Politicians have a knack for hurting themselves
The political parties fail to realise that they weaken the system by failing to resolve their differences through talks. Till recently it was too common to take political disputes straight to the Supreme Court. The tendency was further encouraged by former CJ Iftikhar Chaudhary. Such was the fondness for the apex court that in one case Nawaz Sharif himself appeared before it in black coat and tie. Imran Khan too sought the court’s help till the verdict delivered by an enquiry commission headed by CJ Nasirul Mulk rejected his plea regarding systematic rigging of the 2013 elections. Unhappy with the courts for delivering judgments against their expectations, the politicians have now developed an infatuation with the army. The trend started with Imran Khan demanding that by-election in NA-122 be held under the army’s supervision. The opposition parties in Sindh and Punjab are demanding LG elections to be held under army’s supervision.
The opposition in Punjab has accused the PML-N workers of resorting to violence against its candidates in connivance with the police. In rural areas of Sindh the opposition has charged the ruling PPP of using the government machinery to force its candidates to withdraw from the contest. It alleges that those who refused have been kidnapped. In urban Sindh political parties opposed to MQM claim that the ethnic outfit got several of its candidates elected unopposed through intimidation. They also demand the deployment of army. The charges the parties are levelling against one another are highly serious However, it is not advisable to deploy thousands of army personnel during the three-phased polls which will end in December.
The accusations damage the image of the politicians. The fault lies with the parties in power. The PML-N in Punjab and the PPP in Sindh should have held talks with their rivals before the elections to agree upon measures to ensure free and fair polls. Alternately, the ECP could have called meetings of the sort in Lahore and Karachi.
