Land of no confidence

Pakistan has witnessed many constitutional crises of different dimensions through its 75-year history. But the chaos that has broken out now leaves us all in a state of both shock and despair for the future of the country which at present has no prime minister (save one who is not recognized by a majority of the former parliament), no cabinet, no chief minister in its largest province, and no real functioning of the government as the Supreme Court continues hearings into the matter of whether the use Article 5 to stop a no-confidence motion was legal. In Punjab things have become even more bizarre. A session of the provincial assembly which had earlier been delayed till later this month, was resummoned by the deputy speaker of the House, Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari. However, minutes after the deputy speaker, who belongs to the PTI and appears now to be in the dissident camp, sent in the order, it was struck down by Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who is also one of the contestants for the post of Punjab CM. The joint opposition tried to unsuccessfully move a no-confidence motion against Elahi after which the PTI moved the same against its own deputy speaker (Mazari). There has since then been chaos at the Punjab Assembly with doors being barricaded off to opposition MPAs and staff themselves completely uncertain over whom to listen to or what to do. A crisis of this nature is difficult to remember in recent history, and one is at a loss to understand how it is to be resolved given the growing divisions between the political classes in the country.

Essentially, what we witnessed in the Punjab Assembly yesterday was another example of how the PTI has had no qualms about flouting all constitutional rules and regulations to stick to power. If the party is so confident that it has the numbers to elect a new CM in Punjab, why the delay? And while it can continue with such delaying tactics, these are just adding to the constitutional crisis it has already thrown the country in. The Punjab-based opposition, not to be deterred from voting in a new chief minister, has already congregated at a local hotel and in a symbolic session of the ‘Punjab Assembly’ elected Hamza Shahbaz as CM Punjab.

As if a constitutional crisis in the centre and a bizarre battle for power in Punjab were not enough, the Sindh Assembly became the site of perhaps the most disturbing scenes of the last few days. PTI representatives strung up an effigy of what they said was a ‘traitor’ right outside the provincial assembly. Any student of history would know that the route taken by the PTI and Imran Khan – calling nearly 200 parliamentarians disloyal to the state – is not just petulant politics, but extremely dangerous. This is a country where lynch mobs are not fiction but a grimreality. In such a polarized environment, adding fuel to a fire already out of control is not just irresponsible but also seems to be intentionally provocative. Sunday’s events, if not rectified soon, will not just be a short dark chapter in our history. They could be the beginning of a far more dangerous spiral into violence. We have said it before: nothing good can ever come out of labeling political opponents as traitors or using legitimate concerns about imperialist policies for cynical political ends. Fascism thrives on such divisions, and especially on painting anyone critical as a danger to society. The only hope now is for the apex court to come to a conclusion soon so that this chapter can come to an end.