Building a democratic culture

One hopes positive tendencies persist

The first ever completion by an elected government of its full term followed by an orderly transfer of power indicates a positive development in our political culture. This would not have been possible without mutual tolerance and respect for the institutions on the part of the two major political parties. One hopes the positive tendencies would persist in days to come. Forgetting his reservations about certain aspects of the elections President Asif Zardari invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to dinner laid out in honour of the Chinese premier. Nawaz also participated in the reception given by Zardari to foreign diplomats. The interaction was in keeping with good working relations among parties which are needed to sustain and strengthen the system. Political maturity requires that the leaders show deference for one another despite past rivalries and present differences. On Monday, Zardari assured the media persons invited to the presidency that the PPP would extend complete support to the PML-N government in tackling challenges like terrorism and economic recovery. The sentiment was also echoed in the NA by the leader of the opposition Khurshid Shah. It was, however, qualified that whenever and wherever the government faltered it would be taken to task. Fair enough, for this is how a responsible opposition acts.

There is a need to preserve this spirit of peaceful coexistence to develop the political culture. Learning from its mistakes of the 1990s, the PPP shunned vengeful activities during its recent tenure. There is a need to continue with the tradition in days to come. It needs to be realised that it is the opposition’s duty to be vigilant and keep the government on its toes. The opposition has a right to go for public protest if its voice is not properly heard in the parliament or if it is steamrolled by the majority. Protests have however to be undertaken with a sense of responsibility. Public shutdowns of the type declared frequently in Karachi have to be shunned as they impact badly on national economy and cause harm to life and public property. There is little possibility of improvement in the working of the government in the absence of a vigilant opposition and an independent and vocal media. There is a need on the part of the government to be patient with both the opposition and media as they perform their functions. Despite its various failures, foibles and shenanigans, the PPP government throughout its recent stint in office persecuted neither the opposition nor the highly critical media, both which on quite a few occasions went overboard. There is a need to further strengthen this decent tradition.

The PML-N would do well to emulate the now electorally vanquished PPP, and indulge in nothing that that could even remotely be interpreted as an act of revenge on the part of the government. Asif Zardari would be leaving the presidency on September 8. One expects that he would be seen off with honour and dignity.