Jang Economic Session: Call to discourage trend of violence in politics

LAHORE: The prime minister should call all parties conference to discuss and discourage the trend of violence in politics, and the politicians should agree to end the trend of negative behaviours in politics. These views were expressed by the panelists in Jang Economic Session titled “Trend of Power Use in Politics and Its Impact on Society and Electoral Process.”

The discussants were Ehsan Wayen, Khawar Khurshid, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Uzma Bukhari, Qayyum Nizami and Dr Salahudin Ayubi. The event was hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.

Ehsan Wayen said that attack on Ahsan Iqbal was a security lapse. He called for ending the trend of violence in politics, and the prime minister should call all parties conference (APC) on the issue. He said religious violence and the speeches spreading extremism should be banned. He said the political cultural of the subcontinent never had violence, so security was not required in public meetings and rallies. He said power was used in politics to maneuvre election results.

Khawar Khurshid said attack on Ahsan Iqbal was a planned conspiracy to destabilise the economy, law and order and investment climate. He said politicians should set aside political differences to counter anti-Pakistan conspiracies. He called for discouraging anti-Pakistan campaigns. He urged the role of media in creating positive image of the country.

Jamshed Iqbal Cheema said that attack on Ahsan Iqbal was deplorable, and merely condemnation of it would not resolve the issue until corruption and unemployment were eliminated which were the root causes of such incidents. He said politics was public services but had become business in Pakistan due to which politicians were notorious. He said use of offensive language had become common for personal gain and such trend was dangerous for the national politics. He said democracy taught tolerance so the politicians promoting violence should not be allowed to do politics.

Uzma Bukhari said if the law enforcement agencies had not played their role effectively, the situation would have worse in Ahsan iqbal attack incident so that police could not be held responsible for it. She said the government worked hard work for economic revival, and its efforts should not be sabotaged. She said negative trend in politics should be discouraged.

Qayum Nizami said that attack on Ahsan Iqbal was condemnable, and shortage of security and poor police performance were the reason for it. He called for de-politicising the police. There must be merit in appointment of the officers, he added. He called for revisiting the national policy to end intolerance in nation. He said hate-mongering to gain political advantage was damaging so the politicians should avoid it. He said election on equality basis was crucial for transparent election, and the election commission should play its role effectively in creating conducive environment for conduct of election.

Dr Salahudin Ayubi said that competition in business was good but applying the same formula in politics was wrong. He said negative marketing never had been laudable both in business and politics as it caused damage to society. He said politicians should also adopt national growth agenda and evolve code of conduct for politics.