Daily Times

Pakistan remained in political turmoil during the last few weeks. There was huge uncertainty in the country as the opposition had moved a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister. The federal capital witnessed many developments and things were changing very rapidly. Earlier, the voting on the no-trust motion couldn’t be held as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly rejected the motion moved by the opposition. The Law Minister took the stance that the motion couldn’t be entertained as there is a ‘foreign conspiracy’ behind it. Soon after the rejection of the motion, Prime Minister opted for dissolving the National Assembly which was described as an attack on the parliament.

As the National Assembly was dissolved, the stock market crashed immediately due to the looming uncertainty. The whole saga was then moved to the Supreme Court of Pakistan where a larger bench was constituted by the Chief Justice. The apex court witnessed arguments from both sides and there was a huge political and constitutional crisis in the country for a week. There was a severe bloodbath seen in the stock market during all these days. The price of the dollar reached the highest level due to the uncertainty in the market. It was natural keeping in view the already fragile economy of Pakistan that cannot face such kind of situation. When there is uncertainty, it becomes really hard for traders to invest and its effect also transfers to a common man who has nothing to do with the politics. The confidence of investors was restored soon after the judgment of the Supreme Court was issued. The apex court restored the National Assembly by nullifying the ruling of the Deputy Speaker and we saw that it was a respite for the stock market. The rupee gained some strength against the dollar and it was also a sign of relief for the foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

The people of this country have a strong belief in the Pakistan Army.

Apart from National Assembly, there was also a constitutional crisis emerged in Punjab-the largest province of the country. After the resignation of the Chief Minister, the Punjab Assembly was supposed to elect its new leader of the House but the voting couldn’t be held due to the political chaos in the province. The Speaker said that there was a ruckus in the House as MPAs scuffled with each other while damaging the property of the Punjab Assembly. On the other hand, the opposition claimed that the government doesn’t have the required numbers in the House to elect CM Punjab and therefore it was using delaying tactics. Another drama started when Deputy Speaker summoned the session but he was ‘punished’ by his party when a no-confidence motion was submitted against him by his colleagues. The opposition held its own ‘mock’ session at a local hotel in Lahore where they elected their own ‘CM’ as they said that their MPAs were denied entry into Punjab Assembly. The opposition accused the Speaker of this ugly episode and submitted a no-trust motion against him. Now, once again, the crisis of Punjab will be resolved by the courts as the opposition moved a petition in Lahore High Court appealing the early calling of the assembly session. Such kind of mockery of the constitution and rule of law is impossible in developed countries. Just think for a minute that what will be its effects on a child who is watching all this drama on his TV screen while sitting with his father.

The last few weeks have badly exposed the political elite of the country. The loyalties of MNAs and MPAs were being sold and bought openly. There was a circus going on in the country just to reach the power corridors at any cost. Our politicians were openly involved in the horse-trading while slapping the democratic norms and values. Sindh House remained the hub of all such activities, according to the Prime Minister. The enemies of yesterday were seen becoming friends of today and the list is long.

In all this fight, our politicians forget that Pakistan is facing severe challenges both on the internal and external fronts. Our enemies always look for such a situation to exploit it and we saw that a missile was fired at Pakistan by India. Salute to our brave forces that foiled the nefarious design of the enemy.

Amid this entire political circus, the people of Pakistan once again started looking toward the army because they think that only this strong institution is loyal to the country. The people of this country have a strong belief in the Pakistan Army because history has witnessed that the army was the ultimate saviour whenever there is a difficult time in Pakistan. The army respects the wishes of its people but it is the policy of the institution not to get involved in politics and everyone has seen the neutrality maintained by the Pakistan Army in this whole episode.

It is the need of the hour that the politicians should set aside their differences and egos for the larger interest of the country. Everyone must play his role for the betterment of the country that belongs to us. Pakistan needs immediate stability and it will be good for everyone living here.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.