Daily Times

So much has been written and said about the twin sit-ins led by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Maulana Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), that it is almost impossible to bring a new perspective into the picture. Whether in favour of or against them, from every angle and every possible outcome, whether it is the involvement of the establishment or the clear evidence of election rigging, the protests have been discussed, dissected and analysed to the hilt in the last few weeks. Each side had ample time both on the electronic media in its indefinitely long, special transmissions and in the editorial pages of newspapers to explain their views and persuade the people of Pakistan. After listening to many of them, there have been a few positive angles of the story that I want to touch upon today.

First, the PPP has finally regained some of the credibility it lost after its five years of poor governance at the Centre and in Sindh. Notwithstanding its not-so-stellar performance in the last tenure, during the last three or four weeks, it has emerged as the only national party mature enough, under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari, to have the capacity to understand the nature of the crisis, to utilise constitutional forums to provide strength to the system, to reassure Mian Nawaz Sharif and his party, the PML-N, about the legitimacy of their rule and to allow parliament to reassert its vitality and buoyancy. Mian Nawaz Sharif, who had ignored parliament for one year, and Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who had paid no attention to it in the last six years, both must have realised that in the middle of a political crisis the only legitimate institution to ask for a lifeline is parliament. The pledge of alliance from the members of the kitchen cabinet does not matter, nor does an underhand deal with the establishment, nor unconditional support from international players; the only thing that matters, and should matter, is approval from the people of Pakistan through their representatives in the house.

Second, we also found that even if there is a strong urge to believe in the role of unseen yet powerful forces in encouraging and/or sponsoring the sit-in in Islamabad, there has been reluctance in the establishment to take over by openly abrogating the constitution. No doubt, the more people you talk to within the institution, the more you realise that they are extremely unhappy with the conduct of Mian Nawaz Sharif. Despite that, they are not ready to take charge and come forward to run the country. As reported by Reuters recently, out of 11 corps commanders, the majority did not want the army to take a more “active role” in the current political crisis. This change, or as I say reluctance, is not because of their sudden confidence in the ability of the current leadership to deliver but only because of their realisation of the complexity of the situation in the country.

Talking to an active colonel in the army I also found out how concerned and aware the officers are of the response of the powerful media and how furious and independent they believe the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan is going to be in case of any extra-constitutional intervention. Their concern is the beginning of a new Pakistan, the fear of the rule of law that has been inculcated through an autonomous media and an active judiciary in the hearts of the officers, which is going to serve the country well. Is this fear of accountability not exactly what we needed to teach our servicemen?

In my assessment, there have been two major reasons for this trepidation: the judicial movement of 2007-2009 and the treason trial of General Musharraf. We must give credit to the former Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, his two-year long struggle for the rule of law and the current leadership of the PML-N that has been able to endure a tremendous amount of pressure and humiliation (including the current crisis) but has not given in so far.

Third, whether you support the protestors or not and whether you like the political rhetoric of Imran Khan or not, he has been able to bring core issues regarding lack of transparency in the electoral system and the reasons for the colossal failure of the governance model in Pakistan into the limelight. These issues have always been thrown under the carpet because they can destabilise the system under an incompetent and possibly corrupt civilian administration. They have now been discussed at great length on multiple forums. Who can disagree that the credit for bringing this change goes to the former cricketer? It is because of his relentless campaign against the status quo that broad based reforms are being discussed in almost every household. Although the people who are on his side also belong to the same class, their presence does not diminish the enthusiasm of his supporters to take anyone to task including those on Khan’s side if they try to steer away followers from the agenda.

I am not sure how it will end but after the catastrophe in the form of recent floods there is even more of a reason for everyone to announce a victory now: the government for its ability to survive a prolonged protest in the capital, the PTI for its commitment to putting the reform agenda on the top of its list, the PAT for being recognised as a major pressure group in the country and the establishment for having the patience to let civilians solve their own issues. Is this not the ultimate goal that we all have been working for?

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com