Democracy will stay

Head of PPP Media Cell

Pakistani people felt relieved of the fear of ill- aboding when they got the news of setting up of a joint parliamentary committee assigned to frame consensus ToRs for Supreme Court Judicial Commission on Panama Leaks. It was propitious development because the Supreme Court had also urged the government for the framing of the consensus ToRs to carry out the investigations of the Panama Leaks.

The ToRs may also cover the investigations of high profile cases relating to kickbacks, commissions and written off loans. The committee consisting six members of the government and the equal number of the Opposition will finalise the ToRs within two weeks’ time. It is a promising political development notwithstanding the rocky start due to the schism within the Opposition fold. Now, the onus is on the shoulders of the parliamentarians to finalise the ToRs within the given time.

Pakistani politics has been plagued by Panama Leaks since last month’s disclosure of the names of the sons and the daughter of Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif as owners of offshore companies. They allegedly had stashed their wealth abroad amassed through money laundering, tax evasion etc. In the second list the names of the PTI leaders and the PTI chief including others politicians have also surfaced among the owners of the offshore companies.

The nine opposition political parties have been vociferously demanding the probe to the allegations because the seriousness of the allegations had eroded the moral authority of the prime minister to rule the country.

As a result, the fragile democracy of the country had also come under tremendous pressure further heightened by the media reports pertaining to civil-military tension emanating from the differences on India-Pakistan relations, across the board accountability and military operation in Punjab against terrorists and their facilitators.

The fear of third party intervention in the political arena of the country has become a favourite topic of the politicians, media, legal fraternity and the civil society to rally around support in favour of democracy.

Pleasantly, there is no voice clamouring in favour of the juggernaut of the unconstitutional political change in the country. It explicitly suggests democracy is on the upward trajectory in the country notwithstanding its bracing predictable or unpredictable hurdles at times like sit-ins, long marches, Panama Leaks and street protests that have become common than exception. 

It is a promising trend when compared it with the volatile politics of seventies and eighties when the opposition parties used to knock at the doors of GHQ or foreign embassies seeking their indulgence to dislodge the incumbent governments. Now, the political maturity of the people and the leaders alike will not only resist such move but also condemn the initiative as reflective of doing the bidding of anti-democratic forces or of foreign countries.

Politics in Pakistan is incrementally inclined towards addressing the issues through democratic practices based on the narratives of accommodation and reconciliation.

This enabling environment will surely put cold water on the hopes of the proponents of doomsday scenario. There is no space left for the military intervention in the country’s politics, rightly said by Senator Aitzaz Ahsan in a TV interviewrecently. The fear of the pitfalls of the Panama Leaks, no doubt, has gripped the whole nation since last month and the anxiety is multiplied due to the response of the government to go for offensive. Instead of turning the out of blue adversarial situation into a God-given opportunity to weed out corruption they have been on the war path. The point scoring and chest thumping marathon was embarrassing indeed. It is a perilous situation, according to public perception, that requires matching seriousness of politicians of all shades to get rid the nation of the likely predicaments if it continues for some time to come. The public pressure built through media and the robust civil society nudged the politicians to find a common ground to proceed on the matter of Panama Leaks that has been keeping the people on the tenterhooks. 

Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah’s speech in the House was a source of great solace for the people of Pakistan when he assured that the opposition would not allow the derailment of democracy no matter what. His speech was sober and full of political foresight urging the fellow politicians to follow the best parliamentary practices for tackling the Panama Leaks’ imbroglio. He warned that confrontational politics would lead to lamentable conclusions. The history of Pakistani politics bears it out quite vividly.

Syed Khurshid Shah’s parliamentary aptness was inspiring when he said that the Opposition earnestly wanted to see the prime minister as a clean leader holding high moral grounds and not a leader possessing guilty credentials. He underscored the importance of resolving the all issues in the Parliament and thus prove their mettle of leadership as parliamentarians of substance. He also raised a very pertinent and logical question about the sons of the prime minister urging them to surrender their passports if they did not want to pay taxes to their country.

Other political parties are also not in favour of exposing the political system to dangers. PPP’s level of commitment to democracy and its continuity is both enviable and unblemished and will remain so during all times to come. PPP founding leader and the leaders after him and workers had given their blood for the supreme cause of restoring, nurturing and sustaining democracy. It cannot afford to give even the slightest hint of compromising on democracy. It is bound to resist any such move that tend to asphyxiate much cherished legacy of their leaders Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. PPP is committed to lay anchor to the ship of democracy whenever confronted with tempestuous politics. 

Imran Khan, PTI chief, in his speech in Parliament cried hoarse when he accused the prime minister of money laundering, tax evasion and non-declaration of offshore companies and purchase of flats in central London. He also warned that if he did not get justice he would resort to agitation to force the prime minister to step down. One shudders on his unguarded assertion? Does it imply that he will not accept the findings of the judicial commission? Does it amount to an attempt of intimidating the judicial commission beforehand? He owes an explanation indeed. Such tactics will have no impact on the commission that will surely conduct the proceedings on the basis of facts before it. However, he has given an explanation in his press conference as he supported the probe through judicial commission led by chief justice of Pakistan.

He has also declared loud and clear he will launch mass movement whether his opposition partners stand by him or not. His dire inclination for solo-flight is irresistible. He did try this last time soon after the elections in 2013 but had to abandon it in the aftermath of Army Public School massacre in Peshawar. Many believe it was an ill-conceived exercise that wasted nation’s precious time including the postponement of the visit of the Chinese president to Pakistan leading to diplomatic embarrassment. It may be mentioned here most of the parties are not in favour of his political tactics of popular protest. His impetuousness to enter the corridors of power may lead to the plumping of his popularity.

The Opposition side suffered a fatal blow to its unity when MQM disassociated itself from the Opposition on the pretext of not considering its demands in the ToRs. It is reported that the parties opposed the demands of the MQM pertaining to investigation of written off loans, kickbacks and commissions. The PPP and the PTI did not agree to MQM contentions because they wanted to restrict the scope of the investigations confined to Panama Leaks. Major Opposition parties were of the view the inclusion of the MQM demands would open a Pandora box inevitably leading to distraction and the resultant inordinate delay that may take years. However, the MQM has re-joined the Opposition fold after its leader meeting with the Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah. Similarly, ANP, will never endorse Imran Khan’s political strategy.

So, the best way forward is to tackle the issue of corruption that is the root cause of all problems facing the country. Its symptoms should not consume the energies of the political leadership. They should get down the business of enacting full spectrum legislation to curb the evil of corruption thoroughly and comprehensively.

Today’s political, economic, strategic and ideological mess the country is embroiled in is the hateful legacy of the successive dictatorships. It has direct bearings on Panama Leaks one way or the other in polluting the environment of the country. The government and politics of the country is testimony to this sorry state of affairs. Pakistan would have been at the threshold of the developed nations today if the dictators had not wreaked havoc with its destiny.

It is hard to find any country in the world that has attained universally recognised sustainable and integrated development under dictatorship. Hundreds of countries around the world have brought about such development encompassing socio-economic development, rule of law, human rights, independent judiciary and free media.

muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com