Daily Times

Going by the words of Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has had its last laugh on offshore accounts. The question of accountability seems to be deferred to the elections in 2018, not too far. Though courts are relevant in regard to making governments accountable for their deeds, more rests with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to deliver keen leadership in the pre-2018 scenario.

In the presence of the Protection of Economic Reforms Act, and the laxity of the Federal Bureau of Revenue to hunt down tax evaders, and corruption of the well-off who also have stakes in politics, can be nothing more than a national dilemma. You may call it the bad luck of a country — with teeming millions deprived of clean drinking water and quality food — that tax evaders have power over the national exchequer. See through the blame game but no legislative work, and the melodrama exposes itself in details. Vested interests controlling political parties intend to lead the nation towards general elections in a state of confusion.

General elections 2018 are really something to worry about, for the same seem to be contested by political parties around the question of corruption. Of course, mudslinging and abusive language do not depict a positive scenario. Vested interests would likely result in the emergence of a hung parliament, and the elected would still be more tied to the agenda of anti-people forces. Why do we expect only worse in the name of democracy?

The very mindset that links corruption with militancy is not necessarily oblivious to the strategic importance of democracy for a state in a global age. Had it not been the case, the ‘benign’ dictatorship would not have to be prematurely ended. See, how the axe of reforms have only fallen on the already marginalised sections of society? Why does the enhanced GDP growth rate ends up in concentration of wealth in a few hands? Where is accountability of institutions on the principles of fairness? How have regulators been rendered ineffective despite their autonomous existence? What has democratic regimes done in regard to taking benefits of democracy to the grassroots level?

What one sees is only moral degeneration of society as the country fares through the global age. National integrity is in peril. If someone was not aware of the dangers involved in ‘unlimited’ provincial autonomy, the recent encounter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with the PTI has just revealed the fact that Pakistan has simply been transformed into an ‘ethnic’ federation. Go by the logic of the stalwarts of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), they would simply term devolution and accountability as provincial subjects.

What about law and order? If the PPP could adjust with the aspirations of the urban Sindh, it would not have let the federation bear the cost of bloodshed in the port city for more than half a decade. If Balochistan, despite its enhanced share in federal divisible pool, can’t remove the causes of rebellion in its subjects, the federation has to move ahead. Why, to simply put it, is the ‘anti-state’ narrative still alive outside Punjab? That the ethno-nationalists led by the PPP were given all what they had been agitating for through the Constitutional Reforms (2010) but the outcome is a more chaotic attitude towards peace and stability, it simply means that patients have been given medicine without diagnosing the disease afflicting them.

How can wolves be entrusted with the task to guard lambs? Why is there devolution without any commitment to take the process to the grassroots level? Why are the nerves of the taxpayers strained without understanding the developmental needs of the people through a census? How do governments dare to burden the people with indirect taxes but evade the question of accountability? Finally, why is there noise about offshore assets but no heed is being paid to the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010?

The vested interests, rest assured, understand political dynamics more aptly than the so-called ‘third force’ does. Political parties are their real targets in the democratic age. Their game starts with intra-party elections and end up in stalling the process of legislation. Rest is left with the constitution; it is more concerned with guarding ‘ideological’ boundaries rather than human dignity.

If democracy loses sight of human dignity, you should only think of the ‘mafia’ rule. Don’t expect ‘justice’; it is only the balance of power that works. Of course, in such a situation, the court needs Terms of Reference (ToRs) determined by the conflicting parties. What about the high profile cases pending with National Accountability Bureau since its inception?

Forget about corruption, and focus on the upcoming general elections. Pakistan, if it has to move forward, only needs a clean leadership to steer the state in the right direction. The road to this end starts with accountability of political parties. Their will to serve the electorate has been paralysed due to the domineering influence of vested interests over their decision-making structures. Political agenda needs to be ‘secularised’, and the discourse needs to be focused on real issues. Whether they count on their position on devolution and accountability or stir the ethno-religious sentiments of the people to grab votes, it will have a great bearing on peace and prosperity of the post-2018 Pakistan.

The ECP is more relevant to the integrity of Pakistan than any other institution of the state at the time the general elections draw near. The ECP does not only have the authority to scrutinise candidates for their personal integrity but it must also ensure that only legitimate leadership steers the political parties through elections. Most importantly, the ECP has to guide the voters to make the ‘right choice’ by preventing political parties from selling dreams and illusions. The ECP does not only have to stay autonomous and fair in its working, but also be efficient to undertake its duty to deliver an elected and accountable government.

The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist and an independent researcher. He can be reached on Twitter @riazmissen