Amidst the plight the country is embroiled in, it is the fate of the wretched of the earth which continues to be bartered for securing some more crumbs for the rich and the mighty.
This has been a distressing tradition which many in the past have vowed to alter but failed simply because of the deeply dug-in hold which a combination of the pelf and influence of the beneficiary elite has heartlessly cultivated across the echelons of power. Their hoarse-throated yells of dragging their adversaries through the streets and hanging them by the poles create an impression of incorrigible political differences but, given half a chance, their crass interests bring them together to wear the cloak of bonhomie and share the spoils of power through another stint.
I watched a senior leader of the PPP addressing a press conference after the by-election in Sambrial. In a rare act of candidness, he conceded that people had neither voted for his party nor the PML-N. He went on to say that the PPP had been punished for brokering a power-sharing deal with the PML-N and highlighted the need to break this logjam. Strangely, he did not say anything about the pyrrhic victory of the PML-N – a party which, according to him, had not received people’s votes. Yet, that party was declared the winner while the PPP continues to be part of the government simply because, once out of it, they fear their political capital will be completely washed away before the onslaught heralded by people who are no longer willing to compromise the sanctity of their votes.
Much as I respect his daring confession, these sanctimonious lectures have little value when not practised. Let me remind him that a similar gory scene was enacted in the recently held by-election in Umerkot, where his own party was guilty of stuffing the boxes and using the crude power of their government to wrest victory from the PTI, whom the people of the constituency had voted for.
These sordid shenanigans reflect the waning power base of the corrupt traditional political elite in the country. The fear it generates regarding the increasingly depleting prospects of their survival compels them to use fascist tactics to keep the popular support for the PTI under wraps and ensure the continued incarceration of Imran Khan through registering fake and fraudulent cases against him. The tactic has not worked in the past. These suppressive measures have further enhanced his support base among the people as is evidenced by continued restrictions imposed on his meetings with his political associates, his lawyers and family members. It is a self-defeating exercise that will only generate further disunity and tension in the country.
But we cannot block the future. The mechanism adopted so far is not workable in terms of its sustainability or effectiveness. The PTI cannot be wished away. It is the largest political party in the country with a huge following across the national expanse. Attempts to keep it out of the mainstream by blocking its election victories and offering the seats on a platter to a clan of the corrupt are bound to boomerang, thus carving out further distrust and discord.
A country either has democracy or it doesn’t. And when there is no democracy, it cannot be claimed that it is there. It does not work that way. In fact, such a false claim, if made, would also create issues of transparency and integrity. Unfortunately, we not only deny the absence of democracy and constitutional rule; we insist on claiming that we have it and the country is being run in accordance with provisions of the statute book. This situation has continued to generate despondency and disbelief among people who cannot comprehend the existing situation.
But, even more importantly, they are increasingly enraged by uncertainties and a depleting paradigm of opportunities to move further. According to one conservative estimate, over three million people have left the country in the past three years, out of which 135,000 are reported to have sought asylum in various countries. This is a mass exodus of people who have lost hope in a future here and are seeking it elsewhere. There are reports that they have sold out their meagre assets to ensure that they are able to leave. This speaks of a sad and painful situation!
Let’s stop pretending to have what we don’t have. Let’s stop masquerading as what we are not. Let’s at least be recognised for what we are: no constitution, no democracy, no justice, no respect for human rights and little to no shade of morality and humanity. We have divorced these values and are reduced to the basics. Can we move on like this and still be accepted as a legitimate government deriving its strength from the people’s mandate?
We are on the brink of collapse as a constitutional and democratic country. This does not augur well for our future and that of the people. The increasing numbers desperate to leave in the hope of trying their luck elsewhere only indicate their total loss of hope in their own country. But, instead of taking remedial steps to recultivate their trust, we are literally pushing them away like we don’t need them here. This is an unwieldy situation with toxic prospects for the country and the people.
We need an urgent review of what we are doing and why. The frenetic push to isolate Imran Khan and dismantle the PTI is the lethal stroke we have administered, which has pushed the country downhill. But the power wielders have failed to besiege people’s thoughts and aspirations. Be it the general election of February 8 or the subsequent by-elections, including the most recent ones in Umerkot and Sambrial, the PTI is alive and thriving among people more than any other party. The confessional statements of some political leaders are a confirmation of this trend, which appears unstoppable despite the indiscriminate use of brutal state apparatus. It is time for introspection. As Faiz sahib had warned: “Let the clarion call go forth to the mighty/ To stand sentinel to the measure of their deeds./ When the wretched of the earth shall surge/ Entreating for vengeance,/ None shall come to their rescue.”
In the face of a mounting swell of people, the best option is to adopt the course of sanity. Let’s not push things towards further confrontation. The simmering disputes will be sorted out only through a process of dialogue. It is already late, but let’s not make it any later than now.
The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He is a former special assistant to former PM Imran Khan and heads the PTI’s policy think-tank. He tweets RaoofHasan