Daily Times

It is suicidal to ignore national security issues and allow let go radical groups threatening the writ of the state, using the most abusive language to engage in hate speech and to cause violence and threats to utter inconvenience of the people and threats to peaceful citizens and public functionaries doing their duty.

There is no justification at all for institutions of the state (Legislature, the Executive and Judiciary) to yield to the threats of those who have always exploited the religions sentiments of simple, peaceful people. These groups pose a serious threat to state and order.

Why should the military and the judiciary not act against such exploiters? If the state itself is choosing to remain reluctant to deal with such threats who else will take the responsibility then?

Why should offenders and criminals go scot free and why should our political parties not act’ in such violent situations caused by the radicals. Islam does not teach what these self-styled ‘custodians’ of religion are doing. If proper measures are not taken against those radicals it would be equivalent to accepting that our fight against terror makes exceptions.

It is in the interest of Pakistan to do whatever we can do to say no to perpetuate the idea that only chaos, violence and threats lead to cooperation from government’s side, and will eventually create a very unstable polity for all institutions of the state. Things have to be effectively managed. Community driven development should be the goal and infrastructure provided accordingly.

In a democracy all institutions have to behave democratically without exceptions and malice. Judiciary and military should wait for the results of the upcoming general elections. There is need to allow equal opportunity to all political parties to show their public support. I would agree with the argument that the right to criticise and call into question the decisions and actions of the judiciary, is the democratic right of every citizen under freedom of expression. The scrutiny of judicial actions in the court of Public opinion is the sign of free and progressive society, and allows for redemptive checks and balances in all facets of the polity. The Court’s reasoning that the lawyers and experts are better suited to criticising judicial decisions is not only clearly unreasonable but offends against common sense.

Action against a political party to a more personal level shows a bias that should not be allowed to enter the situation. Needed is positive action to remove doubts that already exist, that such and such political party is favourite of this or that institution. Judiciary has to be accorded due respect as it upholds law and order in a country. The judicial prerequisite is to exercise objectivity in its judgement and not to negate it. Knee-jerk retaliatory actions will harm rather than helping to escape stressful scenario.

Mistrust in institutions could negatively impact the outcome of the next general elections. It is important that elections are held in a peaceful and transparent manner as per provisions of the constitution. Providing a level playing field to political parties was of critical significance.

It is often necessary for democratic governments to take the lead in organising the unorganised, in providing the voiceless with a voice; the problem of the electorate relating to the elite is essentially a problem of association and organisation

We can be optimistic or otherwise about the next general elections depending on presence or absence of unwanted interferences. Institutions have to have credibility. It is expected that saner element will not accept institutions overstepping their authority and judgments. Civil society should strive to defeat ulterior motives of the elements bent upon undermining the democratic process.

Focus of the general election 2018 would hopefully be on service to the people and efforts made to accelerate the process of socio-economic development. Those who had ignored the people in their respective areas and failed to focus on problems of local areas will have fewer chances of victory, if elections were based on merit and fair assessment. After lengthy debates on corruption and plunder of national resources people are expected to vote on merit and elect the deserving. Much depends on the electorate and how they excise their right of vote.

Effort should be made to establish a meaningful relationship between the elite and the electorate; a relationship of trust, respect, cooperation and service to the people; and a relationship of national glory and unity. It is in these circumstances that the voice of reason can be most valuable to discuss the weaknesses and the strengths of the intellectual base from which we fight.

A political leader is chosen because of his supposed qualifications for his job. If he is qualified, he should be allowed to carry it out according to his own best judgment. If his judgment is found defective by his electors, he can and should be removed. His constituents, however, must recognise that he has a duty to his office as well as to them and that their duty in turn is to fill the office but not to run it. We must distinguish between the functions of representation and of government, requiring our elected leaders to represent us while allowing them to govern. We must guard against the navigator to determine our destination, but we must allow him to steer the ship without amateur Supervision of every turn of the wheel.

It is often necessary for democratic government to take the lead in organising the unorganised, in providing the voiceless with a voice; the problem of relationship of the electorate to the elite is essentially a problem of association and organisation. Democracy is the system of choosing those who will lead. As a conclusion we must understand that the environment in which election 2018 are held will determine the quality of outcome. Required environment has to be created.

The Writer is a former Director, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert and an author. His book post 9/11 Pakistan was published in the United States

Published in Daily Times, April 23^rd 2018.