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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Selling of conscious to devil

Head of PPP Media CellPakistan Senate elections this month have been violently pushing its stock to bullish for wrong reason, but now facing the situation of screeching halt because bear is out there after hibernation and is desperate to get its pound of flesh for good reason. The political crooks

By Akram Shaheedi
March 03, 2015
Head of PPP Media Cell
Pakistan Senate elections this month have been violently pushing its stock to bullish for wrong reason, but now facing the situation of screeching halt because bear is out there after hibernation and is desperate to get its pound of flesh for good reason. The political crooks are in a spin embroiled in a situation of trepidation and hope in equal measure. This ugly practice was typical of the elections of the Upper House in the past and it is no different this time either. The hectic activity of buying and selling of votes of MPAs in Fata, Balochistan and the KP in particular and in provinces of Punjab and Sindh the political give and take is regretfully going on with impunity. As the date of the elections slouches towards its denouement the hearts beat of both the potential buyers and sellers is accelerating to lure the corrupt MPAs who feel no remorse in selling out their vote and conscience to the devil. They will be instrumental for sending the senators in the House who consider Pakistan as their hunting ground for assuaging their killer’s instinct by trampling upon the aspirations of the people without compunction. The political clout they gather as a Senator is put in motion to protect and promote their interests in the shape of amassing wealth for satisfying their appetite stemming from their unparalleled greed and avarice that have no limits.
It will be pertinent to recall the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami ex- Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed who himself won the election of senator but said that he was saddened to know that Farhat Ullha Babar of PPP had lost implying that the PPP members from then NWFP preferred money over the Party, ‘My happiness over my winning a Senate’s seat is belittled by the defeat of PPP candidate Farhat Ullha Babar’. The buying frenzy of votes in the two provinces and Fata especially will pour enough ignominy on the face of the politicians as a class if they fail now to contain this shameful abhorrent activity under their nose. It is the collective responsibility of all politicians to stand up in the way of horse trading that surely undermines the political system and its stakeholders. It is heartening to know the top leadership of the country is aware of the gravity of the situation and is engaged to thwart the tide of corruption having the potential of smearing the Parliament and the system it represents. Prime minister convened All Parties Conference as suggested by Co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari to find a way out to nip the evil of horse trading in the bud for all times to come. Imran Khan’s statement regarding his refusal to accept 250 million rupees of donation for the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in lieu of awarding Senate seat is commendable. His proposal to directly elect senators like the members of the assemblies deserves serious consideration. Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F reservations on the 22nd Amendment in the Constitution are understandable when reviewed in the background of his politicking in the past. Troubled waters generates opportunity for him analogous to low hanging fruit and he grabs it without taking into account the considerations of old enmity or friendship. He calibrates his cost/benefit analysis each time carefully as a shrewd politician without giving the due weightage to the narratives of acquaintance and principled politics. He would ensure that his presence get noticed sufficiently by the relevant quarters.
Pakistan has bi-cameral legislature, National Assembly and the Senate. The members of the provincial assemblies constitute the Electoral College for the elections of the senators. All the provinces have the equal representation regardless of the size of their population. The Upper House in Pakistan is equally powerful because the bill passed by the National Assembly cannot become law without Senate’s approval. The Upper House is usually considered as a safety valve to save the smaller federating units from the possible tyrannical treatment of the larger province or provinces who have sizeable representation in the National Assembly. The raison d, te’ur of Upper House in a federation is an accepted model of the federation. But, in Pakistan the overwhelming majority of senators from the smaller provinces and Fata, prima facie, are more active to form a group for the promotion of their parochial interests rather than worrying about the people of their regions. Their cartelisation tends to pressurise the government of the day to seek development funds for spending in the respective constituencies with their approval in absolute terms. The respective departments have to fall in line merely to keep their criticism and them at bay. In the absence of the third party evaluation and monitoring system, the public representatives prevail upon the dissident view regarding the quality of the development schemes executed with public money.
The PML-N leaders palatably are getting in touch with other leaders to table the bill in the Parliament for the amendment to contain the illicit practice of horse trading that has stigmatised our politics, and shamefully continuing casting aspersions on politicians of all spectrums. The rumors of selling senate tickets by the parties’ leadership in the past have also been flying high and thick not to speak of individual acts of some filthy rich people who are notorious for this kind of tainted contemplations. One of the prominent Urdu columnists has mentioned the names of such senators who had crashed the gates of the Senate fueled by their money and occupied the seats in the House. They are again in the spin in buying spree of the votes for their siblings, and they will get elected if the top leadership failed to contain this practice with the full sanction of the law. Politicians’ failure may also suggest their hands in gloves and their huddling together is mere an exercise of playing to the gallery. Their failure will also reflect their weakness to enforce discipline within the respective parties. The major parties have to prove their mettle and this is the test case as how much they are committed to fight out the horse trading in the country’s politics. All indications suggest of the full seriousness on the part of the national leadership to get rid of this curse for all times to come. PPP leaders’ media talk is very reassuring in which they have said that the government and the PPP are on the same page to deal with the challenge. The politicians of the major political parties cannot afford unethical, undemocratic and illegal practice to continue with impunity, overtly or covertly. Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution clearly disqualify such public representatives who are known as corrupt. Asif Ali Zardari reportedly proposed that the Senate seats should be allocated on the basis of the number of seats of the provincial assemblies each party has in its bag. Let us hope and pray that the political leadership that matters will succeed in finding the solution for the eradication of the evil from the country’s politics.
The political parties of the country have to have strict discipline within the party ranks for the sake of the promotion of healthy and principled politics. They must encourage the young honest and educated party leaders while awarding tickets to contest the elections of the assemblies. Their turning the blind eye towards undesirable elements with shady character breeds the culture of corrupt politics and its multiplying impact tend to pollute the whole system to the hilt. Pakistan has to have a civilised political system on sustainable basis because it is the only guarantee for the rule of law, political stability and economic prosperity as all these instruments of national power are intertwined.
The need of the hour is that the Election Commission of Pakistan should get out of its tardiness and undertake its constitutional responsibility of enforcing the mandatory qualifications for the candidates who intend to contest elections of Parliament. But, it has failed to assert its authority sufficiently in this regard as a number of elected members were found as fake degree holders, loan defaulters, and even with criminal record. The ECP should allow the potential candidates to contest elections after going through their profile obtained from the relevant government agencies. The nation is unaware of any enquiry ordered by the ECP against the senators who entered the House through excessively unfair means not to speak of disqualifying such members. The Commission is equipped with authority under the Constitution to hunt down such black sheep to layoff. Enough is enough and media as a watch dog is alert to blow the whistle.
muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com