Daily Times

The whole nation was taken aback by the allegations levelled against the Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar by the real estate tycoon, Mr Malik Riaz. Not just this, the leaked footage of a TV programme of a private TV channel was also a shocking revelation for people. This charade did not end here. Only after a few days, the Supreme Court deposed the prime minister for not writing the letter to Swiss authorities. The Chief Justice had earlier directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take appropriate action against his son, Malik Riaz and another person. So far so good, but what happened to the citizens of this country and their expectations from the Supreme Court, the government and the administration?

It is obvious that the citizens of the country have been long forgotten due to the rift between the government and the judiciary. There are almost three and a half years of pending cases. Everyone is talking about judicial activism and its investigations into charges of corruption in the four corners of the country, but then how it is possible that the Chief Justice ignored his own son? What about hundreds of people that become victims of torture and violence every day? They also deserve the attention of the judiciary. Yesterday, a man in Burewala violated his wife by burning her private organs, just because she was unable to bear a child. How about taking a sou motu on this one? Hundreds of such incidents take place every day around the country, but most of them remain unheard.

Unfortunately, since the reinstatement of the Chief Justice and the free judiciary, little has been done to appease the poor segments of society. Load shedding and inflation are at their peak. Industries and businesses are closing down and there are no jobs. Prices of daily use items are being increased on a daily basis and the buying power of the poor is shrinking accordingly.

I strongly believe that the upholding of democracy and the democratic institutions has little or no connection with people, at least not under the present scenario. Democracy can only be of use or of benefit to the people, if they are able to reap its fruit.

Government and administration also seems uninterested in the citizens of the country. The citizens who brought them into power are feeling more powerless than ever. The power that should have trickled down to the roots is staying in the upper echelons of society, mostly politicians, businessmen and of course, the military. So what do people get out of the sweet democracy that is being fed to them since the present government came into power? The answer is nowhere to be seen.

The politics of the country also seems a big farce. Parties of the alliance and the opposition are always busy hurling allegations at each other. The opposition wants early elections, which is also an expensive exercise. On the other side, whenever government or one of its representatives is caught with allegations of corruption, it apparently starts threatening democracy.

According to some analysts, the incumbent prime minister is also a temporary guest in the Prime Minister’s House. He also will not write the letter to the Swiss authorities and so will be thrown out. The past record of the prime minister as the minister of water and power, and his countless promises of putting an end to load shedding are still fresh in people’s minds. Millions are lost to electricity theft every day, but the minister was more interested in getting Rental Power Plants into the country.

The country needs a workable democracy and a workable governance mechanism. At present, it seems that all democratic structures are losing their credibility. Every single person in the power corridors is working for his/her personal benefits and gains. There is an increasing need of someone who can uphold the rule of law, introduce an excellent governance mechanism and pull the country out of the deep abyss of terrorism and extremism.

We cannot and do not want to repeat mistakes that we used to make in the past. Military intrusion has always made problems worse and fortunately, the present military brass is least interested in coming into power. They are already busy fighting an enemy that is the biggest danger to the country.

Elections are only a few months away and everybody is hoping for a better government. The only way we can make a better government is by using our right of vote and by using it honestly. It is the only hope.

The writer is a development consultant and can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com