Daily Times

It was mid-nineties, the ‘Political Circus’ was on. Benazir had given a call for a march to Islamabad against the Nawaz regime. I was parked on the Johar Town Canal Bridge, waiting for a farmer to cross the road with his buffalo, the moment he reached the other side of the road, he was grabbed by the police for a body search.

It was so blatant abuse that I decided to help him. I walked up to the Inspector In-charge and asked him what was going on, nervously he answered “We have orders to stop the marchers”. On my assurance that the villager was not part of the march, he was let go. For his safe passage, I waited till he was out of their reach.

Since day one, the people of Pakistan have been under threat from Anti-Democratic Force” (ADF) with police being one of them. In fact, the entire ‘Colonial Establishment’ that we inherited falls into this category. There have been only two periods of democratic rule, those elected in 1946 and 1970, rest has been a big farce. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was introduced in 1985 by these forces to neutralize the gains of the democratic order (1971-1977). Mian Sahib obeyed his masters but he decided to build his own empire on the side which then emerged as ‘Takht-e-Lahore’ (Throne of Lahore).

When the elected government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) consolidated its power, it decided to pull out of the British Commonwealth. The celebrations were titled as ‘Dam-e-Farang Say Rehai’ (Freedom from foreign rule). In 1973 Pakistan became a constitutional democracy. It was expected that the ‘Democratic Forces’ were there to stay while the negative powers were in retreat.

In early 1977 ZAB decided to seek a fresh mandate, assemblies were dissolved and elections held. Little did they know that ADF had laid a trap for him. On July 05, 1977 he was overthrown, since then ten elections have been manipulated to keep the democratic order derailed. In this ‘Political Circus’ Nawaz Sharif managed to be the Master of Ceremonies on three occasions, mainly with the support of ADF. As a nation, we have been hostage to these negative forces for the last forty years (1977 to 2017).

After being a B-team of ADF for decades, Mian Sahib has now decided to take them on. For the seasoned activists, it seems to be a clash between the two Royal Takhts, Lahore versus Farang with no relief for the masses. Zia played a crucial role in building these Royalties, while he laid the foundations of ‘Takht-e-Lahore’ with the Sharifs he took Pakistan back to the commonwealth to resurrect the ‘Takht-e-Farang’.

A credible ballot is the starting point of a democratic order. Those who stuff boxes and steal the people’s mandate belong to ADF and cannot be trusted, they neither respect the vote nor serve the voter. It is time to politically eliminate these negative forces through a free and fair election. No matter which party they join, their toxicity stays with them.

Democracy is the road to freedom, manipulated ballots are an obstruction in its path. With only one credible election in seventy years, it calls for a major review of the forces behind. Recently Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, an important product of ADF has published his autobiography in which he has revealed the manipulation mechanisms and how elections have been stolen since 1977. Despite all its faults, the electoral process in India is indisputable. The contest is fair and the winner gets a free hand to govern whereas in Pakistan it is a big mess, the competition is unfair with no governance. There are only a few beneficiaries at the cost of the nation.

A credible ballot is the starting point of a democratic order. Those who stuff boxes and steal the people’s mandate cannot be trusted

The statue of Liberty on Ellis Island symbolizes freedom. There are meaningful inscriptions, one of them being:

‘Of What avail the plough and sail if freedom fails’

In pursuit of freedom the immigrants crossed the Atlantic, some never made it across but those who did understand its importance. It was with this spirit that the constitution was framed in Philadelphia in 1787. It was hailed as an agreement between the voter and the voted with clear instructions on the use of state power. Even the right to bear arms was incorporated as such there is no gun control.

Like the USA, Pakistan’s constitution guarantees rights of the citizen which are repeatedly trampled. While Article 25-A establishes the right to education, Article 6 ensures constitutional authority to rule. Article 25-A has been constantly violated, however, Article-6 has been applied on the fourth usurper for his fifth takeover of government. I support this bold stance of PML-N but it should not be limited to General Musharraf alone, his entire team should be tried for treason to put an end to this backdoor phenomena. In fact, the clause should apply on entire ADF including those already convicted in the famous Asghar Khan case.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP is responsible for holding free and fair elections but they have failed ten times in a row. The Supreme Court Commission headed by CJP Nasirul Mulk that investigated the 2013 electoral contest pointed out serious irregularities yet no one was punished for hijacking the mandate of the masses. Winning candidates of all the four test constituencies were unseated yet no action has been initiated against the perpetrators. Ayaz Sadiq managed to get back his position, Saad Rafiq has survived on the basis of a stay order, only Khawaja Asif has been disqualified for life.

Anti-Democratic Forces will never allow democracy to take roots in the country. As a nation, we have to stand up for our rights. After the massive show of strength by Kaptan on April 29, 2018, he can emerge victorious without the help of the ‘Angels’. The electables who showed up that day need him not the other way around. Only an indisputable ballot can ensure legitimacy to govern otherwise the negative forces will prevail yet again for the eleventh time around. As a seasoned activist, a clear signal is being sent, a manipulated ballot will trigger spontaneous response. After four decades (1977-2017) the Zia Political Circus must come to an end and its players punished under Article-6 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation, he can be contacted at fmaliks@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, May 10^th 2018.