Once again, Pakistan’s political class is embroiled in an internecine clash for power. There is a sense that some form of denouement – which may even be a change of regime – is at hand. We are waiting breathlessly for the JIT’s report after an investigation that has electrified the ongoing process.
But will the Supreme Court’s ruling on it bring any clarity on the issue of alleged high corruption and financial misdemeanours by our ruling politicians? Are we on the threshold of a new beginning in the context of enforcing accountability and transparency in our system of governance?
Imran Khan – who deserves credit for this upheaval and the Supreme Court’s initial verdict on the Panama Papers case against the Sharif family – believes so and has insisted that victory in his war against the “corrupt mafia” will lead Pakistan to a glorious future under, obviously, his leadership.
Ah, but the ground realities – some of which were reflected in this week’s deliberations and particularly in the commemoration of July 5 – project a nasty scenario. Nawaz Sharif’s party is building a case that a conspiracy is being hatched to remove an elected government from power. In any case, the PML-N has sought to shift the focus from a juridical territory to the political domain.
Besides, when we talk about the ‘corrupt mafia’ in politics, we cannot draw the line or identify all the culprits. In fact, the ‘corrupt mafia’ is spread across the spectrum of national activity. Call it the ruling establishment. Or, simply, the elite of Pakistan. You just have to look at the prominent faces in the major parties to know where they come from.
Interestingly, Imran Khan’s PTI has its own rogues’ gallery and he feels no qualms about embracing a person like Babar Awan or consenting to the political wisdom of the likes of Sheikh Rashid. A charismatic leader, we know, is forgiven many errors of judgement or character by his or her followers. At the same time, one may imagine the disappointment of a number of committed and bright individuals who were lured into the supposedly dirty business of politics by Imran’s leadership.
The point I am making is that all our leading political parties comprise almost the same kind of aspirants for power. They constitute the political class that we have. Most of them are bound together in complex networks that are formed on the basis of shared interests. I recall that these linkages were painstakingly explored in Aqeel Abbas Jafri’s classic ‘Pakistan ke siyasi wadere’.
The present animosity and rage that is expressed by the stalwarts of the PML-N and the PTI gives the impression that it is a conflict of an ideological nature, based on deep convictions and personal faith. It would also be assumed that the parties these loud-mouthed loyalists defend have specific ideological orientations and separate economic and social platforms.
This is not the case – particularly with reference to the PML-N, the PTI and the PPP. Once upon a time, the PPP was a populist, left-of-centre party. But its message was mangled, even during the days of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Now the three parties have so much in common and the so-called ‘electables’ can easily saunter from one party into the other. In the present state of turmoil, defections are becoming more frequent and there has been some traffic from the PPP into the PTI.
However, what makes these parties different from each other is their leaders. They personify whatever the party is supposed to be at a given time. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s low political culture has sustained charismatic and dynastic leadership. It is personal focus that matters, not ideas or programmes. One dimension of this dynamic is that bitter ideological opponents may have safe berths in the same party.
That is why I said at the outset that the great political battle we are watching is internecine in nature. It is a conflict within the ruling elite and, regardless of its outcome, the crisis of Pakistan is bound to deepen. Once again, some of our political leaders are chasing the rainbow. Anyway, there is bound to be considerable confusion about the vision that any party has of a ‘naya’ Pakistan, given its present power structure and its national security obsessions.
As far as turmoil in the political arena is concerned, I am tempted to borrow some lines from Matthew Arnold: “And we are here as on a darkling plane/Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, /Where ignorant armies clash by night”.
On the face of it, a massive shift is in the offing. What happens during the next few days may have consequences. But how will these otherwise upsetting probabilities affect the destiny of Pakistan or the life of the ordinary citizens? To say that Pakistan is at a critical juncture is a cliché. If it is so, the crisis is located in our geo-strategic challenges and in the mounting deprivations of the people who largely remain passive spectators of the antics of our politicians.
What vested interest do these people have in a change in the civilian government? Sure, they are supposed to elect their leaders in a democratic dispensation. While they may be able to vote out a party, they completely lack the capacity to remove the ruling elite from power. Is there some hope, then, that if the elite become divided along party lines, they would weaken and – for their own survival – attend to the welfare of the people?
This question reminds me of an interview that was given last year in August by the outgoing country head of UNDP, Marc-Andre Franche. There were some disturbing observations about our rulers and society that I had quoted in my column. I feel constrained to go back to it in the context of the present situation. The heading of the Business Recorder interview was: ‘Pakistani elite needs to decide whether or not they want a country’.
Let me conclude with a paragraph from that interview: “If there is anything I leave with, it is a sense that the only way a critical change will happen in Pakistan is when the elite of this country, the politicians and the wealthy sections of the society, will sacrifice their short-term individual and family interest in the benefit of the nation. You cannot have a political class in this country that uses its power to enrich itself, and to favour its friends and families. This fundamental flaw needs to be corrected if Pakistan is to transform into a modern, progressive developed country”.
The writer is a senior journalist.
Email: ghazi_salahuddinhotmail.com