Comment: Politicians unite only to please establishment

ISLAMABAD: Political leaders on both sides of the political divide showed unprecedented unity on two occasions during the last few years but were not prepared to sit together, even to save the country from default.

In 2019, the then PTI-led coalition government gave three-year extension to the then army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. After the Supreme Court’s surprised intervention seeking enactment of a law to allow such an extension, the PTI government was supported by both the PML-N and PPP in parliament to make the law allowing another three-year term to Gen (retd) Bajwa as the army chief. Not only all these three leading political parties have been voicing their abhorrence to extensions in defence services before General (retd) Bajwa’s extension, later all of them again admitted at different times that it was a bad decision.

In 2022, incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after consultation with all his coalition partners, decided to appoint the incumbent Army Chief General Asim Munir. Although, the prime minister is the competent authority to appoint the army chief, in this particular case President Arif Alvi flew to Lahore and visited Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence to get his consent over this appointment. Though legally it was not required, the PTI formally announced that Imran Khan had endorsed the appointment of General Asim Munir as the army chief.

In the case of Gen (retd) Bajwa’s extension, the PML-N decision to support the legislation allowing the extension was seen as a complete U-turn to Nawaz Sharif’s slogan of “vote ko izzat do” (respect the vote), which was adopted after Sharif’s removal from the PM’s office in 2017. Nawaz Sharif and Maryam have been publicly blaming Gen (retd) Bajwa and others for Sharif’s removal from the PM’s office and his disqualification from politics for life. Yet only to please the establishment, the PML-N voted for the law that allowed an extension to Gen (retd) Bajwa.

In the case of Gen Asim Munir, Imran Khan earlier had reservations. But when the prime minister decided to appoint General Asim Munir as army chief, Imran Khan also ensured making his consent public only to please the establishment.

As against the army chief’s extension or appointment, the present economic situation of the country is of far more importance. Pakistan is on the brink of a possible default and there is a dire need for the political parties from both sides to sit together and save the country from a Sri Lanka-like situation.

However, they are neither prepared to sit under one roof for a much-needed charter of the economy to correct the fundamentals of the country’s economy nor restraining themselves from politics on economy. Instead, they are at daggers drawn and treat each other like enemies.

Because of this attitude of the country’s politicians, the country is suffering and so are the people. Besides the economic crisis, now the country is faced with a constitutional crisis as there are doubts about the holding of elections in Punjab and KP within 90 days of the dissolution of assemblies in these provinces.

Interestingly, the ruling PDM is not keen to discuss elections or the election date whereas Imran Khan-led PTI is not willing to discuss the economy and only wants early elections to come into power.