Pakistan: A Blessing In Disguise – OpEd

Sun, 21 May 2023 23:25:09 +0000
World

The project Imran has failed. This failure testifies leaders are born not made. It evidences that pulling out the sinking boat from the whirlpool of oceanic floods needs experienced, vigilant, and competitive minds. Giving a rudder to an inexperienced, stubborn, and immature sealer is disastrous. The blessing in disguise hidden in the failed Imran project and in the mob violence of May 9 should be litmus tests to reconsider state policies.

Alterations in policies and learning from past policy mistakes are productive. The more one adapts oneself to emerging scenarios and plans for the correction of errors for future courses the more it is better.

Wrong precedents which have been set in the past few years although culminated but not fully uprooted; ought to be corrected. All institutional heads must sit together to correct erroneous decisions and plan holistic stratgem for the future. Abiding by law and following the concept of trichotomy as envisaged by the constitution need to pay heed. The time has approached to say no to false and misleading egos.

Correcting a wrong precedent about Judiciary and reinstating confidence need to be the priority. Political decisions have been either accepted or rejected. When it suits one party, the party accepts while the others reject. When one party is happy with the decision it cheers up while the opponent party starts criticizing. They start naming the judges. For instance, when the doors of the supreme court were opened during the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, the PTI started to incite the judiciary and insult the honorable judges. When the honorable supreme court decided to hold elections within 90 days the same PTI started admiration of the court. It is rightly said the decisions speak not the judges. Why the situation concerning such distrust has reached this level? Seeing into own collars by all stakeholders is a must.

Let democracy evolve. This is only possible when all institutions follow the footprints of the constitution. Politicians should feel that once they are committed to democratic norms and values and realize their responsibilities, then they would be in a position to restore the power of Parliament. Resignations from this forum and horse trading will further harm the institutions. On the other hand, pressurizing politicians and forming king parties by the establishment will not let democracy evolve. The May 9 violence and the unity of political parties except the PTI testify that Pakistan still has space for democratic evolution. The chaos tried by the PTI on May 9 should be again a blessing and a disguise for the political process provided that the political parties realize the mastery and sanctity of parliament proposed by the constitution.

The hooliganism attempted by the preparators on May 9, the calmness from the security forces, and then handling some hundreds of those preparators with the law of the land further prove that Pakistan still has strong institutional arrangements. Though the violent mob was handed, still there is further room for improvement and the May 9 mob violence should be taken as a litmus case. All the institutions especially (the three tiers of the state) should take pragmatic strategies by altering the laws in overcoming the weaknesses in the administrative and criminal justicial system to shutoff and exterminate such incidents in the future.

The project Imran has imploded. The May 9 violence planned by the PTI leadership and its policy wizards was unforgivable, lusterless, and unaccepted. The sorry state of affairs caused on May 9 by attacking state institutions and naming state officials should be taken as a blessing in disguise. It has provided an opportunity for the state to revisit its policies, and weaknesses, and propose more holistic strategies to halt and uproot such incidents in the future. It also provided a ray of hope that all institutional heads and politicians will sit together to further cement the institutions.

Naseeb Ullah Achakzai has done M.Phil political science, MSC English literature and MA Pashto literature. He is a freelance columnist.