Daily Times

From the look of things in Pakistan’s political landscape, one feels that the whole state has become a market where loyalties are put on sale. From every nook and corner, defectors are sprouting out with a certain price tag on their backs.

These political heavy-weights are busy in bargaining with different political parties as elections are around the corner.

The majority of them have joined parties that are likely to succeed in the upcoming elections. However, some of them have put their decision on hold and are contesting the elections as independent candidates. They are expecting more benefits in the post-election bargaining, once they win at the polls. To achieve their goals, they are ready to bargain away their honour and integrity.

To put it simply, they are like migratory birds that shift their nests with the changing seasons. They lack principles and morality as all they care for is their own vested interest. They are least concerned about the people in their own constituency. Instead, the electable candidates earn a bad name for their electorate, which insists on handing over their own fate to such politicians.

What’s more, the decisions of these political heavy-weights are not driven by ideological differences with the party or the party’s deviations from its core values, but their own interests instead.

Non-democratic forces have often used electable candidates to counterbalance the contest among political parties. The recent victim of this political engineering is PML-N, but in the past PPP has also been on the receiving end of this disdainful policy

They are also least bothered about the conduct of their party heads. All they prioritise is who would make the next government. They just consider who will rule the roost after the elections.

That being said, this trend of defection isn’t new to Pakistan’s politics but this time it seems a bit uglier as people have become more cognisant of the acts of their representatives.

The electorates are of the view that these turncoats and their patrons are least bothered about how their actions will hurt an already broken democratic system. Thus, the upcoming elections will prove to be the nemesis of these turncoats.

Of course, there are some who deem these political apostates as innocent and attach hope with them since the heads of the political parties don’t bother to lend an ear to their woes. This compels electables to become toys in the hands of non-democratic forces.

The arrogance of political members at the top of the hierarchy of parties causes electable candidates to defect. This argument seems valid considering the arrogant attitude of all the party heads.

The act of deserting their political parties for trivial reasons puts to question the credibility of politicians as a whole. Resultantly, youngsters who aspire to be future political leaders give up their dream owing to the shoddiness of these defectors. The sleazy act of electables harms the reputation of politicians to the extent that it will take them years to even it out.

Last but not the least, non-democratic forces have often used these electable candidates to counterbalance the contest among political parties. The recent victim of this political engineering is Pakistan Muslim League- Noon (PML-N) but in the past Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also been on the receiving end of this disdainful policy.

For the better interests of the state, all the stakeholders should realise that the land of the pure is grappling with numerous predicaments. So, better sense should prevail and this practice should end once and for all through proper legislation.

Together we can get our beloved country out of this conundrum, which has the potential to disrupt the democratic process.

The writer can be contacted at asifmahsud44@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, July 6^th 2018.