on Tuesday.

Without touching the merits of the cases, the undisputed fact is that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, were sentenced in corruption references back in 2018 just before the general elections.

Similarly, PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and the party’s vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, have now been handed down a jail term of 10 years in the cipher case only days before the polls.

The cases against Nawaz and his family members have recently been thrown into a dustbin and a few years down the lane, it is quite possible that Imran and his party leaders might acquire relief as well.

However, matters largely depend on how the ‘powerful quarters’ finally conclude last year’s May 9 riots.

Nevertheless, despite a former military ruler’s announcement that the armed forces would stay away from politics, the beginning of a new hybrid regime seems to be already in motion.

Commenting on the situation, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said the elected premier could either resign or be ousted through a vote of no-confidence.

He added that any other machination to remove the premier was “absolutely wrong”.

“This highhandedness has disrupted democracy, governance and rule of law to the extent that the country was facing a myriad of crises,” the PILDAT chief continued.

Mehboob recalled that Imran had unfortunately adopted am aggressive mode by resigning from the National Assembly; dissolving two provincial legislatures, attacking military installations; and using abusive language against political opponents as well as state institutions including the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Read: Imran, Qureshi sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in cypher case

He pointed out that this policy had landed Imran and many PTI leaders in trouble.

“The entire country and its people are the biggest losers,” he noted.

“We have been left far behind from other countries including India.”

Surprising as it may seem, people come and rule as the prime ministers but at some point, they somehow turn against the ‘powerful stakeholders’. As a result, they are ousted, made to stand trial and then sent to jail.

Some lose their lives on the way while others manage to make a comeback in a few years.

This vicious cycle continues with one constant result: the politicians lose every time and the ‘powerful circles’ keep on winning.

As the late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, once said, you cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.

When we look back, some other political experts feel it is only the ‘powerful stakeholders’, who have been pulling the strings, calling the shots and repeatedly emerging victorious.

In their opinion, the upcoming elections seem to be no different.

“Pakistan seems stuck with the hybrid model of partial democracy and military interventions,” Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US and author Husain Haqqani said.

The former diplomat believed that this trend would not change with the upcoming elections.

“The only issue is whether [or not] Imran Khan’s popularity will dent the next hybrid regime’s ability to function effectively.”

Haqqani noted that each one of Pakistan’s 11 general elections so far had been mired in controversy and the 12th one scheduled for February 8 was not any different.

“Each time, a party has been targeted as the one that must be kept out of power. This time that party is the PTI.”

Haqqani observed that the pattern was not new nor were the tactics of the ‘powerful circles’.

“The PTI’s vast social media presence and the celebrity status of its leader, Imran Khan, are amplifying the controversy more than [it has] in the past.”