In a few weeks, Pakistan will observe its 11th General Election. Ordinarily, elections bring stability to a country, as all the political parties procure a fresh mandate. However, for Pakistan, it seems that elections bring more instability than stability.
The upcoming July 25 polls will probably be the most controversial in the history of Pakistan as a majority of the parties have already begun complaining about pre-poll rigging. The unfolding contemporary events have also created a question mark on the integrity of elections.
In the last week, NAB officials arrested Pakistan Muslim League — Noon (PML-N) candidate Qamar ul Islam. He is from NA-59 Rawalpindi II, and was running against his former party comrade Chaudhry Nisar. He was picked up for his alleged role in Punjab Saaf Pani Company corruption case.
And a day before that, NAB chairman while speaking in Lahore had categorically stated that no candidate under investigation would be arrested before the election. The chairman must have the moral courage to come in front of the media and confess publicly (especially to NA-59 PML-N voters) that the matter is out of his jurisdiction. Or else, he must have the courage to arrest Shahbaz Sharif as well, who is also under investigation.
Many of us have termed the judiciary’s recent actions as judicial activism, but it is instead “judicial hyper-activism” because such words from the judiciary give off biased vibes — and this practice is not one that will go in favour of the judiciary
What message are the state institutions giving to the voters? Ironically, NAB is active only in Punjab, whereas other provinces seem to have immunity.
Just a day after the incident, an appellate election tribunal, in an unprecedented move, disqualified former prime minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi. Primarily, he was disqualified for concealing facts and withholding information from voters. If this is the basis of disqualification then every candidate must be disqualified as many of them have concealed their assets and information. For example, Bilawal House in Karachi was declared to be valued at just Rs. 3,300,000 by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Secondly, it is not the mandate of election tribunal to disqualify any candidate. Later, Abbasi filed an appeal in LHC, which cancelled the tribunal’s verdict.
Although Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates have also been disqualified, the cheeky tone used in Abbasi’s case was unfair. “Mafia” is a word that has been used for Abbasi. The trend of giving disrespectful remarks in the court verdicts initiated from the Panama decision, where honourable Justice Asif Saeed Khosa drew a comparison between former disqualified premier Mian Nawaz Sharif and then ovel Godfather. The very first line of the detailed judgment started with: “Behind every fortune, there is a crime”.
It’s now officially practised across Pakistan on an almost daily basis and is aimed mostly at politicians. Many of us termed this judicial activism, but it is indeed “judicial hyper-activism” because such words from the judiciary give off biased vibes, which does not go in favour of the judiciary either.
In these developments, many of us might not have paid attention towards the permission granted to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (ASWJ) to contest elections. The caretaker chief minister Punjab, Hasan Askari, must address the media and inform the people the reason for unbanning the notorious party. Where is the National Action Plan (NAP) now? Will these bigots now sit in the parliament? The school of thought to which Ludhianvi belongs targets a specific sect.
Whereas if we see the layout in Sindh, the Karachi census and delimitation issue has not been resolved yet. Although Muttahida Qaumi Movement — Pakistan (MQM-P) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court. And only a few days ago, the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP)’s petition against the census was admitted by the SC.
Although the matters are recent, the issues can escalate if all the political parties are not provided with a level playing field.
Most importantly, it should not be forgotten that perceptions are heavier than facts in the post-truth era and the Pakistani society is already a victim of this.
Ideally, the democratic process is the best revenge. For the first time, voters have now started questioning the former MNAs and MPAs over the work they failed to deliver during their tenures.
Let Pakistan experience more elections, because it is the only way we can develop and strengthen the system.
The writer is an academic. He tweets @muhd_hani
Published in Daily Times, July 6th 2018.