Some political pundits have called the latest development as the “Shahbaz Sharif doctrine” which is soft to the establishment getting relief and is waiting patiently for a political role till the complete deterioration of socio-politico-economic conditions leaving the PTI government paralyzed.
Federal Interior Minister Ijaz Shah is on the record having said that if Maryum Nawaz falls ill, she can go abroad for treatment. This speaks volumes about the soft corner in the system. Though Maryum Nawaz does not have any health issues right now, she has been told to leave the country in case of ailment on humanitarian grounds. It implies that Maryum Nawaz would be allowed to go abroad on the one the pretext or the other.
Federal Minister Faisal Vawda in a recent TV talk show said that one day she would be leaving on the wings of the humanitarian card. The ultra-active Maryum Nawaz’s silence speaks volumes.
This implies that the government either gave the NRO to the Sharif family or was too powerless to resist those pulling the strings. It is likely that the system would be packed in the wake of verdicts from petitions praying relief like bail and removal of the names from the Exit Control List on the humanitarian grounds by some of the political bigwigs of the opposition. The system will have to deal with such cases on humanitarian lens invoked in the case of Nawaz Sharif. Thus, the opposition politicians facing cases would be out of prisons; some will go abroad for their desired treatment. The government has already been directionless and will be in more crises in the coming days as the present government’s whole narrative revolves around so-called one-sided accountability and political witch-hunting of the opposition.
Security and foreign policies of the state have never been in the domain of the civilian governments with exception to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s tenure. The PTI-led government’s economic policies put in place by the blue-eyed boys of International Monitory Fund, have miserably failed. There seems no sign of economic recovery in the near future and no immediate relief is expected from IMF dictated policies for the poverty-stricken in foreseeable future. Some macroeconomic gains made so far, their sustainability depends on the political stability in the country. Political cohesion is not in the making due to the politics of vendetta and politically-motivated accountability, hence prosperity promised by the PTI during its electioneering will remain a pipedream.
The constitution of a committee comprising ministers for effectively presenting a government narrative speaks volumes about the regime’s inefficiency. Will effective feeding of a government narrative bring an end to economic starvation the majority in the country? The government’s primary duty is ensuring public service delivery. Actions speak louder than words. The Prime Minister is devoting his energies to unnecessary exercises. It makes the impression that the executive is so misleading to the masses. The PM has publicly said that the cabinet was unwilling to let Nawaz Sharif go abroad; he moved by mercy, decided otherwise. On the contrary, a majority of ministers have reportedly given the nod for the ailing former premier’s departure from country on the humanitarian grounds.
Actions speak louder than words. The Prime Minister is devoting his energies to unnecessary exercises
The other day after having heaped insults on the opposition politicians in his Hazara Motorways inaugural speech, the PM appealed to CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and the senior-most judge, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, to get the system freed – a veiled reference to the discriminatory laws, the one for the powerful, the other for the common man.The chief justice of Pakistan has justifiably responded that it was the PM and the cabinet that facilitated the convicted prisoner in question by removing his name off the ECL while the Lahore High Court only fixed modalities. The CJP thus brushed aside the impression that it was the judiciary that allowed Nawaz Sharif.
Principally, making legislation and ensuring good governance and rule of law is the primary responsibility of the treasury benches. The parliament is dysfunctional with parliamentary sessions ending up in mutual recrimination and petty politics of point-scoring. It is very unfortunate that the affairs of the state are being managed by a ‘factory of ordinances” thanks to political arrogance as well as political polarization presided over by the premiership. The country can only be run with well-placed priorities. The PTI government rests on a shaky coalition. The coalition partners like PMLQ, GDA and MQM have conveyed their concerns in no uncertain terms.
The GDA blamed the government to have neglected the Sindh province thus lending support to the charges made against PTI led government by the PPP provincial government . The MQM has vented their frustrations over unfulfilled promises such as the Karachi package. Chaudhry Shujaat has even warned that if the situation did not change, no one would be willing to become PM in a period of the next six t months because of the looming political crises and ill-advised economic policies. Chaudry Shujaat is known for his deep connection, and is close to the establishment; he has conveyed the message in a meaningful manner. This calls for urgent steps to be undertaken while working with all political forces in order to carve out common strategies needed to run the country.
Pakistan can’t afford such selective consideration of humanitarian grounds. It has generated unimaginable frustration in the masses about double standards in the system on the basis of material status. The country needs a new social contract – inclusive, democratic and fair – containing humanitarian considerations for all and sundry.
The writer is an Educationist and a freelance contributor