Koi Umeed Bar Nahin Aati, Koi Surat Nazar Nahin Aati
It looks bad and it’s likely to get worse.
Reminds me of the dire state in which the American Expeditionary Force found itself during the Korean War. When MacArthur, its commanding general, was told that a storm was brewing and was likely to make it worse, he decided that it was the right time to attack.
Indeed, our present predicament looks serious. The economy is in free fall; the society is polarized; militants are on the loose and some minorities remain in their crosswire; those in power refuse to part with perks and privileges; the Government lacks the courage to devolve power; within an institution difference of opinion is normal, even healthy – but now the holiest of all cows, the higher judiciary has brought its internal fissures to the fore; Army may have gone back to the barracks or the bunkers, but hardly anyone wants to believe, perhaps in the hope that it would be back to take their chestnuts out of the fire; and of course, politics continues to be the game of one-upmanship.
Read more: The Past comes back to Hound – Lt. Gen. (r) Asad Durrani
Understanding the matter better
All of that, and much more, is pretty well-known; but what still boggles the mind is the prevalent perception that another round of elections would be the panacea for all our ills – or at least pave the way towards a better tomorrow. Now it’s up to us to take that leap of faith or pause to ponder if these electoral circuses were indeed our best option. I mean, haven’t we been on the hustings before? Most of the candidates and their parties are tried and tested and have only succeeded to make their predecessors look better. Is there any reason therefore to trust that the next round would install a better gang than the present junta? Moreover, was there ever any doubt that the PTI was rooting for elections because it was favorably placed, and the PDM resists them because it was all set to lose?
Constitutional Provisions and Difficult Times were merely to rationalize their respective stand. All our political and non-political institutions have an impeccable record of violating any law that came in their way.
Two recent developments amply highlight their love or the lack of it for the democratic norms. The PDM leadership was quizzed that since – as it liked us to believe – the PTI was making a hash of things; would it not have been better to let its government dig deeper in the hole instead of rescuing it through a no-confidence move? The best answer one got was that if allowed to continue in power, Imran would have installed an Army Chief of his choice and ensured that the two of them ruled the roost till the Kingdom came.
And now, if the PTI was asked that in view of its rising popularity, shouldn’t it wait till October by which time the Sharif-led government would irretrievably be down in the dumps, and IK could romp home with all the majority he needed, the honest response invariably is that come September and the Country will have a new Chief Justice who would leave no legal or political recourse for the PTI to bounce back.
Read more: A Tipping Point – Lt. Gen. (r) Asad Durrani
One must still concede that all of us face a serious dilemma: how best to break the current deadlock that has paralyzed the state! Let’s also accept that the time for any sensible suggestion like a dialogue between the relevant institutions was long past – positions are entrenched, and the stakes are high. If there was any room for third-party intervention, from within or without, I do not know, but I do believe that the present government in Islamabad which is profusely bleeding from its self-inflicted wound and was very likely to lose the elections whenever these were held, could do something smart to wriggle out of this fix and position itself better for the battles to come.
All that it has to do is to invite Imran Khan to take back the reins of the government and declare that this magnanimity was to save the country from these running battles – and that in its act the prime minister was inspired by Imam Hassan, the Prophet’s grandson who gave up his throne to prevent a civil war. Shehbaz Sharif was no MacArthur nor was he likely to be granted any holy status for this sacrifice – will probably not receives even a letter of thanks from Imran. But still, since IK would find it rather difficult to resist the temptation, SS was likely to get away with his masterstroke.
Lt Gen. (r) Asad Durrani is a retired 3-star rank general in the Pakistan Army and presently a commentator and speaker. He is the author of “Pakistan Adrift (2018)” and “Honour Among Spies (2020)” and a prominent defence columnist. He served as Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), DG Military Intelligence, and as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Germany. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space (GVS News).