Little light at the end of the tunnel

The prime minister is spot on: reducing poverty is the biggest challenge for his government. Addressing the newly formed EAC (economic advisory council) comprising of the top captains of business and industry, Khan was particularly perturbed by the scourge of rising inflation.

Obviously, his audience included the freshly inducted finance minister Shaukat Tarin. His predecessor Hafeez Sheikh was unceremoniously shown the door for precisely this reason.

The PTI is soon to celebrate a quarter century, “of our struggle to reduce poverty”, according to the PM. He claims that the PTI, since coming to power in KP in 2013 has actually been able to reduce poverty in the province.

Unfortunately, ground realities speak otherwise. According to some IMF estimates, forty percent of Pakistanis now are trying to survive below the poverty line. Thanks to the polices of the present government and the COVID-19 pandemic, the plight of the hapless common man has perceptibly deteriorated.

Khan it seems has somewhat belatedly realised that his regime is between a rock and a hard place. He is on the one hand under pressure to salvage a sinking economy which is in a bigger mess thanks to his own mishandling while on the other, his government has signed off on the IMF deal that consists of commitments too hard to fulfil.

The kind of pledges made to the IFIs (International Finance Institutions) are so stringent that if met in letter and spirit will engender vast civil unrest in the country. Whatever route he takes its Armageddon at the end of the tunnel.

The resurgence of religious extremism has made matters worse. The re-emergence of Tehreek-e- Labbaik Pakistan(TLP) on the scene is one significant manifestation of this phenomenon. It is bizarre that the government had to proscribe (albeit reluctantly) TLP as an entity.

But the government is in no position to absorb the backlash in the west to such a measure. With the imminent threat of black-listing under FATF hanging on its head like the sword of Damocles, it is impossible for Khan to raise the ante by further provoking the West. Being demoted to the blacklist is a possibility under such circumstances. But being kept on the greylist is a certainty.

Contrarily, at the same time it is negotiating with it. The prime minister in his signature style made a faux pas by declaring that he agreed with the objectives of the TLP, however did not endorse their methods.

How can the prime minister of Jinnah and Iqbal’s Pakistan endorse the objectives of such groups who simply do not believe in the constitution of Pakistan? Of course, blasphemy cannot be tolerated at any cost but the state cannot allow those objectives to be met through a flagrant violation of Pakistan’s law.

Nonetheless, why is it only contingent upon Pakistan to pander to the zealots? If the cause was so dear to our heart why didn’t the prime minister dispatch his foreign minister to major Islamic capitals to mobilise the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) on the matter?

Most observers agree that extraditing the French ambassador back home is not an option. Islamabad literally cannot afford it. The nub of the problem lies with the yawning cultural gap between the West and the Muslim world that has increased with the advent of social media and the so-called digital revolution. The western media has its own demons like for example endorsing the holocaust. Considered highly condemnable, it’s simply not the done thing.

Western society on the other hand, fails to appreciate the sensitivities of the Muslims. Ironically Pakistanis are more sensitive about defending the Islamic cause compared to our brethren in the rest of the Muslim countries.

For reasons quite obvious, the ruling party is having cold feet extraditing the French ambassador. A private member resolution demanding his expulsion is trying to be passed with the help of the opposition. The PML-N itself knowing its core constituency is forced to kowtow to the religious lobby.

But the government is in no position to absorb the backlash in the west to such a measure. With the imminent threat of black-listing under FATF hanging on its head like the sword of Damocles, it is impossible for Khan to raise the ante by further provoking the West. Being demoted to the blacklist is a possibility under such circumstances. But being kept on the greylist is a certainty.

Why are we facing this conundrum now? Simply because the chicken has come home to roost! Historically speaking, in order to break the back of pro-democracy entities in the country, such forces have been nurtured by the establishment with a little help from quisling politicians.

The creation of MQM by general Zia ul Haq as a counterweight to mainstream parties like the PPP in urban Sindh created a monster in the form of Altaf Hussain. MQM, a party created in the name of ethnicity had its own negative ramifications for the future.

Similarly, the Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is a religious party was created in August 2015.with Khadim Hussain Rizvi as its head. The Nawaz Sharif government in October 2017 altered the language in the election bill, thus changing the language of oath of office.

The TLP successfully blocked the Faizabad interchange, one of the main traffic arteries of the capital as a mark of protest. The charismatic Rizvi was able to paralyse the whole country with the support of his largely Barelvi followers.

Those were the times when the Sharif government was at loggerheads with the miltesatblishment. The popular perception was that the TLP was being tacitly backed by the powers that be. Lo and behold, when the matter was settled, a uniformed officer was seen distributing one thousand rupees each to the TLP protesters, ostensibly for their fare back home.

Whether true or not, this act on behalf of the military leadership has been etched in the memory of the public with regards to the role of the establishment in political engineering.

The government’s efforts to bring the matter of extradition of the French ambassador miserably failed when the ruling party was unsuccessful to bring the opposition on board. The National Assembly session had to be prorogued till May.

In this context there is little light at the end of the tunnel for the prime minister. He has to move towards consensual politics by making serious efforts to bring the opposition on board.