THERE comes a time in the life of a nation when business as usual, is no longer an option, and change must come. Pakistan was created through a political process and it suffered humiliation of disintegration, when this political process was disrupted. We must change and adopt vision of our Founding Fathers, to prevent further damage. The paid and elected political elite must see the writing on the wall. Elections are due on 8 February and by 16 December the election schedule will be announced to meet 54 days requirement. However, as yet, no political party has presented a plan to salvage the economy, widen tax-net by levying taxes on retail/wholesale and real estate sector, big landlords, tobacco industry and the cartels involved in sugar and fertilizer industry. The MD IMF has emphasized that without taxing those who earn enough, Pakistan will always be captive to this debt trap and the country cannot develop.
Aristotle stated in 1253 that “Man by nature is a political animal”. It was political awakening of Muslims, which resulted in laying down foundations of Muslim League at Dacca in 1906 by Nawab Viqarul Mulk, followed by adoption of the Constitution at Karachi in December 1907, in a meeting presided by Adamji Peerbhai. By 1930 the concept of Pakistan as a separate state was formally laid down by Allama Iqbal at Allahabad. Earlier MAJ while presiding over a special session of ML held at Calcutta on September 7-1920 elaborated that one of the basic principles needed for internal administration are “the highest level of justice and humanity”. Today when Pakistan is at its crossroad, this country needs to follow in letter and spirit the 1973 Constitution and ensure that all citizens must be given equal rights, opportunities, justice, security of life and property, with a vibrant self-sustaining economy, capable to protect its sovereignty and welfare of all citizens. Political parties and the mindset of their leadership plays a vital role in defining the political process, and so does their commitment to the belief that welfare of citizens must be the objective of politics and not nourishment of an elitist culture. Aristotle stated “Where some people become very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of these causes”. Mere process of casting votes does not constitute democracy. The objective for creation of Pakistan was made clear by the Quaid when he stated that Pakistan will be a modern democratic welfare state, where the will of people would reign supreme with a “Constitution” as supreme law, to which all citizens and institutions of the state must submit to. It is ironic, that in Pakistan, elected constitutional office holders such as PM, enjoying support of majority in parliament, rarely complete their tenures in office, whilst the unelected paid public office holders they appoint, manage to seek extensions in their tenure. This abusive precedent was initiated by the first native appointed as chief, namely Ayub Khan who was appointed in 1951 for a three-year term, but continued till he was forced out of office in March 1969. The grave yards of the world are proof, if any is needed, that individuals are dispensable and only the country must survive. A politician who considers himself indispensable is a recipe for disaster. Political party leaders must be elected by the general council constituting all registered members of the party and not nominated by an individual. Our religion Islam stresses that collective welfare of people is a trust placed in a consultative body to make decisions through collective wisdom. Individual sovereignty is a Divine right only, and no Muslim should aspire to attain this. Political parties must be seen to be democratic in their own functioning. The award of tickets for elections to NA/PA must be decided by district and tehsil level members of that political party, who can submit three or four name for the party head to choose from, and not the other way around. There is no concept of ancestorial right to be at helm in a democracy. Political leaders must be accountable and open to public scrutiny and they cannot claim rights to privacy, which ordinary citizens enjoy, because they decide fate and destiny of millions.
They must be judged and evaluated on a higher pedestal, than that applicable to common citizens, for morality, ethics and conflicts of interest. This is as much an Islamic concept as it is a democratic norm. Humility is a virtue for politicians, whilst arrogance is unacceptable. Austerity must be observed by elected public office holders. In constitutional parliamentary democracies, it is essential that individuals aspiring to hold highest office must have no assets located beyond borders of the country, nor split loyalties, because of the blatant conflict of interest. We have recently witnessed a sham election held by a popular political party PTI, to elect individuals for various posts. All of them were elected unopposed, as was the case in similar elections held by other major political parties, including PMLN, PPP etc. This archaic mindset needs to change. Most of the committees appointed by major political parties for distribution of tickets to NA and PA are dominated by individuals tainted with financial irregularities and real estate. In almost every democratic country, politicians elected as PM seek to appoint their team to key positions. Instead of choosing best qualified individuals on merit to hold various important posts to achieve their manifesto promises, politicians select semi-literate and controversial cronies to head state institutions, as if they were spoils of war. It is because of this that SOE’s such as PTI, PSM etc. have become white elephants and a burden on national exchequer. Even sports organizations have been handed over to incompetent political cronies, and PCB is one such body. Why should individuals implicated in match fixing irregularities be appointed in PCB, when there is no dearth of qualified talent.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
