A thought provoking discourse

The bigger scheme of things

What the COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa said while delivering a key note address at a seminar titled “Human Resource Development for the youth of Balochistan — opportunities and challenges” in Quetta on last Thursday was indeed a thought provoking discourse which probably can form the basis of a new national narrative in regards to overcoming the confronting challenges and putting the country on the right path to achieve its cherished goals in conformity with the vision bequeathed by the Quaid.

The general was right on the money in regards to his observation for the need to revisit the way the seminaries operated and the required change in their syllabus with a view to bringing their students into the national mainstream. His views on development of Balochistan and human resources in the context of national advancement also formed an indisputable observation.

Nevertheless what COAS said about governance, democracy and the role of the army constituted a conscious effort to go back to the drawing board and rediscover the contours of the course chartered by the founding fathers of the nation. He said “mistakes were made by generals, politicians, but now it’s time for all to do own duty. Army is a state institution meant to serve the nation. Army shall continue to perform its role while national security and development remains a national obligation for all the state institutions.  I believe in democracy and even more so in the democratic values of selfless service and supremacy of moral authority. All of us have a duty to the nation. It is not for the Army to run the government and it’s time for everyone to correct their mistakes and work in their own spheres”

His admission of generals having committed mistakes (an obvious reference to military coups) his support for democracy and reiteration of the state institutions working within their own spheres is very re-assuring. It does indicate a positive change in the thinking of the military leadership and is enough to allay any fears that the political entities and political analysts might have had in their minds about the intentions of the Khakis in the backdrop of the permeating political scenario in the country.

The general was right on the money in regards to his observation for the need to revisit the way the seminaries operated and the required change in their syllabus with a view to bringing their students into the national mainstream

Honestly speaking the politicians and political parties are more to be blamed for the situation that the country has been pushed into than the military dictators for the simple reason that they did very little to strengthen democracy, changing the system of governance and establishing their moral authority by serving the masses during the representative rules interspersing the dictatorial regimes.

We have democracy in the country for the last almost nine years but hardly any serious effort has been made to change the archaic system of governance which has given rise to the culture of graft and entitlement. The focus of the politicians and the political parties invariably has been on orchestrating fall of the sitting representative governments through sinister alliances and conspiracies rather than unleashing collective efforts to improve the system of governance and serving the masses. In this game of power politics the people have been the major sufferers. One can neither forget the crass politics of the nineties nor what has been going on in the country for the last four years.

The advent of Imran Khan on the political landscape of the country and the mysterious of and on return of the cleric from Canada has unfortunately destroyed whatever democratic values existed in the country and an element of violence and sit-ins, challenging the writ of the state has been added to the political culture.  Whatever happened during the sit-in by the duo of Imran and Qadri was not only seen by the people across the country but all over the world. The attack on the parliament and the PTV headquarter was the biggest ever challenge to the writ of the state. The sit-in by the Tehrik Labbek Ya Rasool Allah was yet another blow to the writ of the state and orderly governance in the country. The protest was uncalled for in view of the fact that the government had already rectified the mistake. The methodology adopted to enlist protest also negated Islamic teachings in regards to allegiance to the writ of the state.

The country is bracing for more sit-ins by the religious outfits on the issue of finality of prophet-hood which in my opinion are likely to take an ugly turn. I think the politicians and other elements supporting this course of action need to revisit their thinking in the best national interests.

The scenario building in the backdrop of making public Justice Najfi report on Model Town Tragedy is also very worrying. All the political parties are trying to take advantage of the situation motivated by their animosity towards the sitting PML-N government rather than for a national cause and rallying around a political non-entity like Qadri. It decidedly is a situation of political parties ganging up to orchestrate a political coup. It is indeed a matter of shame that the major political parties like PPP and PTI are jumping on the bandwagon of PAT which in a way is also an admission of their political bankruptcy. They fail to realise that by siding with Qadri and supporting his likely sit-in they are actually endorsing the rule of mob. By doing this they are adding to their own vulnerabilities and contributing to the reinforcement of a political culture fraught with the danger of diluting the writ of the state which could also undermine their governments in the future if they win the franchise of the people. They would also face the prospects of their governments being pulled down by their political opponents which would consign the country to perennial political instability. PAT is also well advised to have resort to the legal course in the light of the report instead of resorting to unconstitutional means and disturbing the public order.

They need to forget about PML-N and think about the national interest and the future of democracy in the country which they keep boasting about without doing anything practical to reinforce the democratic values. They can do so only by abandoning their lust for power for the sake of power and utilising their collective wisdom to rectify the past mistakes. If the army and its leadership is ready to rectify the past mistakes and support democracy why can’t the politicians shun their impulsive propensity to work against democracy and place the national interests above their narrow political gains at the cost of the people?

The proponents and organisers of the sit-ins also need to realise that while it was their democratic right to protest it was not their right to trample upon the rights of other citizens by blocking highways and restricting their movements. Their actions were unconstitutional and tantamount to scuttling the edifice of the state. Under the prevailing circumstances and the emerging scenario the politicians and all state institutions including army which is part of the executive need to play a role in defusing the situation as well as ending the culture of ‘dharnas’.