Poll policy

Fact it was mentioned & reassurances had to be given that elections will be held, shows uncertainty about democracy.

Even as rumours continue to circulate of forces working to create a delay in polls, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has emphatically stated it will not allow this to happen, and that the Constitution will be strictly adhered to at all costs. This document, of course, provides for an electoral exercise every five years. At a meeting attended by the president, the prime minister and other senior party leaders as well as Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, it was stressed that elections would go ahead. A committee was also set up to conduct talks with other major parties on polling and arrangements for this. As was quite correctly pointed out at the session, if elections could be conducted in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, there appeared to be no viable reason not to hold them at home.

This brings us to the real question: why did the poll issue even need to be raised. The fact that it was, and a reassurance given that elections would be held, just goes to show how uncertain we remain about our democracy. This is hardly surprising in some ways: for decades we have been unable to make that smooth transition from one election to another and after the completion of a full term. Even now, forces act to threaten this process. The planned Long March to Islamabad and the call for an interim government, which would stay in place for a prolonged period, are all part of this.

Given the situation the PPP’s vocal call placing stress on poll conduct is highly welcome. It is also a healthy sign that other major parties have also placed their weight behind elections despite the shenanigans of other players on the scene. Perhaps, we are finally acquiring the kind of political maturity and wisdom that we need. This is a longer debate. What, however, is essential is that we move towards new elections and ensure that these are held, and by doing so, create a tradition that will help us considerably in the future and make it possible to reach the democratic stability that we require in order to progress in all walks of life.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2013.

:p>Mainstream political parties have been no better. At a time when terrorism threatens the very fabric of our nation, they are concentrating on what divides them rather than seeking unity. No mainstream party in the country today actually supports the goals and methods of the militants but they are unable to forge a unified strategy for tackling the militant menace. Unbelievably, there are still many in the political parties who favour negotiations with the militants. Here are many questions for them — questions that they have never been able to answer. Given that there are at least a dozen different groups carrying out terrorist attacks in different parts of Pakistan, who are we going to negotiate with? All negotiations involve give-and-take so what are we willing to give, in the form of territory and lives, to the militants? If our ultimate aim is disarming militants and ensuring they can never attack civilians again, how are we ever going to convince them to do this through negotiation?

This focus on the process of negotiation, rather than the outcome of defeating militants, shows just how little this unending violence is penetrating the bubble in which our politicians reside. The more weakness we show by failing to protect the most vulnerable in society, the more we embolden the militants to replicate days like Bloody Thursday. Our apathy and indifference only make the problem worse. Unity is hard to come by these days but our political class needs to strive for it and show the militants that the country has decided they must be defeated by any means necessary. The time has come to fight fire with fire and finally rout the militants.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2013.