FORMER Prime Minister and PML(N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has, once again, tried to sensitize all the stakeholders by warning them that the current economic and political crisis has all the makings of attracting a military take-over, adding that the army intervened in the past in much less severe circumstances. In an interview, he made it clear that martial law always remained a possibility if the system failed or when there was a conflict between institutions and the political leadership was unable to chart a way forward.
Abbasi’s statements and activities are being viewed skeptically by his own party but his analysis of the situation and proposals about the way forward merit consideration by all concerned for the sake of the country and its people. Saner voices have also been warning that continuation of the prevailing deadlock is not a good omen for the nascent democratic process and that political leaders should sort out their differences through selfless dialogue. If the Army has not so far intervened, it is because of its decision to remain apolitical but there are genuine apprehensions that prolonged conflict could push the country in any direction. And unfortunately there seems to be no worthwhile possibility of a breakthrough in coming days or weeks as instead of demonstrating flexibility, which the need of the hour, the positions of real stakeholders are hardening with the passage of time. The Supreme Court gave the date of April 27 for resumption of hearing of the case pertaining to holding elections in Punjab in the hope the political parties would utilize the opportunity to sort out differences on the issue through talks. There are reports of initial contacts between the PML(N) and the PTI on the possibility of initiating a dialogue but their stated positions and ground realities do not inspire confidence for success of such efforts. JUI(F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is heading the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), has ruled out any talks with Imran Khan, terming him totally unreliable and it is to be seen whether or not PML(N) can afford a dialogue without taking the Maulana on board. Another coalition partner – PPP – is in favour of dialogue and has also formed a committee of its own for initiating contacts with other parties but the party has announced to hold protest demonstrations in Sindh against separate polls for the two provincial assemblies and rest of the assemblies. ANP had also announced to host an All Parties Conference (ANP) a day before the Supreme Court bench would resume hearing of the case and its success depends on who actually attends and whether consensus emerges on the polling date. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has a point when he says elections elsewhere in the world provide solutions to issues but in the prevailing environment and complex scenario elections are unlikely to take the country out of the existing messy situation. This viewpoint is also shared by neutral observers of the political developments as elections without addressing fundamental concerns about credibility and reliability of the exercises besides arriving at a consensus on how best to run the country in future would be an exercise in futility. He has rightly pointed out that there is more background including constitutional and institutional failure, political and judicial system failure and failure on part of the military establishment. In fact, the Constitution offers the way out but ironically its provisions are being interpreted by different stakeholders to suit their interests. The judiciary, which is empowered to interpret the Constitution and serve as a beacon of light, is being rightly or wrongly blamed for re-writing the Constitution. There are also legitimate concerns that state organs are interfering into the domains of others. We, therefore, need a firm commitment on the part of all concerned to adhere strictly to the Constitution and work within limits as envisaged in the Constitution. Abbasi has proposed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir — the three important players in the game — should initiate a dialogue but a dialogue among the three to the exclusion of others (judiciary and other political parties) might not help and, therefore, they should also be included in the dialogue process. In the meantime, the apex court should not run for delivering judgements that could exacerbate the crisis to the detriment of all.
