May 21, 2014
By Saeed Qureshi
Imran Khan and his unruly and impulsive political cohorts should not
demonstrate indecent haste in dislodging the incumbent elected PMLN government
thus opening a corridor for the army to take over power. He should understand
that by doing so he would inflict a deadly blow to democracy that has been
barely in place for six years now. Is he mindful what could be the cost of
holding fresh elections both financially and administratively?
Let us honestly admit that Imran Khan is not another Bhutto. Nor the
conditions are as chaotic and desperate as these were way back in 80s. It is
time to show political maturity and studied restraint to allow the democratic
culture to sprout and take roots. The knee jerk acrobatics and incoherent
demands and flashy slogans being stirred up by Imran Khan and other political
contenders are outright uncalled for, amateurish and can derail democracy.
The most cherished and sublime
form of government called democracy, has visited Pakistan after almost a decade
of a military or quasi-military rule. Yet a part of the political leadership
seems to be impatient to get rid of the PMLN government and thus is inadvertently
creating conditions for the military to snatch the reins of the government once
again. A bunch of political parties have whipped a smear campaign discrediting
the incumbent government for rigging and thus pushing it to hold reelections on
some constituencies or otherwise quit.
This tornado for reelections has
been primarily hurled up by Imran Khan. The PTI and other small time politicians
are trying to push the government into a corner in order to pave way for
another bout of general elections. In the past such imprudent and expedient
maneuvers and a kind of political insurgencies have finally landed Pakistan
onto the military turf. One has to only look back if Pakistan ever benefited
from a military rule? The answer is in negative.
We should not be short of
memory to remember that unwarranted rabble rousing and a compelling propensity
to dislodge the sitting governments have finally pushed Pakistan under the
marshal boots. Why don’t Imran Khan a raw budding politician and relatively new
entrant in the political arena and his ilk realize that such musical chairs
replay has been detrimental to the consolidation of a democratic culture in Pakistan?
To ride on the crest of
expediency and for ulterior motives may not harm the politicians but certainly
would put a spanner in the march of democratic
apple cart, towards the establishment and continuance of a popular rule
in Pakistan.
the PPP could stay at
the helm for five years with all the follies and insinuations then what is
wrong with the ongoing set up that the amateurish saber rattlers as Imran Khan
and of late Sheikh Rashid want it to be dismantled? Are they conscious of what
could be the disastrous fallout for a democratically elected government to be
stymied and cut short?
The PMLN government under Mian
Nawaz Sharif is doing a decidedly much better job than what the previous governments
have been doing. A government hoisted on the basis of adult franchise should be
allowed to stay and complete its constitutional tenure.
The choice should be
left to the people of Pakistan to reelect the present lot or reject them in the
next elections. The PMLN government has to its credit several far-reaching and
milestone reforms and nation building policies channeled in a short span of a
year or so.
Why don’t the rival politicians
realize that when the present government took over there was a proverbial “Augean
Stable” of diverse problems and Pakistan was plagued with an all pervasive
mammoth mess? Mian Nawaz Sharif does not have a magical wand in his hand to straighten
every wrong and to make the solid of Pakistan a paradise in days. But in all
fairness he is doing his best to deliver for the good of the country and to
streamline the systems hugely corrupted and turned dysfunctional.
The miserable plight of the
teeming millions in Pakistan cannot be ameliorated overnight or in a short time
frame even by the best of the mavericks, planners and reformers. The
socio-economic landscape and political culture of Pakistan is disfigured and
distorted that it would take time to shine it.
The non starter politicians
like Imran Khan and false religious demagogues like Maulana Qadri may be adept
in spoiling the show but it would be beyond their competence to reorder things
and rebuild a prosperous Pakistan.
The tribal justice system that is so precious
and a kind of panacea for Imran Khan for all the ills in Pakistan could be a
replica of what Taliban are doing. Their justice system is to kill by beheading
their ideological opponents and thus strike terror and revenge instead of abiding
by the established rule of law and fulfilling constitutional prerogatives.
During the past one year of PMLN’s
government, the electricity generation has certainly improved. The economy that
was almost in shambles is showing healthy signs. There is mega plan to build
highways, link roads, dams and industrial estates, to recast the moribund
railway system and so on.
What else could one expect in one year? Mian Nawaz Sharif
is trying to find a way out of a dark jungle of innumerable bottlenecks and detours
and thus far he has been on the right track.
Among the eight
agreements signed between China and Pakistan, one is the US $18 billion project
to build a road and rail track, including string of tunnels in the mountainous
track passing over a height 4,693 meters to be used as part of the
Pakistan-China Economic corridor. This project alone would be a giant leap for
an unprecedented economic uplift for Pakistan.
The
PMLN government is trying a peaceful option to tame the unbridled murderous
bands of Taliban with the use of force option kept open. The armed forces for
the first time have cordial working relationship with the PMLN dispensation. It
is a delightful development that would stand in good stead for a strong and
stable Pakistan.
So
let the politicians set aside their undue political penchant for fresh
elections and instead bear with the present government to fulfill its mandate.
The opposition politicians and parties should give enough time pace to the
ongoing government to honor her pledges made to the people of Pakistan and to
implement its plans for a great Pakistan.
The incumbent government would have
done her job if it can bring peace within the country and without, if the
quality of life improves, civic amenities abound, social evils are nabbed, and
crime and mafias are liquidated and it presents the model of a clean government.
If
it cannot deliver let it be dethroned in the next elections. Let us learn a
lesson from the neighboring India where political democratic culture is so
firmly embedded that a kind of pariah in politics and an extremist BJP leader Narendra
Modi can be chosen by the people discarding the Congress that has been ruling
the roost for most of the time after 1947.
Such
is the power of the electorate and that power should be allowed to be unleashed
in Pakistan during the next elections. Pakistan cannot afford a military
intervention any more. If that bleak development takes place then the entire
responsibility would devolve on Imran Khan and his cabal and the opportunistic
political outfits.
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