Remembering the PML-N’s last tenure

Will the party strengthen institutions or hinder their growth?

It would be unfair to prejudge Nawaz Sharif as he prepares to take over as Prime Minister (PM) for a third time. Leaders sometimes mature with the passage of time though in some cases their growth remains stilted. The record of Nawaz Sharif’s last tenure during 1997-99 is unenviable. The PML-N chief will therefore have to prove that he has learnt from his mistakes as well as those of others. What inspires some hope is the Charter of Democracy that Nawaz signed with Benazir Bhutto in May 2006.

Among the features that characterised the last PML-N tenure was the absence of institutionalized policy making bodies. Important decisions were taken by people or bodies outside the formal system. Some of the controversial decisions included the 14th amendment aimed at making Nawaz the most powerful Prime Minister in the history of the country. Though the amendment could not get through the Senate for lack of adequate support, it provided an inkling into the thinking of the party leadership. While an Accountability Ordinance was introduced by the caretakers in 1996, it was under Nawaz Sharif that it was enacted in a much more vicious form as Ehtesab Act with Senator Saifur Rehman heading the Ehtesab Cell. This was meant to punish the opposition.

Again, who decided to appoint a man like Rafiq Tarar, a former supporter of the Ahrar which opposed the creation of Pakistan, as the President of the country? Who made the decision to hold the Local Bodies elections simultaneously all over the country, ignoring that only the provinces had the authority to take the decision in the light of their peculiar circumstances? Some of the decisions, it was believed, were made by a family elder, others by the kitchen cabinet, whose membership remained in a permanent state of flux. This indicated a lack of interest in institution building.

The way the PML-N government worked during 1997-99 revealed some of the anti-democratic tendencies in the leadership. There was an attempt to accumulate all power in the PM’s hands. It was forgotten that Pakistan was a federation which would be weakened in the absence of genuine provincial autonomy. Key decisions regarding Punjab, Sindh and NWFP, which had PML-N governments were taken by the Prime Minister. Balochistan had to follow suit after the removal of Akhtar Mengal in less than a year and a half.

There were attempts to control the judiciary. The 14th Amendment had prohibited legislators and lawmakers from dissenting or voting against their own parties. The Amendment also contained a clause that deprived the offending legislators from seeking relief through the Judiciary. When parliamentarians belonging to different parties took the case to the Supreme Court, Sharif was furious. He openly criticized Chief Justice Sajad Ali Shah who issued the PM a contempt notice. Though the crisis was resolved by the establishment, Sharif remained determined to throw out the CJ. A little latter the spat led the PML-N to attack the Supreme Court.

But isn’t all this over now? Hasn’t the PML-N paid a heavy price for its blunders, with Nawaz Sharif confined in Attock Fort for months and subsequently being obliged to spend seven years in exile?

The events did make Nawaz review the past, sign the CoD with Benazir Bhutto and claim that he had learnt from the past. Both the leaders agreed in the document that the press and electronic media will be allowed independence and access to information will become law after parliamentary debate and public scrutiny. “We will respect the electoral mandate of representative governments that accept the due role of the opposition and declare that neither shall undermine each other through extra constitutional ways. We shall not join a military regime or any military sponsored government. No party shall solicit the support of military to come into power or to dislodge a democratic government.”

What one has seen happening after 2008, does not suggest that the PML-N leadership has learnt from the past. In Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s hunch for control over levers of power led him to retain more ministries in his own hands than he could manage. He displayed a lack of tolerance for political opponents and threatened that he would hang President Zardari upside down and drag him in the streets of Lahore. This was reminiscent of 1990s.

The PML-N put pressure on the PPP during 2012 to hold elections before time. It was claimed that this was necessary as the PPP had lost its mandate. The pressure increased particularly before the last budget. The hysteria created over the so-called Memogate scandal showed the PML-N was keen to get rid of the PPP government through the SC this time.

There was however no persecution of political opponents. Similarly no attempts were made to approach the army or the agencies to seek a regime change which was a common practice in the earlier period. The PML-N leadership cooperated with the government in formulating and getting passed a number of constitutional amendments. While these amendments restored the constitution to its original shape they also extended the scope of provincial autonomy and gave birth of an independent and powerful Election Commission and a consensus caretaker set up.

This earned the PML-N the title of a pliant opposition from the PTI. The party however described itself as a responsible opposition.

The performance of the PML-N during 2008-13 being a mixed bag this leaves a number of questions unanswered.

Will the party strengthen the institutions or hinder their growth?

Institutionalized decision making is necessary because in the modern complex societies no single individual is supposed to know all the intricacies of the multi-faceted and inter-related issues. A thorough airing of views at a number of levels, with knowledgeable people pooling their inputs, helps the government take correct decisions, since the Prime Minister is expected to know all.

In 2008-13 era, a number of parliamentary committees helped the government in the formulation of policies These committees are still in their infancy. Much more needs to be done by the new government to strengthen and empower them. Neglecting these committees will hinder their growth.

An independent and powerful Election Commission and a consensus caretaker set up were responsible for holding the least disputed election in the country’s history. Will Nawaz Sharif further strengthen these institutions? The Election Commission has to be financially autonomous to continue to make plans throughout the five years that precede the general elections.

Will the PML-N respect the courts and accept their decisions even when they are against its wishes?

Will Sharif let the media retain its independence? Will he discourage the policy of bribing some media outlets and punishing others?

Will the PM-N learn to live with the opposition parties, considering them as competitors rather than enemies?

While working for the welfare of the masses will the PML-N government pursue well thought out and sustainable policies, instead of politically motivated stunts like the Sasti Roti Scheme?

In politics nothing remains hidden for long. Answers to these questions will start coming in during the first 100 days of the government. Then the assessment will begin.

The writer is a political analyst and a former academic.