Pakistan’s political system is marred with exploitation done sometimes in the name of religion and sometimes in the name of ethnicity. The choice rests on the doer. Even the catchphrase of nationalism is abused to serve one’s political purposes. Examples are in abundance.
On 26 May, on the occasion of the Long March on Islamabad, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri whispered in the ear of Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to give an Islamic touch to the speech to entice the listeners, who were the party’s supporters. Incidentally, the media’s microphones captured the whisper and revealed the way the political pulpit had been playing with the sentiments of the listeners. Khan acted accordingly by configuring a sentence on the spur of the moment proclaiming his affection for the Prophet (PBUH). The episode took place just before Khan called off the March.
Religion has been the refuge of many, especially the desperate who are bent on manipulating psycho-emotional imperfections of the masses. Failings are figured out in faith to make one feel insecure spiritually. The orators have an axe to grind. Every political opportunist has his own toolbox and modus operandi to wear away at the listener’s confidence. Certain religious figures also do the same publicly.
As a principle, if a fault line is present, it is meant for utilization. If it is not present, it can be created by sheer demagoguery. Driven by ignorance and goaded by the fear of the unknown, the masses mostly submit to the imaginary projected trepidation in an effort to propitiate gods of heaven or demigods of the earth. The more the listeners are acquiescent to desires, prejudices and superstitions, the more they are amenable to exploitation. A rational argument finds no space to stand on. A rational argument cannot convince the gathering. This was what Suri articulated subconsciously in a delicate tone: his desire to move the masses, near and far, by employing an Islamic touch. The same happened effectively.
Sheer smugness foundered on the stone of reality: incompetence rendered the PTI irrelevant. Further, in the eyes of the masses, the PTI had lost not only popularity. The masses lost faith in its competence. In a hope to catch at a straw, the party has been making use of all available cards, including those of religion and nationalism, that it could use to reach out to the masses to stage a comeback. The party has to learn that democracy is another name of patience: wait for your turn. Let the ruling government falter on some serious account, which could provide the PTI with an opportunity to mobilize the masses and heat up the streets.
The problem with politics in developing countries like Pakistan is that orators resort to raising religious or ethnic cards to befool the masses into believing that the underlying haunting spiritual or politico-economic insecurity would engulf them. Only the orator can rescue them and can offer a magic potion. Feeble in faith, the masses tend to believe in the words, overlooking the fact that their plight cannot be ameliorated unless the governments put in place sound workable policies. Politicians wooing voters are supposed to do that. Unfortunately, the PTI failed to perform on the touchstone of laying mega-developmental projects. Instead, the PTI remained focused on paperwork performance while in power. Now, however, it has been trying to turn the tables on anyone opposed to its narrative meant for retrieving the lost authority.
Related to the much touted Long March, it is now evident that the PTI was ill-prepared, as it was ill-prepared in 2018 to run the country. Even PTI’s followers shied away from weathering the sizzling heat of the summer. Its leadership of the second and third tier seemed to be not convinced of the flaunted narrative of a foreign conspiracy overturning the Khan’s government.
People generally know the deficiencies in the PTI as a ruling party. Out of the corridors of power, it can make numerous claims that remain unfounded. Now, in an attempt to weaken the nascent government of the former opposition, the PTI has been trying to disrupt the even tenor of life especially in Islamabad. The intent is to create a ruckus that could force the military to intervene as a mediator. The final objective could be elections that would shorten the interval of disgrace of waiting for more than a year on the opposition benches.
The actual encumbrance is the remorse that the PTI leadership did not dissolve assemblies and call fresh elections, before the opposition tabled the no-confidence motion. The PTI overestimated its strength and missed the opportunity. The party now regrets publicly having lost the occasion. Conceit drove the party into believing that it could not be removed from the corridors of power, as all the hidden influences (extended from the military and the judiciary) were on its side.
In the same vein, the PTI believed that it would be helped to sabotage the no-confidence motion to unnerve the opposition. The belief got shattered. April 10 found the party mired in disbelief. To the utter dismay and surprise of the party, the hidden main helping hand– the military– turned neutral, leaving the PTI to its own devices. Neutrality was sought in the name of constitutionalism. Interestingly, the neutrality of the second main players, the higher judiciary, is yet to be seen.
Sheer smugness foundered on the stone of reality: incompetence rendered the PTI irrelevant. Further, in the eyes of the masses, the PTI had lost not only popularity. The masses lost faith in its competence. In a hope to catch at a straw, the party has been making use of all available cards, including those of religion and nationalism, that it could use to reach out to the masses to stage a comeback. The party has to learn that democracy is another name of patience: wait for your turn. Let the ruling government falter on some serious account, which could provide the PTI with an opportunity to mobilize the masses and heat up the streets.
The tyranny is that not enough leeway has been left behind both politically and economically to rely on. The Supreme Court (SC) is now the last resort to seek a face saving, but then the SC has also its limitations. Extending any undue favour or resorting to any misinterpretation of law to support the PTI, as happened from 2014 to 2018, would be thrown to public scrutiny. The disastrous tendency in the SC to constitute a bench of like-minded judges every time to issue an expected ruling on the issues concerning the PTI is also known in the public. It is yet to be seen when the SC exercises palpable neutrality, as stipulated in the constitution, and avoid giving any judicial touch to legitimize or justify unlawful acts of the PTI.
