Daily Times

The first time I heard the Punjab proverb Khooti rahi bur thalay (the donkey remained under the tree) was at a Tehreek-e-Pakistan workers meeting. This was a group of veterans from the Pakistan Movement, led by Nawab Zulfiqar Mamdot. My father Nazir A. Malik was elected as the group’s Secretary General. In one of these meetings, a disgruntled and outspoken worker called Muhammad ‘Bombas’ Hussain narrated his experience on the eve of independence on August 14, 1947.

The title of ‘Bombas’ was bestowed upon him as he was tasked with disrupting Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) anti-Pakistan rallies, and their headquarters was in Ichra, Lahore. The JI’s opposition to the Pakistan Movement isn’t surprising. Most freedom workers are always tainted as anarchists ortraitors. The hero of one cause is usually the terrorist of the other. The Thana in Ichra kept a close watch on Bombas’ activities and he was often summoned there. On the day of independence, he broke loose and surrounded this “Den of colonial control”. The SHO was in shock and also scared, so he apologized for his brutal behaviour in the past and promised to serve in the future. On that day ‘Bombas’ slept a happy, free man. However, freedom proved to be short lived. Early morning on August 15, 1947 there was a knock on his door. On opening he found the same Thanedar standing there in uniform. He had come to get ‘Bombas’ and repeated the Khooti rahi burthalay – meaning nothing had changed. Within twenty four hours it was all over. Even today, our heroes are projected as zeros while zeros are propagated as heroes. Politicians’ use of state funds to advertise themselves is an example of such practices.

Only four countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) have continued with the colonial system of governance that they inherited. In USA all files were burnt, a new constitution to preserve freedom was enacted. Singapore followed the same course. Recently in 1989 when China took control of Hong Kong, while Chris Patton the last governor was driven to the airport his mansion was converted into a Colonial Museum. No Chinese every got to rule from there. China won its freedom two years after the partition of the sub-continent yet it progressed by leap and bounds and is the second largest economy of the world today.

While we claim to be a constitutional democracy, hardly any of the elections we have had have been free or fair

In seventy years some lessons should have been learnt. While we claim to be a constitutional democracy, hardly any of the elections we have had have been free or fair. Political leadership has been imposed on us with disastrous consequences. After ten manipulated ballots since 1977, another electoral contest is being planned for 2018.

On April 29, 2018, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had another impressive show of strength at Minar-e-Pakistan. The country is ready for change, the message was very clear. It was launching of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s election campaign. Potential candidates from all over the country were there. It seems Kaptaan is now ready for an electoral contest and the PTI is poised to emerge as the largest party in the parliament. Once in power, the challenge will be to deliver change through status-quo electables who are often called Fasli Batteray (Seasonal Birds). Kaptaan claims to have a formula to deliver the much needed change of direction. His Tsunami is based on an eleven point agenda that he unfolded at the rally.

More than anything else, Pakistan needs another credible election to move the donkey of status-quo from under the tree where it has been stuck for over seven decades. Kaptaan can emerge victorious on his own merit, he does not need support from the establishment. On the other hand PML-N will have to face the ballot without the support of the Patwaris and the Thana. While this is not good for the PML-N, it is in the interest of democracy that political battles are fought on political battle grounds with no outside interference.

As long as the ‘Seasonal Birds’ remain in the political arena, free and fair election will remain a big challenge. A split mandate is being projected. Political parties can change the outcome by organizing their efforts instead of relying on external crutches. The ballot has to be made credible to be acceptable to all the contestants. After a free and fair election, the mandate must be respected and the winning party allowed to govern in the best interests of the masses.

Pakistan has only experienced two periods under a genuinely elected leadership,1946 and 1970. Both performed exceptionally well. Recently, the government of Narendra Modi has decided to introduce the Generic System of Medicine in India, the elected government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had introduced the same in 1972, about 46 years ago. Zia-ul-Haq the usurper, reverted back under pressure from vested interests.

It also needs to be said that while the vote should be respected, it is more important to respect the voter. Democracy is strengthened through participation not exclusion. People stand by their leaders if they truly represent them and fight for their cause, individual interests are short lived both for the voter and the voted. In the end it is ideology which keeps the donkey moving. In the USA, the two mainstream political parties use animal symbols. Democrats use the symbol of donkey while the Republicans use the elephant. While the donkey is a beast of burden which serves the common man, the Republicans on the other hand believe in growth, wealth and accumulation which is then expected to result in a trickle-down effect.

Unfortunately, our donkey refuses to move, first the elections are manipulated then the contestants fight it out while governance suffers. Minar-e-Pakistan represents the history of Pakistan. Jinnah stood here in 1940 to demand a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. In 1946, his party won the elections and earned the right to lead. In 1971, Bhutto stood here as an elected leader. On April 29, 2018 Kaptaan used the same venue to announce his ‘Naya Pakistan’. Hopefully, he too will emerge through an honest and credible ballot with a mandate to move the Donkey from under the tree, to provide some shade to the toiling and suffering masses, thereby putting an end to the inept and tyrannical rule that the people of Pakistan have been enduring with no respite for over 70 years.

The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, May 12^th 2018.