Politics of Tsunami

The PTI’s current emphasis on improving the electoral system by introducing fundamental reforms and making it more transparent and credible is undeniably a laudable endeavour. And in this quest, all parties should have an equal stake and a shared responsibility. What is, however, very worrying is the approach that the party has adopted in achieving this objective. By holding mass rallies and protest at frequent intervals in different cities of Punjab, it is becoming clear that the PTI’s interest in Parliament may only be peripheral. And the party wants to use its political strength in mobilising public opinion and working outside Parliament. There are serious dangers inherent in conducting such politics of agitation for a fragile democracy.

First, past experience bears testimony that when political parties use street politics instead of Parliament to express their dissent then they are its own victim. Other non-democratic forces in conjunction with the military then take over. We have to merely look back at what was happening to the political parties in the 1990s and what is happening today in Thailand and Egypt, where the military has taken advantage of the infighting on the streets and filled in the power vacuum by either staging an outright coup or manipulating from behind the scenes. It will not be any different this time round for us if sanity does not prevail among our politicians. Even if one were to imagine the unlikely scenario that these tactics were to ultimately put the PTI into power, it will not be too long before parties out of power launch similar or even greater tsunamis to paralyse and eventually remove the government.

The PTI leadership should also reflect on how it would react if after every two weeks or so the opposition parties in K-P decide to hold demonstrations and create pressure on the government on some issue or the other. The reason being that discontent is widespread and peoples’ sufferings will not go away that soon.

It is important that the party focuses on issues of governance and not turn support for it into a narrow movement for reform of the electoral system. Reports indicate that some good work has been done in K-P in the fields of education and health, but governance as a whole is very weak. If the PTI would focus on improving performance in K-P and work with major political parties in the parliament in introducing legislation, acting as a robust opposition and critically looking at national issues, it would be doing great service and setting healthy precedents. One of the foremost attributes of a successful leader is his sense of priorities. At a time when the country is fighting for its future and is faced with an existential threat, to deflect the energy of its people only on one single issue makes little sense. Surely, electoral reforms are very important but this issue should be dealt with by Parliament and not on the streets.

It is sad and surprising that till a year or so the party was all praise for former chief justice Chaudhry Ifthikar and kept completely silent about his son’s alleged misdeeds. And now, when he is not in power, considers him to be one of the main persons involved in manipulating election results.

The PTI’s position on civil-military relations is somewhat ambiguous. Seldom do any of its leaders speak on the issue, whereas in our context, it is a critical factor for strengthening democracy. Maulana Tahirul Qadri’s tacit support and ideological convergence with it is also intriguing. Both holding public rallies during the same time and showing disdain for parliamentary democracy does not augur well for stability.

The fact is that practically all major political parties have a consensus on democracy. It seems odd then that the party would give an impression that it wants to subvert it by attacking the legitimacy of Parliament. In the previous assembly, fake degrees were the target through which the legitimacy of Parliament was being undermined. When the image of the parliament and politicians is lowered in the eyes of the public, it becomes easy for undemocratic forces to assert themselves.

Pakistan’s democracy is fragile. It is the first time in its 66 years of history that we had two civilian governments in succession. The PTI’s current strategy gives an impression that it is not interested in working within the current system. There are also vested interests that would like Pakistan to have a presidential system or do away altogether with democracy.

The external environment, too, is undergoing a major change. There is new leadership in India; and Afghanistan, too, will soon have a new president. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s attempts to improve relations with neighbours will depend on the internal situation within Pakistan. If the civil-military relations remain skewed and if the PTI and other like-minded parties work outside the system, it will surely weaken democracy. The party leadership needs to revisit its political strategy and try to improve it by working within the system. Launching protests does not augur well for the country or for the political parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2014.

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