Only in Pakistan

Qadri is not Pakistan’s Ataturk or Mahatir

The whole Tahirul Qadri episode really makes one question the nature of our national politics. It boggles the mind for one. A new actor has entered the arena, months before general elections are due.

Well, new in the sense that he’s been passive for the past five years or so, but new nonetheless in the sense that no existing political actor was able to gather a crowd as big as Qadri managed to do so on the 23rd of December.

In the least, it signifies that he has an audience, a large one. This is why when he called out for a long march against the existing regime on 14th January, it sent shivers down PPP’s spine.

Not to mention, the fact that Qadri put up such a massive show in Punjab’s capital, he was bound to step onto some toes. The fiercest runners for Punjab’s throne are none other than the Sharifs and we have all witnessed PML-N’s sheer disapproval of Qadri’s tactics.

They have gone on to label him a second play by the establishment, following Imran Khan, of course – which they claim to have defeated.

So the situation is that the new entrant has managed to lead the ruling PPP and its opposition to agree on something right before elections, when their instinct would be to go at each other’s throats.

The irony of the situation is that Qadri is rooting for implementation of the constitution in its true form, something the PPP claims it has already done.

Even more mind numbing is the fact that MQM, an important member of the ruling coalition, has joined Qadri in his movement against the ruling regime.

Only Altaf Bhai knows how both these positions are not mutually exclusive. I am unable to take one position without disregarding the other.

Only in Pakistan, I think to myself while trying to analyse this mess. A person with a foreign nationality calls out for drastic reforms, however ideal they might be in spirit, right before general polls, and millions gather to listen to his agenda.

Tomorrow if Imam of Holy Ka’aba decides to start a political career he would be welcomed by an even bigger audience, I’m sure. Not in Saudia, right here in our land of the pure. A man with a foreign nationality, which he acquired by choice, is coming back to his indigenous land and asking for a local Arab Spring?

And people are actually listening to him, supporting him, backing him in his march to the capital.

Why can almost anyone garner such striking presence in our national politics? Because we have mutilated our nationalism to an extent where anyone can paint it in their own colours and give it a meaning of their choice and we would be forced to consider their representation.

We have dented our nationalism with politics of religion, ethnicity and language and now we are left with a hollow structure that keeps getting its meat from one stakeholder or another.

Lost somewhere between constitutional supremacy and Shariah implementation, we are a country that is moving rapidly towards extremism, in all forms.

I’m sure the government will not fall on the 14th. Neither will Qadri become the caretaker PM. He is just another actor looking to make waves and gain some territory. Eventually, he will renounce his Canadian nationality and contest elections and get a few seats in the House, definitely more than his party had last time they tried.

For now, he has achieved his goal by becoming the centre of our political drama and shaking up the big guns through his public support.

But I’m sure the likes of Zardari and Co are expedient enough to deal with Qadri and his rants on constitutional reforms. Plus, Qadri’s rhetoric in a way undermines the role of our newly acclaimed independent judiciary which has shown itself to be a strong player in the political setup and the impartial election commission which is also being supervised by the judiciary.

With these two institutions in place and functioning, I don’t see what all the fuss is about and that is why I do not think Qadri is Pakistan’s Ataturk or Mahatir. He is just one more in the line of many, looking to benefit from the uncertainty that is our national politics.

The writer is a staff member and can be reached at [email protected]