Daily Times

Fix these ugly. Teach them a lesson that they never forget. This is the “strategic thinking” going on in the power corridors. With the provincial assemblies back in the opposition camps, the visible stepping up of oppression is not unexpected. The country is in a whirlwind of downers. Economy tanking. Businesses closing. Terrorism spiking. Lawlessness compounding. There is a sense of the final crash. There is a sense of something giving way. There is a sense of high despondency. There is a sense of the inevitable happening. The 13 parties, the 14th party, and the unhappy “foreign bosses” are all part of a script that has been seen many times around the world, but perhaps never with such open and predictable unfolding.

Pakistan’s story is familiar yet unfamiliar. Familiar is the way the country has always been very important due to its geo-strategic location. Unfamiliar is the fact that despite that, it has never been “important” enough. Changing governments is disturbing but in many countries, governments have changed more frequently. The UK has just seen three Prime ministers come and go. Japan has been another basket case of changing governments. Such changes do cause temporary chaos but are not country-shattering. In Pakistan, the systems are such that a change of guard results in a complete spin of the weak government system. The military interventions followed by establishment-dependent governments have created a belief that Pakistan was not capable of standing on its own feet. This collective sentiment has made the political and economic upheavals a norm. This time around, the nation has received a shuddering shock. The shock of being exposed to the reality of it in such a heartbreaking manner. It started with the usual “for democracy” and for “development” chants and it has burst open the ugly reality of this sham rhetoric. Shock waves that are going through the public are:

1. Democracy was just an aided autocracy-So much for democracy. So much for the constitution. So much for independence. The fact that Pakistan has been ruled by either military dictatorships or dynasties is not the whole story. There is more to it. The dictator is a one-man show and the families are one family show. That also is not it. What is pathetic is that these dynasties have amassed wealth at taxpayer expense and have not been able to develop Pakistan. That is why they seek the political engineering of the establishment to win elections. This was more of an understated fact till the PML N stalwart Khawaja Saad Rafique publicly declared that “this is a pock-marked democracy in which family and dynastic politics have never let Pakistan develop.” A public admission by a person who for over three decades has served the dynastic family is a shocker. Similar statements by a couple of other party stars are the beginning of dissent. This dissent may have nothing to do with the country’s development and more out of frustration of not having the chance for their own development, even then it is a surprise. These family-limited parties would, with the aid of the establishment, take turns into power. The MNAs and MPAs would know that to get the ticket, they need a family connection. That connection also meant heavy payoffs and a share in the spoils post-election “schemes and scams.”

In Pakistan, the systems are such that a change of guard results in a complete spin of the weak government system.

This formula worked regardless of performance. This is the first time that the total incompetence of all 13 parties, despite the support of the 14th party, has been confirmed. The feud between the two Finance ministers Miftah Vs Dar has laid bare how low their functional capabilities are.

2. The intellectuals are the facilitators- The wise, well-read, well-spoken writers, analysts, professors, and think tank consultants, who are revered for their intellect, are many times using their skills to paint an “all for democracy” chant. For years, they blamed the establishment for interfering and not letting democratic government perform. In the present flagrant establishment-backed vote of no confidence, these intellectuals have been exposed. Their comments are so ambivalent and non-vociferous. Their democracy protests have whimpered. But they have been unmasked. Their very “logical” narrative of equating how PDM leaders were jailed by PTI when in government to what is happening to PTI right now is very smooth but cannot fool people. The cases on PMLN are mostly old mega corruption scams that they had filed on each other, while those on PTI are on sedition and terrorism that have no base. The intellectual facilitators are divided into foreign and local ones. Foreign intellectuals are in universities and think tanks and develop and support narratives that the US wants to promote about Pakistan. The local ones are the op-ed writers who suddenly join a political party or are the likes of Qasim Ali Shah who have a large following and are promoting the local narrative of their sponsors. The way their masks have been ripped off has created real shock waves in the public.

3. Just a few bad men- The fallacy that there are just a few rotten apples that need to be removed has also been buried. The problem with having the rot at the top is that it travels all the way down. Police have been politicized for decades. In the majority of thefts, murder or law-breaking somehow police is complicit. That is why in a daylight murder attempt on the ex-Prime minister of Pakistan, the police and DPO refused to cooperate and instead tried to destroy the evidence. The biggest shocker for this nation has been the discovery that how deep and wide the institutional corruption is. In every powerful institution, be it judiciary, establishment or media, the virus of corruption is not restricted to just a few bad eggs.

4. Brave, bold and undeterred-Perhaps, the biggest shocker of all has been the persistent way in which the public has stood firm. Imran Khan’s defiance in the face of death has put a new zeal in the public. Having seen all this unfold and being a witness to this scheme of “Minus Imran” obsession, they have rallied behind him for months. From protests to rallies to elections, they have not been deterred by death threats, terrorism alerts and oppression attacks. Their resolute determination to defeat these forces in the two elections despite knowing that the people they vote for may not represent them in the assembly is bold and beautiful. Their reaction shocked PDM and their sponsors. Just look at the latest sedition case against Fawad Chaudhry. He has been accused of calling the Election commission “munshi”. A word that would have been forgotten had it not been made a basis for arrest. After what happened to Fawad, millions of people have called the ECP munshi. They have made jingles on it, memes on it and made it so ridiculous that even ECP will now regret this folly.

The lesson they have not learned is that the more you get uglier, the more they get bolder. For a bold person, the spur is injustice, inequity and indignity. All three are in operation in a no holds barred state offensive. When you push people beyond the line, and that too in such an obvious manner, people cross all limits. Remember in the presence of a bold leader, ready to lay down his life, the ugly becomes more scared and small and the bold become more brave and tall.

The writer is a columnist, consultant, coach, and an analyst and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail,com. She tweets at @AndleebAbbas