The voice of protest

And its resonance

The PML-N has been in power for 120-odd days. And the disappointment and weariness across the country suggests it may have been nearing the end of its term. Action, as the saying goes, speaks louder than words. In this particular case, keeping the response of the people at large in view – manifest the other day from a certain Punjab Assembly by-election result in its central Punjab stronghold, Faisalabad – it seems inaction has echoed louder than words.

After all, the voice of protest – even if it is in low decibels, even if it restricts itself to just casting a ballot in a by-election – has a resonance of its own.

Watching the ‘agitated’ winners on television, the erstwhile N-walas who had switched over to the PTI with such alacrity and enthusiasm for nothing but sheer dismay at their former favourites, reflected the power of the vote and how its swing can impact those living in their cozy, comfort zones – mindless of the sweaty, weary lower middle class that make the bulk of this or most under-developed nations. (In this particular instance though, it also reflects the disenchantment of the PML-N’s favourite, the element of the bazaar, for the constituency belonged to the latter).

The PPP had been embarrassed by its inefficiency (and this is being polite) at the hustings, and for long before its term ended, it had already been labeled as the most incompetent ever to have been voted to power in this country. It was punished by the electorate with a rout that was total but for Sindh. Though the PPP has its own usual ‘victim’ theories about the happenings, but the fact is: it paid for its performance or, should one say, the absolute lack of it where people were concerned.

But this baggage the PPP had acquired over five long eventful years (and one must acknowledge along the way, it did produce some wonderful legislation that brought devolution, an improved national wealth sharing formula between the provinces etc.). The PML-N, it seems, is already getting there faster than one could have imagined. The disaffection for the heavy mandate is yet again quite palpable.

At the PTI’s shenanigans post-elections, especially post its forming the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one had a sigh of relief that it had not won the mandate to form the government at the centre – which at that point seemed to be a close-run thing. Its naiveté, its inexperience, its faltering at every turn was still understandable. It was the new party on the block.

But the PML-N, the most experienced of the lot, which barring the Musharraf years has constantly been in power in the Punjab and mostly in the centre too, behaving as if it was a toddler trying to find its feet has been a shocker. That when it used to criticize Asif Ali Zardari and the PPP for its incompetence and corruption ad nauseum.

The blame game still continues. Only it doesn’t wash any longer, and that is why it is not finding any sympathy with the people at large and even in the media, despite its particular suaveness at working the latter to its best advantage.

The Faisalabad provincial constituency has voted in anger (and one could see it writ large on the faces of people giving their opinion on ubiquitous news channel cameras) – against the incompetence and more so the indifference of the PML-N. This should be a warning sign for the house of Sharifs, for the angry voter has gone to Imran Khan and his PTI. But would it be? History shows that those entrenched in power seldom learn from history.

That is why the disregard for public opinion is so pronounced.

When the public opinion is against dynastic rule, Shahbaz Sharif has found it fit to make his son the de facto chief minister of Punjab while he himself, whether indisposed or not, is breathing down the throat of various federal ministeries – water and power reportedly on top of them.

The people are not better off because of it. The unprecedented hike in electricity tariff rates, reducing the middle and lower middle class to unprecedented pecuniary hardship, to the extent of sending the latter crashing close to the poverty line, on the back of unprecedented inflation wrought owing to inexorable drop in the conversion rate of the rupee and consequent rise in prices of petroleum products has devastated people.

The anxiety levels are high owing to the economic mess. Yet, while government security presses have been put in overdrive to print currency notes worth hundreds of billions, no negotiations were made and no audit checks conducted prior to paying out the independent power producers nearly Rs500 billion of the circular debt.

Where in the world does any government indulge in such largesse? Everybody in this country is aware, nay, has suffered the 18-20 hour blackouts for years on end. The PPP was said to be the villain of the piece. But the payout has been done by the PML-N. Why did it not order an audit of the performance, the petroleum used, the electricity provided by the notoriously Shylockian independent power producers? Why was their say-so worth nearly Rs500 billion was taken at face value and the money dished out forthwith?

This is just one part of it. The economic minders of the country – and this is supposed to be the strength of the PML-N – went running with the largest begging bowl in living memory in hand to the IMF, and got the country the most hopeless frontloaded deal that was possible.

And while at it, they conveniently forgot that they had pledged to the people to break the begging bowl!

Even before the deal was signed, sealed and delivered, the budget was prepared in a manner to please the Bank and pummel the populace. And, mind you, this is the same IMF that has been cursed all over Europe and South America for having ruined many an economy, Greece, Portugal and Spain being the latest specimens.

The upshot is that the economy which was in a shambles is only worse off, really worse off. And a people already in a state of acute dismay after years of misrule are in a state of shock. Actually they have been brought to their knees in the last four months of draconian anti-people economic measures.

That when the mercantile and trading classes, and the big business houses, the core constituency of the present rulers have been all the time laughing all their way to the bank. They have been spared the taxman’s unwelcome intervention because of the painstaking cudgels taken by the PML-N government – while the little inconveniences in the budget put only for appearance’s sake too were subsequently removed.

Economy has not been the only bane of the people. The inaction against the TTP despite its relentless killing spree has sapped the morale of the people. The belief in a government that would protect them has withered beyond belief.

With only one-fifteenth of its tenure run, this does not bode well for the PML-N. It will have to pull itself from its bootstraps if it wants to emulate its nemesis, the PPP, in completing its tenure. Or is it going to be another case of ‘heavy mandate’ going awry on account of shooting itself in the foot?

Sajid Khan Lodhy is a journalist. He corresponds at [email protected] and tweets @sajidsadeem