Whatever we saw in Lahore on December 15 was really worrisome not only for the inhabitants of the city but also for the whole country. Burning tyres, road blockades, beating rickshaw drivers and hooliganism were all witnessed on the streets of the city but these actions did not do any good to the cause of our politicians, especially the ones who were protesting. Many citizens lost their temper, leading to many disputes between the political workers and the public. Attacks on media workers, especially women, were despicable as many workers did not even listen to their party leaders. Asking traders to shut down their shops and intimidating them can never be appreciated; this was contrary to earlier announcements made by PTI leaders of advising traders to adopt whatever action they deemed fit about opening or shutting down their premises. However, that was not the case. What was serious, however, were the deaths of a number of people trying to reach hospitals in designated ambulances but not being able to because roads were blocked.
Lack of tolerance to bear criticism has now, unfortunately, become the established norm as we see heated discussions on almost all television talk shows that just end without any conclusion. The strike in Faisalabad and then in Karachi strongly dented the country’s fragile economy as investor confidence was shattered, reflected by the fall of the stock exchange index. In a recent report by UK newspaper The Guardian, it has been mentioned that the investment climate has been overshadowed due to political unrest and protest going on in the country. This is something the protesting parties should also realise: whatever is being done is tantamount to undermining the national interest. Giving the justification that shutting down Karachi may cost us billions of rupees but if new Pakistan is made, we will make trillions to compensate this loss is perhaps not acceptable to any sane Pakistani. Shutting Karachi down for one day costs the economy billions of rupees besides causing severe discomfort to all and sundry.
Shutting the three industrial cities has caused huge financial losses to this poor nation. Is burning tyres across the main highways, placing blocks on the roads and forcing people to go back home to stay away from their work regarded as a ‘voluntary’ shutdown? How will a foreign investor be lured to a country where one strike call or series of protests can create uncertainty and halt the whole system? Of course he will look in our immediate neighbourhood where there is no foul play in politics, where there is strong economic growth, low inflation, political stability and no terrorism, and so we naturally lose our competitive edge. Due to such an aggressive posture nobody is willing to mediate to rescue the system. Some analysts are of the view that the superior judiciary might opt to stay away from the ongoing crisis by possibly declining to form the judicial commission; what will happen to its prestige and credibility if some political stakeholders do not accept its findings and resort to blaming this honourable institution for being biased as indicated by them in recent speeches. It will be quite easy for them to pass unscrupulous remarks; this might dent the credibility of the highest court and weaken the overall socio-economic foundation of the country. If that happens, it would be the worst possible scenario in this current impasse.
The recent verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) states that it is not the responsibility of the apex court to investigate election rigging. It will therefore be better to keep the highest court away from this conflict. Honourable judges of the superior judiciary might be cognizant of this fact, which may be why there has been no response from them after the government’s plea to form a judicial commission, which is understandable. The proposal to include intelligence agencies as an integral part of this commission will also weaken its independence. The inclusion of any intelligence agencies should be left to the prerogative of any such commission as it may opt to take the help of any agency, whenever it deems fit. It would be more appropriate to form an independent commission comprising of retired judges, retired bureaucrats and a technocrat of impeccable record. All the political parties and stakeholders must sign in writing that they will accept its findings in letter and spirit. This will not only protect the superior judiciary from any possible mudslinging but will also pave the way for an amicable solution of the present deadlock, which is more harmful to the state than the government. Since the government has renewed its desire to start a dialogue, it is imperative for both parties to show sincerity in these talks without trying to bargain on each other’s position of relative strength or weakness. It is therefore requested to postpone the strike call to shut the whole country as it is proving to be counterproductive and is leading towards destruction, something we cannot afford at all. The country cannot be jolted once again on the back of these gimmicks.
The writer is a senior educationist, author and freelance columnist. He may be contacted at [email protected]