Daily Times

On Wednesday, May 25, Pakistan will be suffering from another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) march on the federal capital. The ousted Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, the PTI chief who is the victim of no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, has asked his supporters to march toward the federal parliament to force the present government to dissolve the National Assembly and announce fresh elections. Terming the no-confidence motion a conspiracy of the US hatched against him, he announced collective resignations of his party parliamentarians from the National Assembly after the success of the motion on April 9 this year. But, shamelessly, they all received their salaries and other monetary benefits from the National Assembly.

Khan has been behaving like a crazy street boy for more than two and a half decades in Pakistan’s politics. The military establishment did another experiment in Pakistan’s political landscape with him by making him win the 2018 elections. The worst ever decision of the might in Pakistan’s political history. The establishment paid a heavy price of its honour, respect and international repute. The man having ultimate lust and greed for the PM chair is still being considered a blue-eyed boy of the establishment. Khan’s abusive language could not hurt the hierarchy in the establishment as presumed by the intelligentsia and his opposition parties. Very strange.

Pakistan needs to improve its security situation while balancing out its geopolitical positioning.

Seemingly, the entire drama of the no-confidence motion was created to save his face against his complete failure to deliver. Extreme inflation, steep fall in the forex market, increased trade deficit, flawed foreign policy, and strategic bloopers were unrepairable dent to his political career. But, meanwhile, the no-confidence motion popped up, a self-created trench for the overjoyed united opposition. Being the leading party in the opposition and now enjoying the premiership, the Pakistan Muslim League-N will suffer more politically. It will too be not able to take bold and strict measures to confront the lame governance, peaked inflation, economic crisis and strategic failures. Giving more political room to the establishment’s blue eyed boy in the next elections.

The present political turmoil is enhancing the extreme polarization to zombiac socio-political confrontation in the society. Social media platforms and public places have very clear signs of hatred and intolerance.

The political climate is on red alert along with the historic economic crunch. The country is at the verge of collapse due to all accumulated domestic and international geopolitical blunders. All political stakeholders and state institutions are guilty of this chaos, crisis and clash of vested interests. National interest seems absolutely compromised. Sanity shall prevail to consolidate real-time solutions to combat internal and external threats ranging from geopolitical to national leadership crisis, socioeconomic failures and nontraditional security challenges.

The controversial figureheads in the political arena shall take a break from all the lousy actions and reactions. The state institutions need to break their silence for a while and invite all the political stakeholders for a consensus on tolerance and rationality while pursuing their political objectives. A national economic revival commission shall be formed. The commission shall have indigenous, noncontroversial and nonpolitical technocrats. It should be formed under the impartial guidance of the State Bank of Pakistan with the support of the state institutions through a consultative process. Let the politicians sit together to work sanely, and mitigate the emerging threats in and around the region.

Instead of marching on the roads and sitting in front of the parliament, the large political parties shall act sanely and resolve their conflicts and reservations in the parliament. It is essential to accept the moment of truth and face the critical moment rationally. Pakistan needs to improve its security situation while balancing out its geopolitical positioning. We cannot undermine the bilateral relations with one or more countries to have preferred relations with another one. Domestic solidarity and political consensus are very important for pitching ourselves in geopolitical scenarios.

Extreme climate threats are on our doorstep. We are fast losing our natural resources. By 2025, we will be experiencing severe water shortage. It will multiply the food insecurity. Energy crisis is looming large. Ukraine is under armed conflict with Russia, and has lost its crops. So, we will not be able to import staple crops or cereals from a warring country or even after the war.

Water storage shall be the top priority of the political stakeholders’ consensus. Politicians need to resolve all their conflicts within the parliament, not in the courts. Now, onwards, courts shall guide the politicians in general, and parliamentarians, in particular, to go back to parliament to resolve their conflicts. Perhaps, this way our politicians mature.

The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, and Director Devcom-Pakistan. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com and tweets @EmmayeSyed