Downfall of monarchy

March 30 was no doubt an historical day in our national politics when the entire experienced political leadership gathered under one roof at Sindh House in Islamabad to mutually discuss issues related to move our country towards peace and prosperity.

Opposition leader Mian Shehbaz Sharif, who chaired the meeting, has rightly termed the political gathering a ‘national jirga’ struggling to ensure national unity. His statement also reminded me of my column published in Daily Jang on March 21, 2018 in which I had suggested organizing a national grand jirga in a similar way.

“Exactly 78 years ago today, a historic meeting was held in Manto Park, Lahore under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which paved the way for the creation of our beloved homeland Pakistan,” I had written in the context of Pakistan Day, emphasizing that “As a Pakistani patriot, it is the voice of my conscience that a grand jirga must be called to invite our top leadership for reaching on consensus on national issues.” I was quite confident that if we succeeded in holding such a grand jirga then Pakistan would not only be able to become an Asian Tiger within a year but that major public issues would also be solved.

During my parliamentary politics of more than two decades, I am proud that whatever decision I have made in my political career, time has always proved it to be a turning point. I have made serving my community and the soft image of Pakistan the focus of my politics.

Keeping the political turmoil in view, I advised the prime minister to resign from the post in a dignified manner. In my view, people are expecting Imran Khan to build a new Pakistan where there is politics of principles, morality and good values. I always requested him to not compromise on the politics of principles otherwise the situation would become worse. I reminded him of the wise sayings of Chanakya that the secret of success of a great ruler is his capable advisers; and one should think ten times before making any decision and once he/she has made the right decision, there should be no ‘U-turns’.

In the 21st century, there is no room for monarchy anywhere in the world. With the passage of time, people have learnt that the only solution of all these problems is democracy, which means a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation. The word, in fact, is a mixture of two Greek words; (i) demos (citizens) and (ii) kratos (rule).

In a parliamentary system of government, the people are empowered to elect their representatives and send them to the Parliament. In order to make sure that no elected leader should try to follow monarchy's way of rule, the vote of no-confidence is a parliamentary practice in all democratic countries.

In my view, our present rulers are no longer following the democratic ways. Irresponsible statements and unnecessary criticism for exploiting the sentiments of supporters are not only affecting our democratic setup but our friendly countries too seem to be annoyed with us for openly violating diplomatic norms. On the other hand, the experienced leadership of the opposition parties is currently playing its cards in a sensible and wise way.

Today, our national situation has reached such a critical point that in my view, it is not a matter of just one person to rectify it, but all the experienced political leaders who believe in democratic values need to play their due role. According to astrologists, the downfall of all those who believe in monarchy has started in Pakistan.

The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

He tweets @RVankwani