“Politics isn’t about big money or power games; It’s about the improvement of people’s lives.”
As time goes on, one would expect political narratives to progress and become more improved. In Pakistan however, the situation has always been the other way round; a regression of such enormity that it will be difficult to find a way back. The so-called leaders who have been given responsibility for our nation’s future have created a circus instead of working primarily for the benefit of the nation to advance their interests and line their own pockets while putting the nation’s future at risk.
The past few months in Pakistan have been particularly unstable, even by the country’s extremely unstable political standards. Imran Khan was removed from office by a vote of no-confidence on April 11, 2022. Currently, there is a political and economic crisis in the country. While the former prime minister is spearheading rallies across the nation, criticizing the government’s legitimacy and urging new elections, Shahbaz Sharif’s new government has been in a state of decision paralysis and is struggling to find its footing, and blaming the previous government for the chaos.
Shahbaz Sharif’s new government has been in a state of decision paralysis and is struggling to find its footing.
Crucial to the current issue is understanding how Khan’s government failed. Although Khan was Pakistan’s first prime minister to be removed by a no-confidence vote, he shared with each of his predecessors the failure to serve for the full five years of the parliamentary election term. Since Khan took office, Pakistan’s major opposition parties have been pushing for his resignation, referring to him as “chosen” by the military rather than “elected.” In the fall of 2020, they created an alliance called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) with that goal in mind. 11 political groups have joined forces to form (PDM), which opposed Imran Khan’s administration. It is noteworthy that the campaign has united PPP and PML, two significant but adversarial political parties in Pakistan. As the PTI had partnered with the Pakistan Awami Tehrik of Allama Tahirul Qadri and the Awami Muslim League of Sheikh Rasheed for holding a sit-in in Islamabad during their time in opposition, the PDM opponents feel that the PTI lacks the moral authority to criticize them. Political partnerships are acceptable as long as the democratic process is not thwarted, according to Pakistan’s political history. By establishing ground rules for the political game and giving each other room to operate for the sake of democracy, the political forces must draw lessons from the past. The opposition gained ground this spring. On the surface, the opposition attributed Khan’s failings in leadership and the economy.
The bottom line is brought up by this. Underneath the fierce ongoing political tug of war, the basics of the system in Pakistan remain the same. The question is whether the current government was aware of the country’s situation; if so, why blame others when the main objective should have been to improve the current situation rather than competing for power or blaming each other? The future of the country, the lives of our people, and those who are suffering in the chaos matter, not the current circus or the political success.
An unstable economy with growing inflation has resulted from Pakistan’s protracted political instability. It is alarming to see the Pakistani rupee in free collapse. Major political party leaders are battling it out over politics rather than the welfare of the country. The country appears to have no government, and our economists aren’t making the necessary corrections to the economy. The government must put the economy first and ignore political squabbles. I’ll suggest Imran Khan stay put for a while at least until this turmoil reaches a saturation point. In the end, Pakistan’s rising political unrest amounts to a ruthless power struggle. The result has been a political tinderbox across the nation. And throughout it all, neither side shows any consideration for the continued suffering of common Pakistanis, who continue to bear the brunt of the nation’s protracted political unrest.
The writer is a BNU graduate and currently administers BelipurMedia house. She can be reached at [email protected].