Wars in the world have been based on ideological differences, religious differences, desire for global and regional outreach [aggressive foreign policy], race, inequality of distribution of energy resources and so on. Pakistan is an exception. Pakistan is at war from within. The ‘gods’ in Pakistan suffering from a sense of entitlement, the desire to overpower other ‘gods’ have led Pakistan to disaster. Those suffering are the common man. The economy of Pakistan. The very social fabric of the society.
There is no black and white. Everyone having ruled the country has become greedy to stay in power, irrespective of the negative cascading effect on the country itself. Decisions are made for more self-promotion than the needs of the country. Populist politics has not delivered. To elucidate, populist politics promotes the concept of political positioning of “the people” as opposed to favoring the establishment. Though populism and democracy both subscribe to supporting peoples’ power, in case of Pakistan, it has largely been used to fool people to get a party in power. Once in power they have not delivered. Franklin Dilano Roosevelt as well as Hitler are labelled as populist leaders. Roosevelt supported for freedom to ‘everyone in the world’ via his famous Four Freedom speech in 1941. Hitler on the other hand supported racial hegemony through racist nationalism.
In Pakistan, over time, political parties have lost their ideological base. It’s a game of thrones. Members of one party jump ship to join another like rats once the ship is sinking. They are welcomed if they are seen as ‘winnables’ in elections. The result is the ‘elite’ becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. This is not democracy. This is not what people vote for. According to Forbes (4/09/2013) “Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.”
Funds spent on RBT Karachi [ Rs77.597 billion], and Orange Line Metro Lahore [$1.6bn] could have been better utilized at the making of a small dam. The issue is lack of strategic foresight to evaluate the needs of the country.
The same applies to education facilities offered in the country. No one tries to analyze the skill set required in years to come. We keep on churning out degrees where fields are already saturated, leading to lack of jobs and no skilled people where certain given skills are needed.
Another example is the appointment of a COAS. A friend wrote, “The politicos, in particular the Brothers Sharif, Zardari and now IK too are under the illusion that appointing a COAS is akin to appointing an SHO at a local police station! They have apparently yet not realized that A COAS makes it by and large on his own steam because there is not much difference amongst the top runners.” To politicalize the appointment before it’s made can certainly not favor Pakistan.
Pakistan unfortunately is at the mercy of these ‘gods’ who fight for power. Pakistan has come to a point where it can no longer afford these shenanigans by the ‘gods’ that rule and/or are dying to rule. Cumulatively, all responsible have made Pakistan into an ungovernable country. They fight and fight. Never for good of the country. Those in power to stay in power. Those out of power to oust those in power.
Are we [God forbid] looking towards a bloody revolution? NOTA (None of the Above Available) is another step. It is in line with democratic norms, giving the right to the common man to determine whether or not he should vote for any of the options on the ballot paper or reject all options available for political parties to put up alternate candidates. If 50% or above sign on NOTA on ballot paper the candidate foregoes the right to contest for next 10 years. J. Venkatesan in his article states, “In the existing electoral system, a dissatisfied voter does not turn up for voting and this provides an opportunity for unscrupulous elements to impersonate him/her. But if the option of ‘none of the above’ candidates is provided, even reluctant voters could turn up at the booth and press the NOTA button in the electronic voting machine, the Supreme Court said.”
(The Hindu September 28, 2013) NOTA can only succeed with democracy within the party cadres. Elections. Robert McFarlane, advisor to Reagan described Pakistan as a democracy akin to “a feudal cabal.” (Page 304, Magnificent Delusions: Husain Haqqani) Parties like PTI may not be headed by a feudal but has fallen in the same trap as the other parties. The greed of our Pakistani ‘gods’ is so fierce, their teeth digging into Pakistan’s nerves and arteries at such a rapid state, that Pakistan’s efforts to claw its way out of the ditch it has been thrown in, seems pathetically difficult.
The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: [email protected] and tweets at @yasmeen_9.