Pakistan is witnessing the making of strange bedfellows. The ‘qatils’ of yesterdays are turning pals and playmates while old associates are being consigned to the bins. Though clever strictly in the Machiavellian sense, do the heartless shenanigans make for a recipe for the large palette of woes the country suffers from?
As one has often written, contemporary parliamentary politics in Pakistan have degenerated to symbolise advancement of personal interests and building of criminal mafias. It may not be a requirement of the system in its quintessential form, but it is being pursued as a preferred occupation by a large group of people who have landed in the arena to consciously use their political clout as a means to advancing their personal interests. Principles, values, commitments or such other ingredients that were considered inherent to the making of a service-oriented politician have lost their relevance. Instead, we have a heterogeneous bunch of blood-suckers masquerading as politicians who have been groomed in the exclusive environs of protecting and promoting their petty little fiefdoms to the detriment of the concept of service to the country and its people. The crisis is that if, by any chance, an individual actually does make an effort to pursue some principles in his politics, he is the one who is exorcised from the comity of politicians as an undesirable presence because he does not fit the bill of rank selfishness which is accepted as a standard yardstick for becoming a member of the community.
While there were never any two opinions regarding the person of the president and the kind of politics that he would be preaching, though Mr Sharif may have thought otherwise for a while much to his angst, it is the conduct of others that should be put under the microscope. After the last elections, PML(Q) was the party that many were eager to write an obituary for. From being the ruling party under the former dictator and nurturing the prospect of dominating the country for the foreseeable future, it was reduced to a mere presence with critics giving it little more than a few months to completely disintegrate. That did not happen not because it was not possible, but because its leadership was able to successfully exploit the contradictions and the absence of thoughtful initiatives within the folds of other political parties and partnerships to its advantage. In the process, it had the support of the ruling party, clandestinely in the beginning, but openly of late. Its main adversary, the PML(N), smitten by the bloated egos of its leadership and the rank bad governance in its citadel, the Punjab, quickly lost its high moral ground that could have been effectively turned into a major winning factor in any future electoral battle. The fact that it has been effectively reduced to being a pedestrian is owed to an absence of genuine consultative process within the party. The vertical hierarchy that the party promotes vigorously with orders flowing from the top down with little to no horizontal base for intellectual engagement is the principal factor that has rendered the party to becoming an untenable monolith that would ultimately crumble under its own weight.
The feigned slugging match between the PPP and PML(N) may have continued for a while longer, but two important incidents disturbed the apple cart: first, the restiveness of the MQM that started having visions of being a national party, and second, the unearthing of a financial scam involving Moonis Elahi – the top luminary of the PML(Q) and its heir-apparent. While the first made the PPP vulnerable to pressure particularly because of the coming budget, the second made PML(Q) desperate for relief. Thereafter, it was only a matter of time before the leaderships of the two outfits would sign on the dotted line for the commencement of a liaison designed to saving the respective party hierarchies from being pushed out of political contention. Understandably, that has happened and, barring the tricks of fate, it is all but sealed: PPP would enter into a ruling alliance with PML(Q) with a promise of over twelve ministries and some other dole-outs and an understanding that the president would use office to grant reprieve to Moonis Elahi if he were ultimately convicted for his involvement in the mega financial scandal.
PML(N), having played its own crude one on PML-Q by luring its dissidents in the provincial assembly away (there is yet another break-away faction of PML(Q) including numerous prime ministers in the waiting!), would now be fighting for its own survival in Punjab. With a chief minister given to micro-managing the affairs of the province with incidents of corruption plaguing its operation, the party has all but lost its after-election relevance and élan. It is now tottering on a par with all other corrupt political outfits including the PPP and PML(Q) that are geared to forming a coalition at the centre with guns pointed in the direction of Punjab. Whether PML(N) is able to persevere in the coming days, or crumble under the weight of its gross mismanagement and corruption will not take years to unmask. It would be a sorry commentary on opportunities that the party had in abundance, but squandered them through myopic, ill-advised and inappropriate initiatives.
There is one glitch though to the emerging scenario. There are vociferous dissenting voices within the PML(Q) fold that are opposing the prospective coalition with the PPP. In the event the Chaudhrys remain steadfast in their endeavour to save their shaky leadership and the heir-apparent, as indeed they are expected to, would those opposed to the deal stick it out with the party, or would they decide to chalk out their independent course? There are two expectant laps to devour the prey: one the party of the many prime ministers in waiting and the other PML(N). There is little to choose between the two as both are either the products of dictatorship or its fossilised remnants. What an incredibly sorry spectacle!
The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
