POLITICS in developing countries like Pakistan has become an abuse.
It has lost its original meaning and sanctity. Politics primarily is a process through which power is gained by constitutional, political and electoral means to deliver services for the welfare of electors. On 10 April 2022, Imran Khan was removed from premiership through an in-house vote of no confidence that was a democratic and constitutional process. His own picked parliamentarians tuned against him in the voting because he relied on electables instead of choosing his party workers. Imran Khan paid a heavy price for his wrong selection. The Governor Punjab on the advice of former CM Usman Buzdar (the most trustworthy comrade of Imran Khan) dissolved Punjab Provincial Assembly on January 14, 2023. Likewise, the then Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on the advice of ex-CM Mehmood Khan also dissolved the KP Provincial Assembly on January 18, 2023.
Under Article 224 (2) of 1973 Constitution, the new general election for these legislatures had to be held within 90 days. However, Sikandar Sultan Raja, Chief Election Commissioner, violated the very spirit of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan by delaying the general election in the country on account of holding census in the country. That act established a wrong political precedent in the country. PTI exploited the in-house change and the delaying of general election and gained sympathy of the general masses. It launched unabated baseless allegations and propaganda against Pakistan spy agency (ISI) on social media and crossed all constitutional, legal and ethical limits.
The general election held on February 8, 2023 brought PTI with absolute majority in KP. The use of bullet, use of money in Senate election, character assassination, dynastic politics, political intolerance, demonstration of weapons etc are some abominable political cultural traits of Pakistan. The political leadership in the country trampled the welfare of the people down under their feet. There is no more ideological politics. Ideology of a party is only in name and not in practice. The constitutional sanctity of lectors’ votes lost its meaning and purpose. Workers of the party also lost their respect and value in the party. They are used for protests, violence, tools for spreading false propaganda and service of elites within their respective parties.
The electoral history of Senate is notorious for being using huge amount to get elected the affluent candidate in the society. The change of party loyalty for monetary consideration is also an evil practice in Senate elections. The recent Senate elections in the country, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are strange in many respects. First, PTI joined hands with those political parties that it declared as elected on Form-47. Second, PTI got divided into various factions and apparently into two because the top leadership ignored the decades dedicated workers and allocated to others. Third, PTI ignored the candidates for Senate from KP and hired Faisal Javed from Punjab that is considered as stealing the mandate of the people of KP. Fourth, CM Ali Amin Gandapur played chess to save his ministry because twenty-to-thirty MPAs were expected to join hands with the opposition in KP Provincial Assembly in vote-of-no-confidence against him. It could not happen; however, change of loyalty was expected in Senate election. CM Gandapur also forgot the humiliation meted out to him by PDM regime for saving his ministry.
In addition, the central leadership of PML(N) ignored senior party members during the Senate elections and focused solely on one family in KP — the Amir Muqam family — while overlooking Haji Malik Nawab Khan of Bannu. In the southern districts, many PML(N) leaders switched their loyalties and joined other political parties with the exception of Haji Malik Nawab Khan. Similarly, the JUI leadership sidelined ideological and religious scholars in favour of Dilawar Khan during the Senate elections. The same trend was observed in other political parties as well.
Moreover, the political parties in KP Provincial Assembly also violated Article 226 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan which ordains that “All elections under the Constitution, other than those of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, shall be by secret ballot.” Contrary to this, the MPAs of various political parties KP Provincial Assembly showed their respective votes to one another. This election revealed that these are elements have common interests and the idiom “the pot calling the kettle black” is appropriately applicable on them. All this political development demonstrated that political parties said good-bye to ideological politics and replaced with monetized democracy; and the concept of welfare democracy is no more prevailed in Pakistan.
—The writer is Chairman & Security Expert, Department of Political Science, Islamia College Peshawar.
