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Why no one is bothered about who forms the government in Pakistan

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Mehr Tarar
Mehr TararDec 17, 2017 | 20:18

Why no one is bothered about who forms the government in Pakistan

Woh na-ehal hoga ya nahin? (Will he be disqualified?) Will one go or will both go? Will he be the one to lament the question today - mujhe kyon nikala (Why have I been booted out)?

On December 15, 2017, after the Juma prayer in Islamabad, the excitement outside the Supreme Court reached a restless crescendo: faisala kab sunayenge? (When will the verdict be read?), as countless TV cameras jostled for a better view, and supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised slogans in support of their leaders and against each other. TV anchors, politicians and political analysts, in varying degrees of excitement and boredom, formed panels for live transmission in anticipation of the verdict, and Twitter buzzed with oh-we-know-what's-going-to-happen in posts peppered with anger, occasional banter, infrequent humour and mostly, dismissiveness of the seriousness of the highest court of the country.

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The decision awaited was on the petition of the PML-N's Hanif Abbasi on charges of financial corruption. There were two questions: Will Imran Khan be disqualified or not? Will Jehangir Khan Tareen (PTI secretary general) be disqualified?

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Verdict in: Khan, not disqualified, cleared of all allegations of financial impropriety. Tareen, however, was not that fortunate, despite being the highest taxpayer of Pakistan. The bench comprising chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nasir and justices Umar Ata Bandial and Faisal Arab declared Tareen, on one among many charges, to be "dishonest" under the Article 62(1) (f) of the Constitution and section 99 of the Representation of People Act (ROPA).

The next day, Khan grudgingly accepting the court decision, declared his unwavering support for Tareen. In a move uncharacteristic of most politicians, Tareen resigned from his position, and the chief justice in a seminar in Lahore hit back at the critics (read: PML-N leadership, supporters and all rational Pakistanis) of his verdict. "The judiciary is your baba (village elder)... do not doubt its integrity," he pontificated, further adding, without mentioning any name, "If a decision is issued against you, don't abuse (the judiciary) by saying the baba has become a part of a design or a grand plan. The baba has not and will not become a part (of a plan)."

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Flashback: On July 28, 2017, then prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life in the Panama Papers case. The decision was taken under the Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution. A masterstroke of the wily dictator general Zia-ul-Haq, the article states: "... a person cannot be qualified as member of the national or provincial legislatures, if he is not Sadiq (truthful) and Ameen (trustworthy)."

Another flashback: In April 2010, during the tenure of the Asif Ali Zardari-led government, in the drafting of the 18th Amendment of the Constitution, the removal of Articles 62 and 63 ("A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of parliament, if - (a) he is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court...") was vociferously opposed by one party - the Nawaz-Sharif-led PML-N. In an unfortunately ironic twist, Nawaz Sharif became the first prime minister to have the ignominy of disqualification under that very controversial law.

December 15, 2017, Islamabad, another bench of the Supreme Court: Shehbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz, and chief minister of Punjab, was cleared of all charges in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. The younger Sharif is touted to be the PML-N prime ministerial candidate in the 2018 general elections. Not all PML-leaders and supporters support that assumption.

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The next year elections have two names now: Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif. Some Pakistan People's Party (PPP) optimists like to add another name to the list - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Only Asif Zardari matters in that party, some "analysts" state. If only Zardari's name was not synonymous with corruption and ineffective governance, many others declare, an eyebrow arched, without a hint of sarcasm.In a country of 200 million-plus people, I see only two names that are of any real political significance, who are known to people from one corner of the country to the other, and whom people would vote for the top position - Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan.

The former has been gifted with lifelong political disqualification, and the latter despite his apparent tremendous popularity does not have the nationwide vote bank that can be instrumental in bequeathing him the position he has been working for over the last two decades. The PPP despite being in power multiple times huffs and puffs, trailing far behind the two major - at the moment- players. The nation watches in resigned indifference: what difference does it make to our lives no matter who rules the country.

Serving the nation is a utopian idea peddled only in party manifestos, electoral rallies, self-righteous sound bites in press conferences and shrill TV debates. Those clauses in the constitution that are an addition by elected parliaments and military dictators, who ousted the elected governments, remain mired in controversy as they were introduced for one political expediency or the other. They often end up as an impingement on the basic freedoms of the people.

People watch one leader after the other making a mockery of everything that is good, decent, utilitarian, egalitarian, farsighted, pragmatic and based on principles focused on the betterment of lives.

The superior judiciary despite its reputation of impartiality and fairness is said to be influenced by factors that have nothing to do with matters of justice. The establishment when not in power visibly is alleged to be the puppet master that has on its strings everything that matters, and all who matter. Civilian ineptness wreaks havoc on governmental and institutional affairs, in addition to the allegations of damage done by "others" - the establishment.

And people watch. The underprivileged toil to make ends meet, trudging on broken roads, holed up in dead-end jobs, as they try to figure out the least abysmal way to give a good life to their families. The middle class, stuck in their groundhog existence, complain in moral indignation and vote the same people back to power over and over. The rich couldn't care less as long as their interests are not in jeopardy of being torpedoed by the new government in Islamabad.

The only constant in life and politics is change. I don't see that happening in Pakistan. Nothing will change. The arena of politics pulsates with its medieval games with only one booming chant overwhelming faint voices of reason, goodness and fairness: me, myself, I.

Last updated: December 18, 2017 | 11:32
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