Is there a purpose to be served or should it be discarded?
The entire nation has been attracted to the intricacies of the internal politics after the 2013 elections that had never been this ‘interesting’. The ongoing ‘Azadi March’ that started on the 14th of August, 2014, has created a whole new landscape in Pakistan’s politics by awakening individuals after years of delusional slumber. The real question is how far have we gone in serving the purpose?
It is evident from the large number of people that participated in this march that Pakistani people need change at the least expect a change. There has to be an end to the corruption hawking our country, unjust increases in taxes, changes in the curriculum of educational institutions, misuse of public funds, mistreatment of women, minorities and labour class. The government also needs to stop using coercive measures on those who are protesting against it. There are countless examples that illustrate an excessive misuse of power and how well the public servants are upholding the ‘oath’ they have taken to serve the people, the law and the country. Even those in support of the current government have come to terms with the harsh reality.
The tenacious Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), helped invigorate the spirits of the youth to stand up for change by courageously asking for resignation of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The PTI supporters have been instilled with a firm belief that there is no point of holding another election until the present malfunction is cured, owing to the fact that they would still not be in accordance to what one can call as ‘fair’ and ‘constitutional’. With a history of rigged elections, there isn’t much of a doubt left as to the fact that the rules and regulations of the Election Commission of Pakistan can be rendered ineffective. Naturally, the proposal to hold election under the same system is difficult to digest for not only Members of the Parliament but also for every supporter of the current government out there.
The civil disobedience movement announced by the PTI could have eventually taken us towards a military coup, a situation that we would not like to face. There is no place for dictatorship in this democratically governed country anymore. Decisions of the courts in the past, like that in the case of Asma Jilani v. Government of Punjab, state that martial law does not give the commander of the armed forces the right to abrogate the constitution because he is bound by his oath to protect or defend the constitution and not to take over it. However, the few who support the idea of martial law even title it is a ‘suitable’, not the most ‘fruitful’, solution.
We are a democratic country, one where the struggle for implementing proper rights and dispensation of justice is underway. Thousands of citizens celebrated this past Independence Day not dancing on the roads but participating in a march in protest to the alleged rigging in the last elections. If, on one hand, we stress on the importance of the oath taken by the military officials to defend the constitution, we should also realise the significance of the responsibilities associated with standing by the oath taken by a Member of the Parliament.
This is just part of the debate but the real purpose of the Azadi March is beyond picking one side. A nation has to work hard on curating democracy in order to avail its privileges. Perhaps this is the message that needs to be conveyed. Unfortunately such an attempt is responded with hate and derision by the forces of the status quo.
Why is pressing for the resignation of the Prime Minister seen as something so awful or unfair? It is like demanding resignation from a Member of the National Assembly. The right to complete a five-year tenure of the government is protected by the constitution. But if all those in power are elected in a transparent manner, they have nothing to fear or hide, and challenging the elections as rigged should not scare them. Our vote is our right and it should not be put to deception. It may sound unrealistic analytically but the demand has its merits.
Even if the proposed demand for the resignation is non-compliable, there still has to be some other response that values our rights as citizens and our sentiments as individuals. The purpose of the Azadi March has to be served with an outcome that marks the outlines of a democratic nation. If such extrinsic efforts are simply to form another history of awe and disappointment, then our nation can never live in a true democracy that it dreams about. “Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope to share among us.” These words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah say a lot about a nation that we were meant to be.