A barren 2017

A barren, poisonous year is behind us. Or perhaps, it will stay with us, like a broken arrow inside the flesh, spreading toxicity. A new year is in front of us, bringing new hopes and promises. Or, perhaps, there is nothing new under the new sun. After all, what is a new year but an arbitrary point we mark to regulate our lives, functionally and symbolically. It is our own imagination, our own agency that shapes and defines time and sets the old apart from the new.

Everyone has let us down, at one point or another. That’s not unusual. The year 2017 was unusual because everyone let us down in one go, simultaneously — the government, the opposition, the judiciary, the establishment and the media. It was a year when Mashal Khan was a victim and Khadim Hussain Rizvi was a victor. Even if there was no scheme, by their acts of omission and commission, everyone was part of the conspiracy to hand the victory stand over to Rizvi, the man of the year.

Just as Imran Khan had succeeded in mobilising a section of the middle class in 2007, Khadim Hussain Rizvi was able to mobilise a section of the low-income religious class a decade later. These groups have not been mobilised around the economic agenda because there is no party mobilising the poor around an economic programme. Just when we had declared victory against extremist groups, we witnessed the rise of violent, assertive Barelviism in the form of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasul Allah (TLYR).

The year 2018 will determine the fortunes of the new religio-political political entity, alongside another newborn beauty, the Milli Muslim League (MML) of Hafiz Saeed. Though a nascent organisation, the MML already enjoys worldwide fame. Who says we have a problem of image in the world? If these parties perform well in the new year, they may reshape religious politics in Pakistan and influence the course of mainstream politics as well.

Whether these parties succeed or not, the spectacle of Khadim Rizvi’s dharna will stay etched in our memory. How can we forget the humiliation and the helplessness of the state at the hands of a mere two thousand men of a marginal religious leader? Such charged mobs, we learnt, enjoy parity with the state.

Pakistan is not just a faltering state; it is arguably the most reluctant state in the world. When states started emerging many thousand years ago, the whole world was organised in tribes. Until now, the conflict between state and tribal structures has continued as tribes invariably resist encroachment from the state. Tribal areas are always brought under the state kicking and screaming. Pakistan is one state that is kicking and screaming as Fata is locked in a struggle to become a part of the state structures.

In 2017, we finally came to know the most crucial statistics of the nation as the census was carried out after a gap of two decades. The results showed that Pakistan’s population is growing at an astonishing, unsustainable rate of 2.4 percent a year. Bangladesh, which separated from us as a more populous wing, has brought its population growth rate down to merely 1.1 percent. The revision in population also resulted in Bangladesh overtaking Pakistan in terms of per capita income. Horror of horrors, a common man in disaster-stricken Bangladesh is now better off than a common Pakistani — and the gap will grow due to the difference in population growth.

High population growth often results from lack of development, both economic and social. It is directly linked to lack of education, lack of healthcare and lack of empowerment for women. It also results in a youth bulge that is often correlated with conflict and instability. However, we saw that politicians from high-growth areas were dissatisfied with the numbers of their people. They believe that, due to their wise leadership, people are multiplying faster than the census has been able to capture.

In a time-honoured custom, a prime minister was declared the villain of the year, found to be heading a Sicilian mafia while masquerading as the most popular leader leading the most popular political party. This development was hailed as a victory for rule of law in this country.

There is a burning desire in the middle class to be equal to the ruling elite. This translates in demand for rule of law. Rule of law means that the rules of justice are higher than any individual who currently holds political power. With so many groups and people above the law, this demand is often satisfied by sacrificing an errant prime minister.

We know that the Sharifs remained off the hook for three decades. During the 1990s, they were darlings of the establishment, and on their return in 2007 they found that the courts were kind to them. When Shahbaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab thanks to a stay order, the PPP was being whipped by the Chaudhry court to provide us cathartic satisfaction and Asif Ali Zardari was the most corrupt person in the universe. We even hoped that his fabulous wealth, once brought back to the country, could free us from the burden of taxation.

I have nothing against the Colosseum except for the fact that these cathartic spectacles are held at the cost of something called rule by law. While rule of law is a new idea, rule by law is the old notion of the king or the court dispensing justice to subjects. It means that some sort of justice is delivered when subjects are in conflict with each other.

Only a month ago, Rani Bibi of Chiniot was freed by the Lahore High Court after remaining behind bars for 19 years on the false accusation of murdering her husband. Her father died in prison while facing incarceration in the same case. Her brother, freed alongside her, is now a sick old man. She became a victim to vindictiveness of her own, equally poor, in laws. She says she faced this situation because she was unable to pay Rs400 to the police in a timely manner.

It is hard to estimate how many Rani Bibis are facing this situation as there are close to two million cases pending in our courts. Should the honourable chief justice be worrying about ensuring clean drinking water for us while the judicial system sits on a mountain of these cases? We are told that the judiciary has to intervene when he executive fails. Who can intervene when the legal system fails in such a spectacular fashion?

When the judiciary does its work, it can do wonders. Honourable Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, freed millions of poor Christian women from the vagaries of a Zia-era legislation that had made it impossible for them to get a divorce. The Lahore High Court struck out an amendment in the Christian Divorce Act (1869), making it possible for Christian couples to divorce in a dignified way. Earlier, adultery or converting out of Christianity were the only reasons for divorce allowed to Christian couples in Pakistan.

I find Amin Masih, who had brought this case to court, and Honourable Justice Mansoor Ali Shah the most influential persons of year. Let me thank both gentlemen on behalf of my Christian sisters.

Happy New Year!

The writer is an anthropologist and development professional.

Email: zaighamkhan@yahoo.com

Twitter: @zaighamkhan