Daily Times

When it comes to political rivalry, all claims to democracy, freedom of speech, and individual rights are conveniently forgotten and oppressive tactics are let loose. The Punjab ‘lions’ did exactly the same on June 18 at Ravi Town. All their claims stood exposed.

A local ex-naib nazim had announced support to the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and wanted to hold a workers’ convention. So he applied to the district coordination officer (DCO), police, etc, for the required permissions about two weeks in advance. A week earlier, the DCO sent out letters to all concerned to report back before issuing the ‘clearance’. It is said that all the reports were positive and the police contingents visited the site on Fort Road and showed no concern to the organiser. Now the ‘upper’ echelons came into action. The organisers kept running to the DCO’s office to face a perpetual silence. However, whispers were heard that permission would be granted but only at the last moment so that the preparations are slowed down due to doubt. The cat, however, was out of the bag in the afternoon of June 18. Police contingents arrived at the site and ordered immediate removal of the preparatory materials. The chairs, tents, speakers, water stands, etc, were all stacked up. They were ordered not to set up any stage for the public addresses or the expected videoconference with Mr Pervez Musharraf. The organisers could not have undone the preparations done in good faith at such short notice. I was consulted and I suggested that they should not violate the law, shift arrangements inside the office and set up a small studio for the video conference, remove the speakers from the road and put them in the balcony along with the screen in case there was a larger attendance. They agreed and this is what was done. Every effort was made to stay within the legal limits. However, the participants were in a large number and as they walked in, the police dispersed them from the Fort Road. By 7:00 pm, a few hundred women arrived and the police again tried to shove them off. The women stood on the footpath and joined several journalists and media men there. The police was impolite to the women, but refrained from confronting the press. The news of the oppression went around and of course the media rushed to cover it. It was a busy time on Fort Road and a lot of traffic was running. There were children playing cricket in the park on the south side of the Badshahi Mosque, the chairs were stacked on the side but no one was allowed to use these. It was noticed that the police was recording the registration numbers of all the contractors or visitors to use as an instrument of harassment. The police continued to disperse the crowds and the media continued to take note of the happenings, which were published a day later.

The rallies of workers started to arrive at about 8:00 pm and within a short time there were thousands. The police stepped back. Some pulled up chairs in the lawn, others stood on the road and heard their leader speak and saw him on the screen. Almost everyone dispersed in less than an hour, peacefully, and the traffic kept flowing as usual.

The police filed an FIR against anyone they could recognise and all others, about 400-500 unnamed. It is a harassment tool to start action at any time at any place. The unnamed are named as and when required. The police sword keeps hanging.

One wonders what is this all about? Are we never going to change? The same old tactics by the party in power against their political opponents. How do the Mian sahibs claim to be the champions of upholding the law and constitution? They were groomed by a dictator and continue to be a worse kind of dictator. No tolerance is their style. What heavens would have fallen if the applicant were allowed the convention? In fact, it would have helped the Punjab government in improving its image if they had gracefully accorded the permission. They would have set a democratic tradition. But, alas, small minds prevailed. The DCO never got the ‘nod’ from the top and preferred to save his job by the use of power.

The politicians grumble that the armed forces have ruled the country and their oppression did not let democracy grow. The fact is that all politicians today have grown under the shade of armed rule! The so-called champions of democracy would not let anyone grow unless he/she was their rishtedar (relative) or zamindar (landlord) or maaldar (wealthy) or a deradar (camp follower), thanedar (police officer), etc, particularly by Mian sahiban who have successfully taken politics out of the hands of the common man and safely landed it in the hands of the influential and the rich. In their style of politics, anyone who wants to express himself deserves another dar, the daar (gallows) that Faiz refers to.

The only time when an ordinary person, a thinker, worker, or a labourer could contest an election and hope to win without access to bags of currency notes was in 1970. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought that change, but only once. He was then overpowered and ultimately eliminated for the ‘crime’ he had committed. Now it is neither the Quaid-e-Azam’s country that he envisaged in his August 11 speech to the Constituent Assembly, nor is it Bhutto’s country who said, “People are the source of all power.” It is not Musharraf’s country either who says “Sab se pehley Pakistan” (Pakistan first). What Pakistan are we talking about? Whose Pakistan is this? What are we doing to our homeland? Is this how nations grow? Painful questions, but no answers.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor