A slow recession into the twilight

What a week this has been. It certainly looks as if Pakistan has finally come of age. The second day of the recent session of Parliament was probably the most significant that has taken place during the 65-year-old history of this beleaguered nation. It was a litmus test. Never before had there been such an avalanche of emotional speeches, or so many contentious issues blown into the open. In a sense it was a battle for preserving what passes for democracy in our neck of the woods. For the prime minister, it was a scuffle for survival. For his two main detractors, it was a day of retribution. The speeches captured the tense mood of the assembly. Some were delivered with a marvellous conviction, though a little theatrical, as if the speaker had forgotten that he was in the National Assembly and not at Bhati Gate. Others had all the coy and prurient tropes of people in a desperate hurry to get it over with.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the PTI held centre stage for an inordinately long time. He launched into full throttle without changing gear, briefly dwelt on the iniquities of the government and spoke about the Four Points, which was the mantra of the PTI. His pronouncement that the PTI was protesting to save Parliament sounded somewhat incongruous; and one wonders what the English logical positivists would have made of it. There were the usual interruptions, most significantly that of Abdul Nabi Bangash of the ANP who provided a spirited antithesis. He put the speaker in a spot by enquiring how a member of the assembly who had sent in his resignation, was allowed entry into the premises. And then he stated with characteristic aplomb that Nawaz Sharif was the elected prime minister and enjoyed the support of both the treasury benches and the opposition. And if disgruntled elements wanted to agitate they should do so in Parliament … not on the streets. There were brief speeches by Mehmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Javed Hashmi, former president of the PTI, rebuttals by Ishaq Dar the finance minister and Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, leader of the opposition in Parliament. The brilliant lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan also took the side of the establishment, and added a few caustic remarks in the process.

On the very day, the parliamentary session had commenced and there was an interesting talk show on PTV World which was absolutely riveting and which, in a sense, set the tone for what was to follow. For one thing it was a refreshing change to be able to watch a show where the four speakers were not shouting at the same time at each other and at the moderator … and waited patiently until they were called upon to do so. And for another, there was an air of sobriety about the arguments that were put across. One was impressed by the way Senator Rubina Khalid of the PPP conducted herself. She didn’t mince her words and there was no ambiguity in the ideas she put across. While she strongly supported the current government, she wondered why the PTI had indulged in a celebration of song and dance when PAT supporters were mourning the death of workers who had been gunned down in Model Town. She also stated that the country had lost billions of rupees due to the demonstrations. A senior journalist in a somewhat droll mood didn’t think quacks ought to be allowed to perform surgery in a political theatre. It was, however, the PTI representative Ali Mohammed Khan who nicked a nerve when he said it was time to abolish dynasty politics, for how can one have a proper democracy unless the awam was involved without having to be coerced into voting for its peers? He carried on in the same strain and pointed out that the natural resources of the country belonged to the people and not to a handful of families or oligarchies.

The marches may not have achieved the basic objective for which they were launched. But in the fallout, Imran Khan has left a certain legacy. He has made people conscious of their rights and elected leaders of their obligations. The fact that he was able to galvanise so many women and girls demonstrated that he still had a powerful constituency. Rigging will, of course, continue in the future as it is endemic in our culture. But it will become a lot more difficult. Imran Khan’s demand that people should not pay taxes alienated a lot of people. And so did the abusive language he used against the sitting prime minister.

Tahirul Qadri, who is saturated with instant punditry, is something of an enigma. He is not interested in power and his fiery presence in the country for the second time has spawned a host of conspiracy theories. An irredeemably marginal type, he has played his role with a marvellous conviction and captured the tone of his contrary life perfectly. His appeal is to the poor, the defenceless and the downtrodden. It is doubtful if the bluster, truculence and vanity will ever be rinsed off him. In the current scenario, neither party wants to pull back, though there is a possibility for some kind of compromise. Nawaz Sharif’s relations with the military are likely to remain tenuous because of the former’s policy with India, the handling of the militants and his reluctance to exonerate former president Pervez Musharraf. One can only hope that the two protagonists realise that what the country needs is stability, not confrontation. As it is, Pakistan is a failed state. The next step could be total anarchy.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2014.

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