Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, during a rally to commemorate his mother Benazir Bhutto’s eighth death anniversary, expressed anger at the National Action Plan (NAP) being disfigured by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), where rather than targeting terrorism it was being used to undermine the authority of provinces and victimise political opponents. Until two years ago, before the Sindh government provided the Rangers with the mandate to initiate the Karachi operation under NAP, the city had been beseiged by violence, where apart from banned terrorist organisations, local mafias and the armed wings of political parties had formed impenetrable and deeply entrenched networks. As a result, target killing, kidnapping, extortion and other crimes had become the norm. The Rangers’ campaign evidently brought results, vastly improving the law and order situation, and while the citizens breathed a sigh of relief, it is nevertheless important to remember that despite who the Rangers derive their mandate from, they are backed by the provincial apex committees. Hence it is not imprudent to assume their agendas might go beyond what the civil government asserts, from terrorism to the political terrain of corruption. This conflict of interest surfaced when, since Asif Ali Zardari had secured himself in Dubai away from the reach of the authorities, the Rangers directed their efforts towards knocking out his crutches, and consequently seized Dr Asim Hussain. The fissure that this has caused between the two leading political parties has threatened their amity, which traces its roots back to the Charter of Democracy (CoD). Bilawal too in his address hinted at a possible reversion to the politics of revenge predating the CoD. It would be wise to recall that in our history, political rifts have recurrently paved the way for intervention by the third force. It is because of the spirit of reconciliation embodied in the CoD that the first peaceful transition of power between two democratic governments took place for the first time in Pakistan.

However, now midway through the incumbent government’s term, certain troubling developments are evident. If, as Bilawal claims, this is a conspiracy against political opponents, what is clear is that the glaring inefficiency of the civilian government in demonstrating good governance and solving critical issues has cleared space for the military to come forward as national saviours and assert their dominance, while the government appears to be conceding ground. Initially the influence could be observed in foreign and defence policy, now it can be glimpsed in the establishment-driven Rangers campaign. The problem here is that if the Rangers continue to infringe on provincial autonomy and go beyond their mandate by expanding their scope of operations to corruption, the bone of contention, the hugely important and challenging anti-terrorism operation that is actually their responsibility will bec jeopardised. We need to consider what our impatience with the pace of the democratic project often drives us to: excessive dependence on one institution, which the past shows is hardly the answer. Instead, we need to strengthen other federal institutions such as NAB and the FIA that are responsible for thwarting activities like corruption and terrorism facilitation. Moreover, the political parties need to discard the ongoing war of words on the media, since not only does it spoil the political climate, it also further entangles the issues. There is no substitute to adopting political dialogue to resolve matters. In the PPP Central Executive Committee’s meeting, a logical point was raised where senior members protested what increasingly appears like the entire party is being put at risk for one man, not even formally a member of the party, and debated that he be left to answer whatever charges he faces as an individual. This reflects the PPP’s cognizance that being unseated once again on corruption charges is a real threat, considering two PPP governments in the past have met this fate. In addition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made the right move to meet Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. The anti-terrorism operation is backed by both federal and Sindh governments, but to ensure its success there is an immediate need to limit the Rangers’ agenda to its original parameters, before the Centre-Sindh conflict endangers the entire democratic system. *