The manner in which the two major political parties have been going for each other’s jugular in the build-up to the polls in AJK provides a true measure of the mindset of their leaderships and the attendant drum-beaters. On the one hand, the demeaning outbursts are reminiscent of the ugliness of the politics of the eighties and the nineties and, on the other hand, they are a live rehearsal of what one should expect getting closer to the elections.
The last couple of months provided ample opportunities to the political leaderships to display maturity in the face of adverse developments. The May 2 incident and the Mehran base attack had occurred in an environment preceded by a vicious international onslaught, spearheaded by the US, on the army and intelligence agencies of Pakistan who were being accused of either incompetence or collusion with the extremists. Instead of taking up the role of defending these state institutions, the political leaderships provided further venom to the vituperative tirade. For the PML(N) leadership, it was a case of settling old scores and for the PPP government, it offered an opportunity for provoking its principal political opponent’s ire against the army establishment. The fact that both lived up to their scripted billing is a reason for immense concern regarding their credentials.
The history of Pakistan is strewn with countless opportunities lost by the political elite to take charge through display of sensitivity to the needs of the state and its institutions. Unfortunately, they ended up working for the promotion of their personal interests in preference to the needs of the state and its people who remained mired in poverty and disenfranchisement. The promises of bringing relief to them never went beyond the pale of polemics as sequential governments remained engaged in filling up the coffers of their leaders and the state was denuded of its wealth and inherent potential.
This may create an impression that nothing really has altered, but a wave of change is gradually taking shape. The expression of discontent with the performance of the sitting governments, at the centre and in all the provinces, has grown sharply and there are indications that people are looking beyond the traditional leaderships in search of credible options. The recent PEW poll is a proof of this behavioural change. Within the limitations of all such evaluations, the prestigious poll provides strong indications of the loss of popularity of the leaderships currently represented in the parliament while there is an upsurge of acceptability of Imran Khan who, till recently, was considered an outsider in all political permutations. In the PEW poll findings, he is rated as the most popular leader of the country (68% ayes) ahead of Nawaz Sharif (down from 71% to 63%), PM Gilani (down from 59% to 37%) and President Zardari (down from 20% to a dismal 11%). What is equally important is that the allied results for Pakistan’s policy regarding the ‘war on terror’ and its relations with the US are in total conformity with Imran’s traditional stand: 69% want US and NATO troops out of the neighbouring Afghanistan while 62% oppose US anti-terrorism efforts. 92% people are dissatisfied with the country’s direction, 85% say the economic situation in the country is bad and 60% think it will get worse. Inflation (97%), crime (91%), lack of jobs (89%), terrorism (88%) and corrupt political leaders (79%) are considered to be the big problems that Pakistan faces.
It is to the last that I would like to revert. If change for the better is to be brought about, it has to begin with the replacement of the corrupt political leaders whichever side of the divide they may be on. If they stay, the attendant ailments would not only continue to plague Pakistan, but they would aggravate further with the passage of time. A tainted leader put atop an organisation functioning efficiently would corrupt it without any loss of time while an honest leader can transform even the most depraved of institutions by cleansing it.
Pakistan’s problems rest solely in its political elite. If Pakistan is to be saved and opportunities of progress provided to its people, it must immediately replace the leadership that is moulded in the traditional mindset. Having amassed wealth beyond ordinary reckoning, there are loud chants of ‘buying the next elections’ for posterity. This needs to be checked and the only way it can be done is to subject the political elite to an equitable and transparent accountability as a pre-requisite.
This is where the role of other state institutions also becomes important, in fact critical. That, inter alia, includes the judiciary and the army. While the judiciary has to curb its tendency to sit on critical judgements that it has since its restoration, the army, in spite of the setbacks that it has faced over the last couple of months, should be willing to play its constitutional role to ensure that the judicial injunctions are implemented. If that does not happen, the corrupt leaders would be mutually reconciled to taking their turns at looting this country and, ultimately, rendering it untenable.
The PEW poll is a whiff of fresh air. It is a testament against the incumbent political elite and an expression of discontent. We have to move on from here and translate this expression of discontent into a credible movement for change – a prospect that has, for too long, helped a nation survive, but failed to deliver the prescription for salvation. The ground swell may be there, but facilitating a mechanism for change is vested squarely in the willingness of the state institutions to play their constitutional role in responding to this yearning for better times.
The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
