Daily Times

The writing is on the wall. This is perhaps the last political campaign of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the three-time Prime Minister of Pakistan. As it is his swansong, he has decided to sing it well. He is determined to fight until the end. Respect the vote (vote ko izzat do) is his top priority yet the signals are confusing.

According to the party spokesperson, he is not interested in becoming the PM for the fourth time. If this is true, then the two-term limit in the original 1973 constitution should be restored immediately with consensus from all parties as the founders originally envisioned it. It was a person-specific amendment which was made a part of the 18th amendment. It was against the spirit of the consensual document.

Then there are conflicting signals to boost up the electable within the party. According to this perspective, once in power, the party will amend the constitution to bring Mian Sahib back into power. The strategy is dual, one rhetoric for the voters and the other for the candidates. It is a perfect example of ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hound’. Such duplicity cannot work. Public opinion will soon catch up.

Person-specific amendments to the constitution have to be done away with. In 1973, the two-term limitation was thoroughly discussed. Only as an interim arrangement the incumbent PM was allowed two fresh terms. It was on Mian Sahib’s insistence that unlimited terms are permitted for the PM as part of the now controversial 18th amendment.

The constitution is a living document that can be amended following a due process, but it cannot be hijacked to suit individual interests. This article of faith has been amended in forty years more than the US constitution has been in over two centuries. It clearly shows lack of respect for the document.

Swimming against the tide has never been easy in the country. Many swimmers have drowned trying to achieve this feet. Mian Sahib’s campaign will not be easy. The establishment in Pakistan is entrenched that is why Mian Sahib’s launch was achieved against the sanctity of the ballot. Since the last credible election in 1970, there have been ten manipulated electoral exercises with PML being its principal beneficiary. It was through Islami Jamhoori Ittihad (IJI) that Mian Sahib moved from Takht-e-Lahore to Daftar-e-Islamabad, the seat of federal power.

It is true that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) emerged from the cabinet of Gen Ayub Khan. He revolted against the dictator, formed his political party in 1967 and started a grass root movement for genuine democracy as opposed to controlled democratic dispensation.

He gained power through a credible ballot. Mian Sahib’s democratic credentials are very marginal. He and his party both emerged from Gate No.4 of GHQ Rawalpindi. His leadership was imposed on the people of Pakistan against ‘Izzat of vote’. He religiously participated in the death anniversary congregation at Zia’s grave till his own government was dismissed by the draconian amendment 58(2-B) of the dictator.

As a first step, the two-term limit for the Prime Minister should be restored to convince all his critics that Nawaz Sharif no longer seeks personal glory and power

Before he can be taken seriously, Mian Sahib has to establish his democratic credentials. Otherwise, ‘vote ki izzat’ will remain a hollow slogan like ‘Qarz Uttaro Mulk Sanwaro’ (Eliminate debt to save the country). Despite all his shortcomings, people are listening to the deposed PM, but his signals are confusing and contradictory. He is opposing his own government and criticising the system that he himself built to violate the vote to gain absolute majority not once but twice, and now he is talking about the third one to dismantle the system.

The people of Pakistan desire major reforms in the inherited colonial system left by the foreign rulers. The question is whether Mian Sahib has the capability and credentials to lead this crusade. Though he has launched his movement, his ability to lead from the front remains questionable. In 1999, he briefly tried defiance but then quickly bogged down and agreed to go into exile for a decade. Many people believe that it was Abba Jee who prevailed and an agreement was reached. ZAB did not have such luxury and went to the gallows fighting. There were some voices of sanity within the party, but they were overruled.

The path to resistance in a third world country with colonial institutions is treacherous. Muhammad Khan Junejo being a true democrat shutdown the torture cells in the dungeons of the Lahore Fort. It was here that heavyweights of his time Abdul Qayyum Khan and Mian Tufail were kept. Both Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq used them extensively to silence dissent. My dear friend and fellow comrade Pervez Saleh, with many others, was also kept in confinement here during the MRD movement (Movement for the Restoration of Democracy).

Despite all his dismal shortcomings we should all welcome Mian Sahib’s effort for ‘vote ki izzat’, provided there are visible signs of reformation. A few days ago there was a cartoon in a leading daily newspaper that defined the ideology of the Mian of Takht-e-Lahore: it said, ‘greed, power, dictatorship’. This image has to change. As a first step, the two-term limit for the PM should be restored to silence his critics that he no longer seeks personal glory and power. There may very well be a fighter hiding behind the façade of expensive watches and limousines, but it has to be made visible.

As a young professional, I remember the trial of ZAB in the Lahore High Court (LHC) where he was brought in a Police jeep and then humiliated and made to wait for hours. There was no one to throw rose petals at him, his wife and daughter were in prison and sons were in exile. Even his closest allies abandoned him who were always on the lookout for the rising sun. In the words of Mian Sahib and some of his stalwarts, ‘Siyasat karnay ka Mazza Tou Ab Aayega’ (now it would be truly satisfying to do politics).Only time will tell.

The writer is ex-chairman Pakistan Science Foundation; Email: fmaliks@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, March 29^th 2018.