The pantomime shows

“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus, and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs, and peep about

To find ourselves dishonourable graves.

Men at some time are masters of their fates:

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves that we are underlings.”

William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The spattering of aggressive faces glued every evening in the television studios, loud-mouthing their hallowed sermons, remind one of a circus full of overly-glossed pantomimes, fully trained to play their acts and disappear into the dark behind the stage. The words they utter are lacking in meaning and conviction. They are spoken like someone from behind the screen was pulling the strings to guide their movements – and their mimicking.

There cannot be any two opinions about the need for taking all possible steps for eliminating corruption from the country. There is also no justification for the approach that the opposition parties have adopted in thwarting the prospect of accountability by sabotaging the relevant processes and sponsoring the pantomime shows which come aplenty every evening. With the government remaining steadfast in its resolve, a wait for redemption, though long and bitter, is well worth it

This whole thing makes a pitiable sight where reason has lost its meaning, where imagination is denuded of its flight, and where these actors are nothing but skeletons paying the price for the largesse their political masters have been showering upon them for years spent in their service. Their mind is glued, their tongues loose and their narrative patently servile. Hiding their faces behind harmless masks, they operate as the perpetrators, aiders and abettors of the criminal indulgences of those who hold them hostage.

Among the participants of the pantomime shows, it is mostly an exchange of insults and invectives. Lacking in substance, their speech is full of aggression and their narrative is laced with lies and misrepresentations. It is a no-hold barred presentation of the vilest that people can become. Yet the anchors sit there, with a smirk on their faces, without trying to inject some reason and rationale into the discourse. Instead, wherever possible, they are prone to adding further heat and venom to the conversation to improve their ratings.

Divisions in societies constitute a natural phenomenon. In such situations, viable methods and mechanisms are found to initiate a constructive dialogue among contrasting viewpoints so that some common ground could be found to take the discourse further. But, if the approach is laden with spite coupled with unwillingness to change course, the possibility of reconciliation is rendered extinct and excessive negativity begins to drive the narrative. This usually happens in situations when one or the other party is faced with a battle for survival. In our midst, in the current circumstances, we confront a similar situation where one party feels threatened that they are being pushed out of what they have always construed as their hereditary domain of operation.

Imran Khan came into power on the promise of eradicating corruption from the country– a promise he has remained rightfully and resolutely steadfast in fulfilling. There is no denying the fact that corruption is a scourge which is recognised internationally as a major stumbling block in the way of progress and in the denial of passing of its benefits to the poorer segments of the society. In a recent memorandum issued by US President Joe Biden on establishing the fight against corruption as a core US national security interest, it is acknowledged that “corruption corrodes public trust, hobbles effective governance, distorts markets and equitable access to services, undercuts development efforts, contributes to national fragility, extremism and migration, and provides authoritarian leaders a means to undermine democracies worldwide. When leaders steal from their nations’ citizens or oligarchs flout the rule of law, economic growth slows, inequality widens, and trust in government plummets”.

According to the same memorandum, the costs of corruption are staggering. It is estimated that “acts of corruption sap between 2 and 5 percent from global gross domestic product. While such costs are not evenly shared worldwide, the abuse of power for private gain, the misappropriation of public assets, bribery and other forms of corruption impact every country and community”. It concludes by saying that “corruption threatens United States national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty and development efforts, and democracy itself”.

It, indeed, is a damning indictment of what is acknowledged as a grave affliction that plagues the world. Like so many other countries, it has badgered and bludgeoned Pakistan’s economic potential through decades. A country that was considered a role model back in the 1960s has been brought down to its knees and is today in debt for more than $100 billion. There is no verifiable measure where and how this money has been sunk by succeeding leaderships that came to rule this country, more so in the last two to three decades.

This is what Prime Minister Khan wanted to account for by nabbing the perpetrators. Since corruption has permeated all institutions of the state, the parties of the opposition found it relatively easy to thwart the initiative. Though there has been an improvement in recovery of the loot from those found responsible, decisions in major cases are still suffering from inordinate obstructions because these criminals are using the illicitly-earned funds to bribe their way through investigation and trial stages. Their pelf is controlling the scrutiny processes and the justice system, causing delays and denial both. The influence of the criminal syndicates has penetrated virtually all institutions including the ones reckoned as the three pillars of the state. The claimants of being the fourth pillar are engaged in muddying the nature and gravity of corruption and the pursuit to eliminate it through various stages of the trial which is misrepresented as usurpation of the rights of the convicts, absconders and alleged criminals. In the process, they have been reduced to becoming the puppets of the criminals who control them through the shine of the silver.

There is an intense battle raging out there. The government is not willing to give up because, without busting the rings of corruption, the country cannot move forward. While the government is determined to eliminate the scourge, the parties of the opposition are using every wicked technique to subvert the effort because their conviction would mean the virtual elimination of their brand of politics. Simultaneously, whenever the government initiates an effort to introduce reform to eliminate the gaps in the system that encourage the perpetration of corruption, the opposition comes forth demanding relief from investigation as a condition for their cooperation. That is where it is stuck and that is where it is likely to remain stuck till one side or the other has mustered the numbers to push its case through.

It is the lack of progress in the intervening period which is sapping the national energy. One understands that the battle is going to be long and it is going to be bitter. The government does not have the numbers to carry forth its reform agenda on its own, which is being exploited by the opposition to block the path. So, any forward movement hinges on the possibility of quick decisions in the cases pending in the courts of law, or moving towards the next elections and hoping that the government comes back with a comfortable majority to take forth its reform agenda which is so integral to the progress of the country and bringing relief to the people. The obduracy of the opposition is directly proportional to the gravity of their crimes and the fear of elimination from politics. The approach is crass and callous.

There cannot be any two opinions about the need for taking all possible steps for eliminating corruption from the country. There is also no justification for the approach that the opposition parties have adopted in thwarting the prospect of accountability by sabotaging the relevant processes and sponsoring the pantomime shows which come aplenty every evening. With the government remaining steadfast in its resolve, a wait for redemption, though long and bitter, is well worth it.