Be warned: this could bring chaos
There were already rumours regarding the possibility of the postponement of the elections. With Tahir-ul-Qadri’s speech, these are going to gain strength. This despite every major party unanimous in one demand: the holding of elections on schedule. Qadri has issued the ultimatum that if his demands were not accepted by January 10, he would march on Islamabad at the head of four million people. The Minjah-ul-Quran leader knows that it is simply inconceivable to change the entire economic, social, political and electoral system in less than three weeks. Many think that if he was sincere he would have worked for the change after he got elected in 2002 instead of resigning from the National Assembly and leaving the country for newer, greener pastures.
Qadri knows that even the so-called constitutional requirements he wants to be enforced cannot be implemented within three weeks unless through military courts. It is easy to declare, as he has done, that the vast majority of the parliamentarians are corrupt and can neither be called upright nor honest. But collecting evidence against hundreds of legislators and getting them prosecuted could take years. So, quite plainly, what a determined and inspired Qadri in essence wants is an indefinite postponement of the elections.
Raising the question about the enormous funds at Qadri’s disposal to splurge on his Lahore rally is not enough. What should worry the political parties is that he was able to attract many more people at the rally than any of them have ever been able to. The parties have to ensure that the issues of governance, economic development and social justice that perturb the people’s minds are genuinely addressed within a reasonable time frame – irrespective of who comes to power. Unless the issue is at the centre of the electoral agenda, forces and individuals with all sorts of objectives and agendas would try to upset the applecart by acting like rabble-rousers.
In his address, the Minhaj-ul-Quran chief has made overtures to the Supreme Court and the military which would provide further grist to the rumour mills. He wants the Supreme Court and the Election Commission to enforce Articles 3, 9, 37, 38, 39, 40, 218 (clause-III), 62, 254 and others before holding the elections. The articles, according to Qadri, require holding the elections after ending all discriminations, efforts for buying votes, ensuring social justice to all, impartial and threat-free voting, ending corruption, discouraging sale of party tickets and banning the entry of corrupt politicians and tax defaulters into the corridors of power. He wants a body to introduce electoral reforms and hold elections with representatives from the judiciary and military sitting with other stakeholders. While the political parties need to mind their store more diligently, improving massively on the delivery part of the bargain, the establishment has to realise that any encouragement to attempts of the sort to upset the system can only lead to chaos to the detriment of the country in whose name it is being manufactured.
Well said. This joker who has appeared from the blue after nearly a decade, is definitely pushing some one's agenda to create chaos. Hope Messers. Zardari, Nawaz Sharif & Imran Khan can not only see through his game but effectively counter him and send him back from where he has come.
Dear brother! You are saying all that without any arguments. It is a sorry affair. First listen to Dr Tahir ul Qadri's speeches and research on his personality and then compare yourself with his mammoth personality and then issue your decree. Have some understanding of the facts. There are forces that want corruption to continue in our beloved land. Don't be a party with them. Be objective and think with your own mind.
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