Daily Times

Ever since Nawaz Sharif’s government has come into power, it has been confronted with two major challenges. The first challenge is related to the unfulfilled promises regarding controlling price hikes and ending load shedding. The second challenge relates to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI’s) demand for recounting ballots in four constituencies. The government’s position on the first challenge is that the exact financial and administrative position was not known to it before it actually took office and, therefore, the demons of load shedding and price hike will take time to be tamed. So far as elections are concerned, the government considers them free and fair, conducted under the supervision of the judiciary and, hence, recounting votes at selected constituencies is to them a baseless demand, made to spread confusion and chaos. Regardless of the government’s position on these issues, the PTI, emerging as a popular political party after years of struggle, is not willing to give any more time and space to the government and has decided to settle these issues on the streets.
The PTI has not come this far all of a sudden. Imran Khan has consistently been at it to get his voice heard but could not succeed in his efforts. A group of individuals, including some bureaucrats but not Nawaz Sharif, is to be blamed for widening the communication gap between the PTI and the government. I do not have the means to verify the accuracy of the general elections held last year but one thing is very clear: in his third tenure as a prime minister, Nawaz Sharif has been more willing and determined than ever to make a visible difference towards the progress of Pakistan. By all accounts, this is the make-or-break era for his political career. If the Nawaz-led Muslim League fails to deliver now, its future is not going to be promising, especially in the presence of a vibrant PTI. Nawaz Sharif is not oblivious to this political reality, which is why he has been extra conscious in making appointments and taking tough decisions. However, one similarity between his previous and present governance system has survived all the odds: an impeccable faith in the bureaucracy. It appears that some officers, acting on behalf of the incumbent leadership, have crossed the limits of their authority, with the consequence of jeopardising the relationship between the government and the people of Pakistan.
The cascade of events related to administrative failures because of poor bureaucratic decisions have indeed brought the government to a defensive position and have created new challenges for it. The inhumanity displayed in Model Town, Lahore, under the supervision of senior officers, financial corruption in the office of the accountant general, mismanagement in the power sector and whimsical decisions of field officers in the allocation of health and education budgets in different districts, especially in Punjab, have seriously threatened the implementation of the progressive vision of Nawaz Sharif.
A small group of officers who have recently been instrumental in damaging the image of the government, have displayed a tremendous level of ‘creativity’ by creating enemies for the government and adding to the heroism of opposition leaders like Dr Tahirul Qadri, who could have never received the kind of support he has, nationally and internationally, after the Model Town tragedy, not to mention the fame gifted to Qadri by the situation handling officers when his plane was not allowed to land at Islamabad airport.
August 14 is approaching fast, and it appears that the PTI is fully determined and all set to proceed on its long march against the government. Imran Khan has refused to accept offers of negotiation extended to him by Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. It appears that, at this stage, it is even beyond Khan to call off the long march because such a decision would portray him as an emotional and non-serious leader who can only talk the talk but not walk the walk. The government is also taking Imran Khan’s long march very seriously as is evident from the implementation of Article 245 and flexibility being shown by the senior leadership of the PML-N towards Imran Khan to negotiate a way out of this quagmire.
Just as a stupid friend is like a defective time bomb (it can explode at any time), the devils in bureaucracy can implode the situation by their stupid acts. Their wrong advice and poor decision making have already earned the political leadership enough embarrassment. I firmly believe that the army, under the leadership of a focused and professional soldier, will never indulge in any misadventure, let alone attack the PTI workers. There is nevertheless a strong possibility of resistance in the way of the long march from the civil administration that may turn volatile, making the situation more difficult to handle.
This is not Nawaz Sharif’s first foray into the business of dealing with anti-government moves; he is wise and experienced enough to deal with emerging political challenges intelligently. If the long march does take place as planned, though it is going to be a tall order and Khan’s critics are already saying that he will not be able to motivate such a huge number of people, it will definitely have a significant political impact and could help Khan get a date for mid-term elections. If the long march is handled politically, and is not left to the whims of the bureaucracy, the political damage will be negligible. For Nawaz Sharif it is going to be yet another opportunity to prove his commitment towards democracy.

The author is a director PID