Daily Times

It is one thing to play the role of a functional opposition and force the government to put its best foot forward. But to use the prestigious mandate entrusted by millions of ordinary Pakistanis for the sake of rabble-rousing and nitpicking and screaming murder every chance one may get speaks more about the calibre of political leaders than the might of the government.

On Friday, the National Assembly passed a resolution against the proceedings of the US House of Representatives that had on June 25 sought a probe into the alleged irregularities of the recently-held general election. Many a passionate treasury members decried this “interference” in their hard-hitting speeches and felt the need to point out this “attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty. Although the very fact that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had, just a day earlier, disclosed details about the resolution, which, in essence, rung PTI-backed opposition leaders’ lack of awareness furore hollow, there was enough time and space available to discuss the contents of the resolution. However, what to do when the firebrand leadership seemed more interested in desk-thumping, tearing parliamentary stationery and creating a ruckus?

Protesting may very well be a constitutionally guaranteed right for the opposition benches to express their dissatisfaction with the house proceedings, but protests should not be pursued as a means to stay in the limelight. Before an outright rejection, the opposition members would have been better off giving the resolution a good read, especially on bits about genocide in Gaza and gross human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir. Does this deafening ostracism mean they have now given up their much-touted crusade for the protection of Muslims languishing in Palestine and under Indian authoritarianism?

Because of this fast-emerging pattern, little to no attention was given to how the legislature would advise the government to proceed henceforth. The bill has passed, but would a mere resolution convey the point effectively? Since Pakistan considers the US a high-priority strategic ally, communication channels should be pursued to ensure a clear exchange of views. Considering how the HR 901 (Expressing support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan) directly fed into the narrative being peddled by the PTI leadership in the last few months, they had little reason to think about the dire implications on our credibility as a sovereign democracy. It goes without saying that all this could have been avoided if there had been progress and goodwill from both sides to resolve the widespread electoral accusations instead of letting smouldering anger take over. *