Civilian leaders are not necessarily democratic too. In Pakistan's context, one can even say the same about our political parties as well. As a result, our national politics has almost shrunk and Benazir Bhutto's assassination was a major blow to it. She was the leader of national and international stature.
One of our biggest crises is the leadership crisis, which has deepened because our parties are not ready to democratise themselves. In the present situation, there are only two leaders one can look to put democracy on the right path i.e. veteran Mian Nawaz Sharif and the main opposition leader, Imran Khan.
Their failure to resolve the crises may turn into the failure of democracy and democratic values. Both are making mistakes in resolving the political crises and things are not moving in the right direction.
It appears as if our parties and leaders are not ready to learn from their past mistakes. It certainly does not mean that space should be filled by undemocratic forces, but pressure should be exerted on both to sit across the table instead of making it a personal issue.
PM Nawaz Sharif has more responsibility, not only because he is the chief executive of the country but also he is far more experienced than his opponent, both in politics and certainly in dealing with the government.
He should not lead to the crisis in which he once again pushed himself to a situation where he had to ask the army chief, General Raheel Sharif, to intervene. If he could go to Bani Gala two years back to seek Imran's support for the operation Zarb-e-Azb, he could do it again; he could go to him or invite him and entire opposition for direct talks. It would be a democratic behaviour of a civilian leader.
If PM Sharif strongly feels that all charges against his family and against him are 'baseless’, he should accept all opposition demands. After all, it’s not the opposition which would conduct the investigation or lead the judicial commission, but a judicial forum. So, irrespective of whatever terms of reference (ToRs) the opposition has come up with, Sharif should not escape and get himself cleared.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has made things far more difficult, not only for himself but also for the PM. His ruling and decision to drop references against the PM and refer the ones against Imran Khan and another senior PTI leader Jahangir Tareen made him controversial. He could have easily avoided this situation and kept the neutrality of the ‘chair’, (the speaker). Either, it was his decision or been told by the party's top leadership, it certainly will not help the government and the PM.
Nawaz can still defuse the situation in many ways. He should immediately stop his party leaders from issuing aggressive, tit-for-tat statements like going to Bani Gala if Imran led the rally to Raiwind, or by blocking his way through force or people's power. Such statements not only aggravate the situation but increase tension. If he did not stop his party leaders, there are chances of law and order situation, or clashes between PML-N and PTI workers. If this situation leads to any major clash or loss of life, things may go out of control and in the end, not only Sharif or the PML-N would be a loser but democracy might also derail. If the PM himself has issued such instructions to his party leaders to counter the PTI and Imran, it’s a suicidal attempt for the government.
Secondly, he should invite Imran Khan for talks, may be at his residence, Raiwind, if not at the PM House. Thirdly, he can even invite the joint opposition also for major political talks to resolve the crisis in the presence of his own coalition parties like JUI-F and national parties. Fourth, he can resume dialogue with parties like Awami National Party (ANP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which, though in opposition, are still open for playing the role of neutral partners.
Sharif must refresh some old memories as to what had happened when former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had delayed starting negotiations with the then opposition alliance PNA, and later on delayed signing of an accord in 1977, after nine opposition parties accused him of rigging the elections.
Had Bhutto called the fresh elections even under neutral government immediately, he would have won the elections. He invited the opposition weeks after street agitation and pushed the initiative into the hands of the PNA, and allowed the army to intervene.
Sharif should also learn from the 2014 crisis which led to 126-day sit-in, which could have been avoided had he accepted Imran's earlier demand for opening of four constituencies for a probe.
Killing of 14 people during firing on the supporters of Dr Tahirul Qadri in Model Town was completely uncalled for and a brutal act. Now, even if PM Sharif or PML-N feel embarrassment, which as a democrats they should not in inviting Imran Khan, he should not hesitate in re-negotiating with PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Although, there are reports that the PM may take some initiative in this regard and if PPP leader Manzoor Wasan's prediction is true that former president would return in December 2016, after lapse of around 15 months, it indicated that things may cool down.
It may be true as by the time Mr Zardari returns, the new army chief would have been appointed. The opposition minus Imran and Dr Tahirul Qadri so far have played a mature role and they are still trying to bring the situation to normality, but they want PM Sharif to satisfy the parliament over Panama Papers.
The maturity of the opposition could be judged from the fact that it did not support Imran's decision to go to Raiwind, the residence of Sharifs. There are reports within the PTI that he might review his decision as some prominent opposition leaders and parties have already advised him to change the venue. These include PML-Q president, veteran Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and leader of the opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah. Even Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq is not in favour of setting a bad precedent.
Both Sharif and Imran have a poor record of attendance in the parliament, for which they suppose to protect. I wish Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have been present in the National Assembly today, and had listened to Imran Khan's rare speech in the house. Only weeks earlier, Sharif made a good gesture by personally going to the opposition after its walkout. In the same spirit, he should also invite them for dialogue with an open mind.
Imran Khan, in the last eight years, in particular has emerged as a powerful leader and presented himself as an alternative. He has posed a serious challenge to already established veteran Nawaz Sharif, now elected as the prime minister, for the record third time.
The PM and PML-N must understand that this crisis is getting serious and may not be over in few weeks. Those who know Imran also know that even if he is down, he can fight back, as he has the quality of a fighter.
His show in Karachi was a flop, but one can’t say anything about Sept 24 protest plans. There were not millions during Islamabad sit-in, but in 126 days, the PTI and the PAT brought the situation to a point where PM Sharif was left with no option but to appeal to the army chief to intervene, which again brought a bad name to democracy.
Decision to defuse the situation is in the hands of the prime minister and his team, but he must remember that in democracy the initiative often is in the hands of the opposition. As situation stands today, the prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N are making things difficult for themselves, despite being in a stronger position in the parliament.
NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has further pushed the opposition to a situation where they may leave with no other option but to take to the street and that too from the joint platform. Neither PM Nawaz nor Speaker Ayaz Sadiq attended the National Assembly session on Thursday, when the main opposition leader Imran Khan made a rare appearance in the parliament and present his case against the speaker's decision to send reference against him to the ECP and withhold the one against the PM.
His decision not only made him controversial but once again united the opposition, which staged a walkout after Imran's powerful speech. In the next few weeks, we will see whether our civilian leaders also turn out to be democratic or not.
The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang
