By Amir Zia
Monday, September 22
The News
The best guarantee for the continuation of democracy, however, remain the democrats themselves. And for this good, clean and efficient governance, and devolution of power to the local bodies’ level remains the key. Unfortunately, on these fronts, the central and the provincial governments are lacking the most
In the camp of our ‘democratic forces’, perhaps it is the time for some celebrations if not declaration of an outright victory. Most of our parliamentarians – barring those belonging to Imran Khan’s PTI and his few allies – managed to close ranks around the besieged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and provided him the much-needed shield against the onslaught of those ‘visible and not-so invisible’ forces orchestrating plans for his resignation.
Traditional political rivalries were kept in check. Ideological differences were set aside. Many of Pakistan’s key traditional political forces perhaps have come of age as they managed to bury the hatchet for once and work together to save the system – no matter how dysfunctional, oppressive and anti-people it may seem to its critics.
As Imran Khan and Allam Tahirul Qadri’s freedom and revolutionary marchers continue to lurk outside parliament in the longest ever sit-ins in the country’s history demanding the ouster of the Sharif government, our lawmakers also held an historic, and longest ever, joint parliamentary session. Luckily, Prime Minister Sharif and many of his cabinet members were not found wanting from this crucial session and did grace it with their on-and-off presence. In the words of PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, credit must go to Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadiri that at least they managed to make Prime Minister Sharif realise the importance of parliament.
The joint session concluded on Friday with a unanimously passed resolution calling for the supremacy of the constitution, democracy and parliament. Apparently this is a good omen for the country’s troubled and fragile democratic order.
But does this mean that now Sharif and his team are set for a smooth flight for the remainder of their five-year term? One does not necessarily need to be a born pessimist to say that the days of political instability and turmoil in Pakistan are far from over.
Sharif seems to have prevailed for now, but this latest round of politics of confrontation and brinkmanship – which continues to smoulder – has exposed the inherent contradictions and weaknesses of the system and highlighted the prevailing tensions and distrust among the key institutions and political players. This situation calls for serious debate and discussion among the centres of power, adjustments and readjustments within the political order and swift and extensive reforms.
It also needs a lot of serious soul-searching and self-criticism within the government camp to identify factors which wore the sheen out of Sharif’s comfortable majority in parliament, and the goodwill with which he started his third term, barely one-and-a-half-year into the office.
The sit-ins may end with or without a face-saving deal for the freedom and the revolutionary marchers. There is also equal possibility that the protesters dig in their heels, change tactics and try to get a fresh lease of life if their leaders manage to mobilise supporters in greater numbers, transform this movement into a countrywide agitation, somehow end their apparent political isolation and build renewed pressure on the government.
The point is that the entire political scene remains loaded with many ifs and buts and the risk of the unexpected – some bolt from the blue.
There has been no agreement, no deal among the squabbling forces – which compared to the protesting leaders remains more vital for the government if it aims to deliver on its electoral promises. What Sharif can offer to the duo of Imran Khan and Allama Tahirul Qadri to get them off his back even for a short period is anybody’s guess.
The expectations that Sharif would use his concluding speech at the joint session to announce any new proposal or strategy to end the political crisis and break the impasse came to naught. A defiant and slightly more confident Sharif used this opportunity only to reassert what he and his team members have been saying all along. Yes, in the prime minister’s own words he allowed FIRs to be lodged against him and his close aides for Lahore’s Model Town firing as well as the Islamabad violence that claimed 14 and three lives respectively. But there has been no deal on any of the other demands – even those five that the government says it has accepted, while rejecting the main that calls for Sharif’s resignation.
Should the government move ahead on its own on the five demands that can be accepted to show its sincerity and disarm at least Imran Khan, who has greater stake in the system compared to Allama Tahirul Qadri? It could be an option.
Imran Khan’s rigid and brash attitude may not get him to his desired goal and win him the coveted slot of the prime minister, but it certainly has all the potential of keeping the Sharif government on the edge. Winding down these tensions should be the government’s goal and preferred option rather than prolonging this deadlock.
On a more important note, the government and its backers in parliament must try to fix the perceived discord in the civil-military relations that has been so intensely discussed and debated both on the floor of the house and outside in metaphors as well as in a direct manner.
A number of lawmakers raised questions about the role of the armed forces in the current political turmoil and questioned its stance of neutrality notwithstanding the military’s assertion that it is a political problem and be solved politically.
Given the country’s long history of military’s overt and covert interventions in political matters and coups, the scepticism of the civilian leaders regarding its role in the present crisis is understandable. The actions and role of many of the politicians that led to such interventions can also not be ignored. But these are different times as a broad-based consensus seems to have emerged even within all the power players that, despite its many challenges and weakenesses, democracy must go on. Therefore, the commitment of the armed forces toward the supremacy of the constitution and continuation of democracy must be taken at its face-value.
This, however, should not deter the civilian and military leaders to iron-out their differences, if any, on all the issues of national security and importance. Given the country’s perilous economic, security and political situation, what we cannot afford at present is any real or imaginary conflicts and tensions within the key institutions. A grand consensus is the need of the hour so that all players can push the country in one direction to achieve the goal of peace, stability and economic progress.
Our civil and military leaders need to be on the same page on crucial issues – from fighting militancy and trial of former president Pervez Musharraf to relations with India and Afghanistan.
The best guarantee for the continuation of democracy, however, remain the democrats themselves. And for this good, clean and efficient governance, and devolution of power to the local bodies’ level remains the key. Unfortunately, on these fronts, the central and the provincial governments are lacking the most.
The apathy of the civilian ruling elite toward these issues is the permanent source of friction and discord within political parties, various interest groups and fuels anger among various sections of the population.
Sharif can rise to the challenge or squander the opportunity provided to him by the near-consensus support from parliament. It would depend on the choices he makes in the coming weeks and months.
The pressure will be on him – on how he wades his way out of this crisis, which is far from over. But parliament has certainly provided him the much needed breather.
Monday, September 22
The News
The best guarantee for the continuation of democracy, however, remain the democrats themselves. And for this good, clean and efficient governance, and devolution of power to the local bodies’ level remains the key. Unfortunately, on these fronts, the central and the provincial governments are lacking the most
In the camp of our ‘democratic forces’, perhaps it is the time for some celebrations if not declaration of an outright victory. Most of our parliamentarians – barring those belonging to Imran Khan’s PTI and his few allies – managed to close ranks around the besieged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and provided him the much-needed shield against the onslaught of those ‘visible and not-so invisible’ forces orchestrating plans for his resignation.
Traditional political rivalries were kept in check. Ideological differences were set aside. Many of Pakistan’s key traditional political forces perhaps have come of age as they managed to bury the hatchet for once and work together to save the system – no matter how dysfunctional, oppressive and anti-people it may seem to its critics.
As Imran Khan and Allam Tahirul Qadri’s freedom and revolutionary marchers continue to lurk outside parliament in the longest ever sit-ins in the country’s history demanding the ouster of the Sharif government, our lawmakers also held an historic, and longest ever, joint parliamentary session. Luckily, Prime Minister Sharif and many of his cabinet members were not found wanting from this crucial session and did grace it with their on-and-off presence. In the words of PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, credit must go to Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadiri that at least they managed to make Prime Minister Sharif realise the importance of parliament.
The joint session concluded on Friday with a unanimously passed resolution calling for the supremacy of the constitution, democracy and parliament. Apparently this is a good omen for the country’s troubled and fragile democratic order.
But does this mean that now Sharif and his team are set for a smooth flight for the remainder of their five-year term? One does not necessarily need to be a born pessimist to say that the days of political instability and turmoil in Pakistan are far from over.
Sharif seems to have prevailed for now, but this latest round of politics of confrontation and brinkmanship – which continues to smoulder – has exposed the inherent contradictions and weaknesses of the system and highlighted the prevailing tensions and distrust among the key institutions and political players. This situation calls for serious debate and discussion among the centres of power, adjustments and readjustments within the political order and swift and extensive reforms.
It also needs a lot of serious soul-searching and self-criticism within the government camp to identify factors which wore the sheen out of Sharif’s comfortable majority in parliament, and the goodwill with which he started his third term, barely one-and-a-half-year into the office.
The sit-ins may end with or without a face-saving deal for the freedom and the revolutionary marchers. There is also equal possibility that the protesters dig in their heels, change tactics and try to get a fresh lease of life if their leaders manage to mobilise supporters in greater numbers, transform this movement into a countrywide agitation, somehow end their apparent political isolation and build renewed pressure on the government.
The point is that the entire political scene remains loaded with many ifs and buts and the risk of the unexpected – some bolt from the blue.
There has been no agreement, no deal among the squabbling forces – which compared to the protesting leaders remains more vital for the government if it aims to deliver on its electoral promises. What Sharif can offer to the duo of Imran Khan and Allama Tahirul Qadri to get them off his back even for a short period is anybody’s guess.
The expectations that Sharif would use his concluding speech at the joint session to announce any new proposal or strategy to end the political crisis and break the impasse came to naught. A defiant and slightly more confident Sharif used this opportunity only to reassert what he and his team members have been saying all along. Yes, in the prime minister’s own words he allowed FIRs to be lodged against him and his close aides for Lahore’s Model Town firing as well as the Islamabad violence that claimed 14 and three lives respectively. But there has been no deal on any of the other demands – even those five that the government says it has accepted, while rejecting the main that calls for Sharif’s resignation.
Should the government move ahead on its own on the five demands that can be accepted to show its sincerity and disarm at least Imran Khan, who has greater stake in the system compared to Allama Tahirul Qadri? It could be an option.
Imran Khan’s rigid and brash attitude may not get him to his desired goal and win him the coveted slot of the prime minister, but it certainly has all the potential of keeping the Sharif government on the edge. Winding down these tensions should be the government’s goal and preferred option rather than prolonging this deadlock.
On a more important note, the government and its backers in parliament must try to fix the perceived discord in the civil-military relations that has been so intensely discussed and debated both on the floor of the house and outside in metaphors as well as in a direct manner.
A number of lawmakers raised questions about the role of the armed forces in the current political turmoil and questioned its stance of neutrality notwithstanding the military’s assertion that it is a political problem and be solved politically.
Given the country’s long history of military’s overt and covert interventions in political matters and coups, the scepticism of the civilian leaders regarding its role in the present crisis is understandable. The actions and role of many of the politicians that led to such interventions can also not be ignored. But these are different times as a broad-based consensus seems to have emerged even within all the power players that, despite its many challenges and weakenesses, democracy must go on. Therefore, the commitment of the armed forces toward the supremacy of the constitution and continuation of democracy must be taken at its face-value.
This, however, should not deter the civilian and military leaders to iron-out their differences, if any, on all the issues of national security and importance. Given the country’s perilous economic, security and political situation, what we cannot afford at present is any real or imaginary conflicts and tensions within the key institutions. A grand consensus is the need of the hour so that all players can push the country in one direction to achieve the goal of peace, stability and economic progress.
Our civil and military leaders need to be on the same page on crucial issues – from fighting militancy and trial of former president Pervez Musharraf to relations with India and Afghanistan.
The best guarantee for the continuation of democracy, however, remain the democrats themselves. And for this good, clean and efficient governance, and devolution of power to the local bodies’ level remains the key. Unfortunately, on these fronts, the central and the provincial governments are lacking the most.
The apathy of the civilian ruling elite toward these issues is the permanent source of friction and discord within political parties, various interest groups and fuels anger among various sections of the population.
Sharif can rise to the challenge or squander the opportunity provided to him by the near-consensus support from parliament. It would depend on the choices he makes in the coming weeks and months.
The pressure will be on him – on how he wades his way out of this crisis, which is far from over. But parliament has certainly provided him the much needed breather.
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