Pakistan politics: The space between
In Pakistan, unfortunately, politics too often revolves around politicians rather than people — it is all about the doings, or rather, the wrongdoings of politicians from various camps. 2010 has been no different. This past year, we have been witness to feuds between leaders; we have watched as allegations of corruption were flung back and forth, and we almost fell victim to a major clash between the country’s institutions.
The year that has gone by was in fact dominated by various kinds of tensions between the executive and the judiciary. For ordinary people, a sense angst and anxiety was further heightened by media pundits who told us that the government would stumble and fall at any moment. The growing outreach and influence of these television anchors and talk show hosts has become a marked feature of our polity — they continue to set the agenda, dictating what is newsworthy and what is not. As a consequence, when we look at our leaders, we see a cast of characters painted either in black or in sparkling white. Subtlety, nuance, and shades of grey have all but been eliminated by this characterisation.
The government did not fall, of course. But not all is rosy either. As the year ends we have been witness to a falling out of former allies. Relations between the MQM and the PPP remain tense despite the President’s intervention, intended to sooth tempers that were frayed after the Sindh Home Minister made remarks about extortion mafias in Karachi and the question of who ran them. The JUI-F has parted ways with the government. This is a development that we should actually consider a blessing, given the hard-line party’s stance against amending blasphemy laws and action against the Taliban in the north. The fact that the PPP took the JUI-F on board as an ally of course demonstrates how, in many democracies, games of power take precedence over principles.
The bloodied politics of militancy has continued too, despite the loud slogans of victory over the extremists raised in February and March by the army. Suicide bombings go on, claiming hundreds of lives across the country. The optimism that we may have felt at the beginning of the year has faded, and to make matters more complex there has been ambiguity over whether the military and the elected government agree on all aspects of strategy regarding militancy. The Wikileaks documents have meanwhile exposed a childish tendency on the part of all players to rush to the Americans with their problems, tell tales, and perhaps earn a pat on the head.
Though much of what determines events in Pakistan takes place in shadowy realms that lie beyond the gaze of ordinary citizens, we have heard consistent rumours of tensions between the executive and army bosses. The extension given to the Chief of Army Staff in July, and announced on television by the Prime Minister, enabling General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to stay in office till 2013 is another of those compromise settlements that decide so much in our country.
The debate on the NRO issue seems to have calmed down after reaching a fever pitch over the summer. But, for all this, there is much disquiet. The government’s refusal to abide by court verdicts regarding the NRO did nothing to build respect for Pakistan’s leaders. Tales of doctoral degrees obtained from colleges which do not exist made some ministers the subject of intense derision. Indeed, disturbingly, there were few members of government who escaped charges of corruption, mismanagement or an indifference to the plight of people. At the same time, violence in Karachi and in Balochistan, where target killings deprived us of some of the professionals we most need — doctors and teachers — offered another indication of the murky waters we stand in and the difficulties inherent in climbing out from them.
When less metaphorical waters actually swept away so much in the country during the floods in July, widespread disaster added to political complexities. It did so by exposing the lack of good governance in Pakistan and triggering anger in millions of people in all four provinces who accused the government of doing too little to help them.
There have, however, been some encouraging developments during the year. The passage of the 18th Amendment in April ensures that the parliament is the key decision-making body — at least, according to the Constitution. And even if that move is, in many ways, a cosmetic one, it is important for the future. Laying down what is right in the Constitution is after all the first step to getting it right. After the 18th Amendment was passed, attention was focused on the issue of the appointment of judges, and happily, the matter seems to have been settled with the 19th Amendment, which lays out precise procedure for this, incorporating the Supreme Court’s recommendations.
All in all, though, the most marked feature of 2010 was the widening gulf between the people and the government. Massive inflation triggered by repeated fuel price rises, IMF-ordained cuts in subsidies on utilities, rising food prices and unemployment all placed unbearable burdens on people — and some families fell through the cracks in unimaginably horrible ways: parents slaughtered children they could not feed, young men committed suicide and entire families entered into death pacts.
These events were under-reported, with the media’s focus directed towards infighting between politicians and the break-up of alliances. In the Punjab the PML-N pulled away from the PPP, aware perhaps that it needed to offer opposition to a government fewer and fewer people have faith in. In the long run this trust deficit could emerge as a crucial issue, determining our political future and the manner in which events unfold over the coming months and years.
Kamila Hyat is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor, based in Lahore.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ