Daily Times

The right to rule has become the might to rule. Position, status and money all give a heady mindset to their owners, with the result that any regard of rules and laws become a sign of weakness and stupidity. The country is going through its first full term of democracy after a long time and the declaration that all changes in bills and ordinances is for the preservation of democracy seems dubious given the contrary behaviour of most of our leaders. While the president has unabashedly maneouvred every person, situation and bill to sustain and suit his objectives, the chief minister of Punjab has ensured that the tradition of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to bless and promote family members is not compromised. This is nothing new as traditionally anybody gaining a position uses all means fair and foul to cement it.

The verdict in the Asghar Khan case is a sad reminder that things have not changed much in two decades. The then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan acted very similar to what some accuse President Zardari of. He liked certain people and disliked others, wanting those he liked to hold important positions regardless of merit or competence. Thus, he made sure that using money and power, he could rig the elections in favour of those who would be more subservient to his call. He created the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and made sure that Nawaz Sharif would win by using like-minded people in the military and other institutions. The decision of the case is significant in many ways. It proves what we fear most of the time that elections in Pakistan are not the true reflections of people’s choices; that the military has always played an intrusive and uncalled for role in Pakistani politics; that most high ups whether from the military or from politics have a sales price. That this decision took such a long time to come is also a sad reflection of our justice system as many of the accused are no longer alive. In the background of this context, it is hardly surprising that politics today is a reflection of politics yesterday. President Zardari perhaps recognises this fact and is thus busy making coalitions in exchange for unstinting support for all bills and ordinances that may or may not fall under the norm of ethics.

The two main parties in parliament are now finding it difficult to brand each other as failures. While the PML-N accuses the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of highhandedness, it fails to protect itself from the counter-attacks of the PPP due to its own acts of arrogance. The bakery incident involving the chief minister’s daughter and son-in-law may be small in scale but large in implication. The fact that the video went viral; was shown multiple times on various channels; was still ignored for ten days by the CM and action was only taken when it became politically damaging, which is a typical sign of position and power submerging guilt and conscience. The incident was reflective of the behaviour of a politically powerful family that the daughter of a chief minister on not finding a cake of her choice decided that those who dared refuse to serve her would be taken to task by her husband and the ELITE force. Aside from the behaviour, the misuse of taxpayers’ money was on display too as the ELITE force had been deployed for the family members’ protection instead of the public. When the incident turned nasty, the CM, like many of his other token gestures, valiantly offered his son-in-law to police custody, claiming that nobody was above the law, only to get bail and a release order the next day as the complainant did not appear. That the complainant dare not appear and has literally gone into hiding out of fear is another story. His business may close down for daring to provide the video to media and this is a fact that will not be visible even after two decades as there are not many Asghar Khans alive who keep on fighting endlessly for the truth and nothing but the truth.

With the election approaching, political parties are definitely trying all they can to ensure their share in the next elections. For the PPP, it is a clear line. With their popularity at the lowest ebb, they need support and thus they have turned to their faithful allies the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid (PML-Q). With the MQM, PPP is trying to monopolise the Sindh territory by introducing the local body system through the controversial ordinance they passed recently, much to the angst of the Awami National Party and other parties. With the PML-Q, PPP has openly declared that it is looking for an alliance that will ensure their presence in Punjab and other areas. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has announced the rejuvenation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal without the Jamaat-e-Islami, while the PML-N is busy trying to talk to parties in Sindh and Balochistan to get out of the tag of being just a one-province party.

All parties demand fair and free elections but going by the public mood and recent surveys, the ruling government may not be able to afford a fair and free election. Thus, the scenario for the coming few months becomes interesting. The military, wary of its reputation, have put the onus on parliament to decide whether to carry out a military operation in North Waziristan or not. The opposition has voted against it, fearing that a military operation may engender a delay in elections. The stage is set for all established and new parties to start playing their trump cards. Traditionally, the trump cards have been power politics, especially in the rural areas, army backing and, of course, American support. However, with the army taking a back seat; the Americans — despite having full government support — not too happy with their inability to control the anti-US sentiments; and most importantly, media and the public being very vocal against the failure of governance, traditional tactics may not be enough.

For both new and old parties this is a testing time. The temptation to go by the tested and tried methods is always alluring but there is enough room and demand for the non-traditional to break the stalemate of years. Breaking and bending the laws has been the traditional strategy. Thus, going by the law may be the change that is needed to create new history in this country.

The writer is a leadership coach, columnist and a former information secretary of the PTI Punjab and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com