Judicial Commission is going to be a bitter pill for PML-N to swallow
Nawaz Sharif has a habit of shooting himself in the foot. Though he and his party men have been boasting about their ‘experience of governance’, the reality is that they know nothing of the basics of governance.
They are very bad at learning their lessons. Despite being thrown out of government twice in the past, they continue taking self-destructive steps in their third stint.
One pattern has been consistent with the PML-N. They begin by creating an aura of them being the only saviours of the country and solution to very problem we face, but when it comes to actually delivering, they show gross incompetence and commit suicidal mistakes when they are elected, resulting in an untimely termination of their tenure.
This time around, they have committed suicide by forming the Judicial Commission (JC). Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has swallowed the slow poison in the form of JC that is going to choke them. The process began when arrogance took over their minds and they didn’t pay heed to the demands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of opening four constituencies for forensic audit. Despite PTI crying foul play after the May 11 elections, PTI Chairman Imran Khan asked his party MPs to sit in the assemblies. He demanded an audit of four constituencies to ensure future elections were not compromised. But due to the arrogance of the PML-N leaders, this simple rain turned into a tornado of 126-day long dharna and resulted in the formation of the JC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk.
One pattern has been consistent with the PML-N. They begin by creating an aura of them being the only saviours of the country and solution to very problem we face, but when it comes to actually delivering, they show gross incompetence and commit suicidal mistakes when they are elected, resulting in an untimely termination of their tenure
The PML-N seems to be in a state of euphoria thinking everything was fine and going their way. Information Minister Pervez Rasheed said in a press statement after the formation of JC that the government would accept the verdict of JC and PML-N mouthpiece Talal Chaudhry, after the PTI appeared in front of JC, said that Imran Khan could not prove allegations of 35 punctures in May 2013 elections against Najam Sethi. These statements show the PML-N leaders are taking the formation of JC lightly and believe that nothing would come out of the commission. What they are not aware of is that they could be facing the same fate as their previous governments after the JC completes its findings.
PTI is the kingmaker
PTI and Imran Khan’s 17 years of struggle to prove their mettle in politics and coming into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one thing but unlike PML-N they learn their lessons, even if a little late. Be it supporting Pervez Musharaf in his referendum in 2002 or boycotting 2007 General Elections, they took notes from their mistakes and ensured they didn’t commit such blunders again.
They resigned from the assemblies and took to streets, mounting pressure on the government, diverting them from governance to keeping them busy in developing tactics to tackle the dharna and countering the ‘Go Nawaz Go’ slogan which haunted and followed Nawaz Sharif and his party members wherever they went. This was their first trick. Their second trick was not resigning from KP assembly and to continue working there. PTI had done its homework before it came to power which they turned into policies that they implemented in KP after they assumed power. This gave them a chance to show to the nation that they could perform and have the ability to turn the dream of a Naya Pakistan into a reality.
The third trick was the formation of JC at their terms of reference. While Khan spent days in his container, his team kept on digging the May 11 elections and connected the dots that led them to the master planners who rigged these elections in favour of PML-N. They have been very vocal about the ninety thousand extra ballot papers that were printed three days before the election day, unrealistic number of votes rejected in each constituency, Nawaz’s victory speech at 11:30 pm on May 11 when counting in hardly 10 per cent of total constituencies was completed, defected ballot papers and planned ignorance in using the magnetic ink, and former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry congratulating the Returning Officers for holding ‘free and fair’ elections when every party, including the winning PML-N, complained of rigging. To everybody’s surprise, PML-N’s NA-251 candidate Nehal Hashmi, speaking at a press conference at Karachi Press Club on May 11, said that the elections in Karachi were not being held in a free and fair manner. He said that presiding officers were threatened to not show up to perform their duties.
“I want to ask: where is the army or Rangers? In most polling stations, fake votes are being cast while the voters are not being allowed to enter,” Nehal said on the Election Day.
What PTI has to their advantage is that it has other opposition parties at its side who have also been complaining of rigging in the May 11 elections and decided to present the proofs before the commission
Khan, after appearing before the JC, said that the PTI would produce massive evidence of rigging before the JC. He shrewdly pointed out the 1977 elections when the results of only six constituencies were found to be rigged and subsequently the government had to call for fresh elections.
PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen said in a TV interview that the PTI was tailoring the proofs they had with the requirements of the JC and would play smart to make sure they made their point that systematic rigging had taken place.
What PTI has to their advantage is that it has other opposition parties at its side who have also been complaining of rigging in the May 11 elections and decided to present the proofs before the commission.
Journey towards real democracy
In forty five days, the cat will be out of the bag. With every tick of the clock, the rope around the PML-N’s neck is going to tighten. It is about time we got rid of the scum that have been stealing the people’s mandate and start the journey towards the introduction of a real democracy in Pakistan.
