Let’s be practical
HEARING rumours about setting up of a caretaker government comprising technocrats and headed by a man from finance sector, I thought that a caretaker PM with good all-round experience could give better overall performance as compared to a specialist in any particular field.
I say this because a specialist will lay maximum emphasis on his specialty, and fail to keep proper balance between different activities, which is essential to secure optimum results.
It is true that our biggest problem is collapsing economy. However, considering the peculiarities of our system, a finance-specific approach won’t be suitable.
Of course, this does not preclude appointing an experienced and capable person to handle finance.
Moreover, even assuming that the caretaker set-up properly addresses our biggest problem, it will have to be followed by general election which will bring back our traditional politicians, with the usual ailments creeping back into the system.
So, with the departure of the caretaker set-up, the supposed improvement in the system will also disappear.
In any case, a three-month period allowed to caretaker government would not be enough to sort out our deeply flawed system.
Moreover, there is no provision in the Constitution for a caretaker system spanning a year or longer though strange happenings are not exactly unknown in our history.
Also, if the next general election is held within a few months, this will have to be based on the last census which did a big injustice to Karachi through massive under-count of city population, by stating it as sixteen million as against the actual population of around thirty million.
And this under-count of Karachi population greatly reduces the city’s share under NFC award as well as the number of Parliamentary seats.
Taking an overall view, I feel the present government comprising PML-N, PPP and other parties, though not ideal, is still a reasonable proposition and must be allowed to complete the rest of the term.
Leaving aside the question of integrity of some leaders – which is definitely not an insignificant matter – the PML-N and PPP have people with adequate qualification and experience who can handle problems faced by the country.
The one essential step that needs to be taken is to exercise sufficient control over their activities.
In fact, by ordering a stop to transfers and postings of key officials in sensitive institutions like NAB, FIA, etc, the Supreme Court has already initiated this process.
Genuine cases against accused persons must be pursued vigorously and if the charges are proved, the guilty must undergo due punishment, together with disqualification for sufficient time, if not for life.
This way, the political parties may get cleansed of corrupt-to-the-core leaders over a period of time, leaving behind a pool of competent persons with a reasonable level of integrity.
With the experiment of a third option by way of PTI proving a complete and utter disaster, pruning the major parties is about the only practical solution.
I think there is no need to fear Imran Khan’s threatened March to Islamabad and to announce an early election under pressure.
Even if an election is held within a few months, it will not solve problems but may create yet more.
Knowing Imran Khan’s over-rating of himself, he is sure to reject election result if, as is likely, it fell short of his astronomical expectations.
And as for his effectiveness while in government, we know that despite launching a crusade against corruption, he could not get even a single major corruption case resolved during his three and a half year’s rule.
And in his present defanged state, his threats will remain confined to verbal ‘assaults’.
Moreover, his indecent remarks about Maryam and his trading activity in state gifts – highly improper though meeting the test of legality – have badly dented his image.
It is no consolation that others also did it. And we don’t know what else may be revealed in future.
Of course, being a crowd puller, Imran Khan successfully gathers large crowds from the same city to attend his public meetings.
However, getting them to March from all corners of the country to Islamabad and stay there won’t be easy, more so when he has lost resourceful associates like Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan.
Moreover, he can secure large attendance in his public meetings which comprises mostly people from the whole city.
But to win elections, he would need that many voters in each constituency, which won’t be easy.
To sum up, I would say that presently, no single party can solve the serious problems faced by the country.
And it is not so much a question of capability but is more a matter of absence of integrity among the leaders of major political parties that in order to facilitate their corruption, mess up systems deliberately and appoint pliant officials in important positions.
Fed up with their taking turns to repeat the orgy, the powerful sectors tried a third option by way of PTI, which also failed bitterly and holds no promise even for the future.
The experiment of technocrat governments has also failed to resolve recurring problems. Therefore, the solution lies in letting the present coalition government complete the term, with tabs kept on leaders facing corruption cases which must be pursued vigorously, and convicted persons punished adequately.
In view of dismal prosecution results, plea-bargains should be encouraged. This would start the process of cleansing the political parties.
Moreover, in the national interest, the Establishment and the Superior Judiciary must lend required support to the coalition government to implement necessary reforms.
Decades back, I heard a popular slogan in England which went like this “Politics is too important to be left to politicians.
” I must admit I grasped its full significance only now.
— The writer is senior political analyst based in Karachi.
