WHEN you play with fire, your hands are likely to be burned. The severity of damage will be proportional to nature and ferocity of fire. Pakistan was created by MAJ to be a modern democratic welfare state. It was never meant to be a fiefdom, or a fascist state, ruled by one party, but a country with a multi-party system and a constitution as supreme law. MAJ and a few others, like Allama Iqbal, were indispensable, as far as the movement for creation of Pakistan is concerned. Like all mortals they passed away. However, their legacy in the form of Pakistan exists and its continued survival is vital for security of lives of over 240 million people, who consider it as their motherland. No other individual, can claim the revered status, these men are held in. Unfortunately, the corridors of power, have been dominated by pygmies in comparison to them. Most of them slave to their insatiable greed for more, make false promises to citizens, suffering from inflation, unemployment and curse of extremism and terrorism associated with it.
The energy crisis we face today is a consequence of the conflicts of interest of ruling elite. Instead of carrying out an authentic technical and forensic audit to assess the capability of the IPP units to produce the capacity, for which they are being paid guaranteed money, all that we hear is pep talk and short-term reliefs. The beneficiaries have already shifted their assets to foreign safe havens and are here, as long as this heist persists. Every government, both civil and uniformed, including PPP, PML-N, PTI have extended their contracts, or were involved in their initial installation and PPA capacity agreements.
All of them have one thing in common, they have refused to adopt Jinnah’s vision in letter and spirit. Religion has been exploited to divert attention of people and divide them. There is no doubt that people are confronted with a lot of issues. This requires concerted effort by all political parties and not the polarization and despondency that is being propagated by social media activists, most of them located abroad. In all likelihood it seems to be aided and abetted by our known enemies. Pakistan and the fate of its 240Million citizens is far more important than egoistic pursuits of power by a few mortals.
It is the very essence of democracy that individuals heading political parties must be changed and give space to others, who have their finger on pulse of the people and aware of the basic issues that confront them daily. Loyalty to Pakistan must precede loyalties to politicians. Individuals, with split loyalties, who have pledged oath of allegiance to another country, should have no decisive political role, as to who should govern this country The seeds of this social media negativity, were sown by those who talked about fifth generation warfare, which was part of political gerrymandering process.
Quaid had warned paid public office holders about significance of oath they pledge on 14 June 1948. A nation that chooses to disregard the vision of the Father of the Nation is bound to end in chaos and disorder. This Bermuda Triangle must be averted. The ruthless “power politics”, devoid of morals or ethics, owes its origin to likes of Iskandar Mirza and AK. Others like Mohammad Ali Bogra have also harmed Pakistan.
What happened on 9 May 2023 is a culmination of the events that took place in 2014, when the visionless mediocrity within Establishment, facilitated a 126-day siege of Islamabad’s red zone. PTV was attacked and a portion of it was set on fire, whilst those who wield power, chose to be silent spectators of this violent odyssey. No political party could have dared to embark on such a prolonged criminal activity, unless it had support of powerful vested interests. This was followed again in 2017, when TLP laid siege to Islamabad, cutting it off from most of Pakistan. The few, within the paid Establishment, who were involved, violated their constitutional obligation to be apolitical For a country created through a democratic political struggle, it defies logic, why our politicians should be relying on use of violence in politics and tolerate religious extremism and sectarianism.
Perhaps, the deliberate delay in framing and adoption the Constitution, which the Quaid had stressed upon, while addressing the First Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947, is the major factor. The political process, which was basis for creation of Pakistan was disrupted through intrigues by remnants of Raj legacy. In 1953, PM Khawaja Nazimuddin, one of pioneers of AIML, was dismissed. What followed were governments, mostly dominated by former toadies of Raj, in nexus with the British trained civil and uniformed bureaucracy. Jinnah’s Pakistan was hijacked by them. Pakistan remained a dominion of HM Government until 1956, when the first Constitution was adopted. However, the damage had been done. The colonial doctrine of Divide and Rule, was adopted by those at helm, to prevent the public from gathering on a common platform and demand restoration of MAJ’s vision.
With a few exceptions, almost all religious parties of the subcontinent and those with “Lashkars” or armed militants like Ahrar and Khaksar party opposed MAJ and AIML, till the very end. Quaid believed in a non-violent political struggle and was against the politics of violence. Mahatma Ghandi was also a proponent of non-violence. Most of the political leadership of AIML were educated men, with likes of MAJ, Allama Iqbal etc, leading the movement for creation of a separate homeland for Muslim majority to live in peace and harmony with members of other faiths. Tolerance for dissent, is the basis on which foundations of democracy rests and develops. Unfortunately, when the so-called demi-gods, obsessed with arrogance and obstinacy, manage to come at helm, through intrigues or through supra constitutional steps, then violence gains a foothold in politics. The social media campaign against defence forces must cease. They must remain apolitical.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
