It was an incredible weekend in Pakistani politics only to end on an anticlimactic note. To see the entire ruling elite buzzing (some with excitement, others in opposition) in the power corridors for the whole of Sunday and Monday, eyeing the previously cornered JUI(F) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the entire media (both mainstream and social) littered with every possible analysis was an overwhelming experience, after all. But now that the dye has been cast, Maulana of all seasons has spoken and his cold shoulder, pushed the much-talked-about constitutional package sine die, perhaps the legislators could use this window to build consensus on the legacy they wish to leave behind.
The hectic, flurried efforts that saw cabinet members run from pillar to post in a bid to secure the magic number could have been far less cumbersome had it presented a transparent case on what it sought to correct in the constitutional imbalance.
Despite repeated demands from the opposition and in stark contrast to their mandate as representatives of the masses, the executive repeatedly preferred form over substance, clouding the debate with platitudes and giving air to unnecessary controversies.
The resulting deadlock could be seen from afar because why on God’s green earth would even coalition partners, what to say about those who identify themselves as opposition, willingly choose to pick a side about which they know nothing? There’s ample advice from the likes of PPP and in-demand Maulana not to treat a “serious piece of legislation” in haste.
Although politics is a game of point-scoring, PTI could similarly have refrained from making matters worse by choosing street politicking over a healthy debate on the floor of the parliament. Just two days ago, every politician worth his salt was adding his own interpretation of parliamentary supremacy as the world celebrated International Day of Democracy, but now that they have headed back for their home, it might help to reflect on whether their actions over a working weekend really contributed to upholding the will of the people? Frenzied newsrooms and overenergetic vloggers may relax for now but while the curtains might have drawn, the machinery must be leading like a swan. *
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