Is it really free?
The government takes pride in having enabled parliament to undertake a review of the Pak-US relations, a vital part of the country’s foreign policy. Till now politicians were not allowed to enter the territory considered by the army as its exclusive preserve. Sen Farhatullah Babar reminded the parliament that the previous political governments had strived to reclaim what was their exclusive turf but failed to do so. A joint session of parliament is now reviewing the new parameters worked out by a parliamentary committee to determine relations between Pakistan and the US.
Is the parliament really free to take decisions? With the extremist organisations threatening the government of mayhem in the country and individual legislators of physical attacks in case they take decisions not liked by the extremists, every member of parliament expresses his views with an eye on the Damocles’ sword hanging over their head. As the killings of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti amply prove, falling foul of the extremist organisations can cost a politician his life.
As a joint session of parliament initiated debate on Tuesday on the Parliamentary Committee on National Security’s (PCNS) recommendations, threats were delivered loudly outside its gates where the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) was holding a rally.
The DPC is an alliance of religious parties and banned extremist outfits working under new names. Its leaders include Maulana Samiul Haq who is sometime referred to as the father of the Taliban movement and former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Gul. The DPC has been allowed to hold meetings all over the country despite the fact that it includes organisations like JUD, the humanitarian wing of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and the morbidly anti-Shia ASWJ which is a reincarnation of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. Since Jamaat-e-Islami lost all representation in parliament with the departure of Senators Khurshid Ahmad and Ibrahim Khan, the party has started talking of violent agitation.
Is it possible for DPC to parade up and down the country with leaders of banned parties addressing mammoth crowds without a nod from the army? The alliance may not have the army’s support in all that the DPC does but definitely seems to enjoy its tacit approval to rant against the improvement of ties with the US and India. This would constitute another pressure on parliament which would be wary of taking any decision not liked by the army?
After staging several rallies in major cities where fiery speakers opposed reopening of NATO supply routes, the DPC staged a sit-in outside parliament on Tuesday where a joint session was in progress .Its leaders delivered fiery speeches and announced that they would not only reject the parliament’s decision to reopen the supply routes but also forcibly stop the Nato trucks all over the country. In fact, this was the second rally by the DPC in Islamabad after February 22. The meeting held earlier had delivered an identical message. Two of the leaders of banned outfits who were not allowed to enter Islamabad by the local administration in February spoke at the DPC rally this time.
Junior leaders of the DPC were more upfront about what they intended to do if the government took decisions which were not to their liking. On Friday last speaking at a protest rally outside Lahore Press Club, Hafiz Abdul Ghaffar Ropari of Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith, a component of the DPC, said his workers would bomb any NATO containers that plied through Pakistan. He said the supplies would be stopped regardless of the parliament’s decision.
The militant wing of the extremists, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has gone a step further. On Sunday, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters “If the parliament decides to restore NATO supplies, we will attack parliamentarians and their overlords.”
The threats are already producing the results desired by the extremists. The consensus document formulated by a multi-party parliamentary committee and duly signed by their representatives has suddenly become controversial. The PML(N) and JUI(F) have decided not to support it unless it is amended.
Speaking at a point of order in the joint session of parliament on Tuesday, Fazlur Rehman categorically opposed the reopening of NATO supply route to Afghanistan. He said if recommendations of the PCNS were approved with a majority, it will be the decision of the government and not the parliament. Ch Nisar said that his party would take part in the debate only if the government removed their reservations regarding some clauses. Both had earlier signed the consensus proposals.
The parliamentary committee had submitted its proposals in the last week of January. The parliament has yet not finalised the recommendations. The joint session which started on Tuesday has yet to begin the debate in earnest. The reason why it fails to catch the bull by the horns is known to all.
In yet another attempt at forging consensus, PM Gilani called a meeting of the country’s top leadership on Thursday. This time the military leadership was also roped in. It remains to be seen if the move would provide enough courage to the parliament to move ahead.
The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.
