New year, new hopes, new beginnings
The New Year, from an astronomical perspective, is a logical fallacy. For all intents and purposes, it is just one particular point in space – and each time the earth crosses that point in space (relative to the sun), we celebrate the beginning of another calendar year.
But despite its astronomical insignificance, humanity uses it as an opportunity to mark new beginnings, making ambitious resolutions, hoping for a new start on a clean, fresh slate.
In that same spirit, Pakistan, which in recent years has been embroiled in numerous internal as well as external turmoils and catastrophes, is hoping for a fresh, new and hopeful start at the beginning of this calendar year.
Individual aspirations aside, our national hope for this fresh start stems from four imperative changes that are due to take place in 2013: 1) the general elections, and therefore the installation of new national as well as provincial governments; 2) completion of Asif Ali Zardari’s term of Presidency; 3) retirement of the all-powerful Chief of the Army Staff; and 4) a change of guard at the Supreme Court, with the retirement of the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan.
And it is in light of these monumental changes, there is good reason to hope for the beginnings of a regenerative and prosperous future.
However, in the same breath, we must be cautious of not prolonging mistakes of the past.
Two of these changes (the election to the Parliament and Presidency) are within the control of the tired, weary and huddled masses of Pakistan.
The other two, despite their profound impact on our everyday lives, fall outside the ambit of peoples’ exercise of their choice.
Starting with the elections, it is really something that the democratic dispensation allows the people (the final custodians of all political power) to overthrow the government every five years, through the casting of their ballots. And the conscientious casting of the ballot, for all intents and purposes, is perhaps the greatest responsibility and privilege of a citizen in any democracy.
As a new and educated generation graduates to be included in the fold of voters, there is reason to hope that the old creeking practices of voting along the biradari and feudal lines will give way to casting the ballot along the intellectual and ideological divide.
The coming election is not a decision between PPP, PML-N or PTI. It is not a decision between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif. It is, in essence, a referendum between the forces of extremism (and the parties that represent such thought) and those of progressive change.
It is a confrontation between those who would surrender to the forces of barbarianism, and those who would – at their life’s peril – defend our fundamental rights to speech, thought, religion and consciousness.
This choice, as is the case in terms of national identity, has to be made in each individual’s mind. And a summation of those individual choices will determine the path of our collective destiny.
Away from the voter’s choice, as two new individuals come to occupy the powerful constitutional posts of the Chief of Army Staff and Chief Justice of Pakistan, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic.
Since the nation has no direct choice in appointing these individuals, the caution and hope must emanate from the concerned institutions themselves.
The incumbent army chief and the honourable chief justice have, during their terms in office, done tremendous good in many ways. However, despite all the gains, we must not shut our eyes to the mistakes made and the lessons learnt.
An army chief that does not submit himself to the scrutiny of the court or public accountability, or deems institutional interests to be above national concerns, shall not only be detrimental to the interests of Pakistan, but also to that of the institution of armed forces.
Similarly, a chief justice, who (with a desire to become a national ‘saviour’) blurs the lines of separation of powers, institutional autonomy, or attempts to dictate public policy from the unscrutinised seat of the bench, will eventually lose fidelity to the constitution and public confidence.
These are real decisions and difficult choices.
As the partisan rhetoric takes over the national discourse in this election year – slinging mud at everyone who wears a different party hat – it will be wise for us (mango-people) to not lose sight of the overriding national objectives. The New Year brings with it the promise of a bright new beginning. However, the choice is ours. We can choose to travel the road that leads to bright sunlit uplands, or lose ourselves (for another five years) in the darkness of biradarisim, religious intolerance and institutional badgering.
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore. He has a Masters in Constitutional Law from Harvard Law School. He can be reached at: [email protected]
