March 24, 2012
Shahid Lateef

With the election fever gripping ordinary mortals, the political actors have gone into overdrive, lobbying for polls and projecting these as the panacea for all our woes. To sort out Imran Khan and his PTI, the 20th Amendment (Trap-20 or T-20) has been passed, which is being celebrated as the ultimate achievement to ensure fair elections. Actually, it is a fraud committed with the collusion of the two major parties, which are at the helm of the affairs. With known and established animosities between them, they have moved at lightning speed to strike a deal on mutually beneficial adjustment, in order to neutralise the threat of the third rapidly emerging political force on the horizon that challenges their monopoly on power.

The hollowness of the amendment can be gauged from the fact that the real bone of contention, which led to its initiation, has not been addressed. The PML-N had to swallow a bitter pill when the chairman of NAB was appointed against its will, by misusing the word ‘consultation’ given in the Constitution. The focus of T-20 was on replacing this exploitative word with ‘consensus’, so that major decisions regarding reforms in the composition of the Election Commission (EC) and formation of a neutral caretaker setup, preceding elections, could be taken with mutual agreement of the government and the opposition.

The PML-N not only failed to have the required change incorporated, it could not even ensure a less favourable term of ‘meaningful consultation’ in the amendment. The ‘intentions’ of the government regarding the conduct of future elections are, therefore, amply manifested in this move.

There is lot of trumpeting about the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission having been achieved, though in a recent reflection on the ‘Waheeda Shah’ slapping case, it was proved otherwise. The commission failed in its very first test, as the two members, including the election commissioner, out of five on the panel, who dissented with the award of punishment, were both Sindhis and were favouring the culprit on the basis of ethnic affinity. So much for the neutrality of the newly liberated EC, which is to be trusted with the herculean task of ensuring free and fair general elections in the country.

Besides this, the real issue of carrying out a thorough scrutiny of candidates, vying to be elected, has not even been touched. In the absence of this mandatory mechanism, it is expected that the same old faces would appear again after winning elections. Are the hapless people of this country, whose lives have been turned into hell through mammoth corruption, abject poverty, unchecked inflation, lawlessness, frequent raise in petrol and power tariff and non-availability of basic needs like gas and electricity, willing to bear this torture under Zardari and party for another five years? It can be safely assumed that they will revolt against the manipulated outcome of elections, which would be out rightly rejected, leading to a major turmoil in the country.

The most dangerous phenomenon witnessed recently, is the internationally backed movement for the separation of Balochistan, which has been in a state of turmoil for years. This does ring alarm bells, especially with turbulent conditions already prevailing in Fata due to our mishandling of the war on terror.

With feelings of discontent, distrust, destitution and dejection prevalent in a society, people remain vulnerable to exploitation by outside powers, as happened in East Pakistan. Pakistan and Iran (where the US needs presence to bridge the strategic void between the Central Asia and the Middle East) are under close tracking and sights are firmly fixed on them, after targeting Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria.

It is quite evident that our present setup, which was installed through a surreptitious NRO arrangement, under US patronage, has actively contributed towards the US imperial agenda, by oppression of the society, which now suffers from loss of direction, fragmentation, insecurity and alienation. US special and intelligence forces have penetrated Pakistan by the thousands, with a tacit approval from the top. They have also discredited our institutions by exposing their weaknesses and reducing them to the status of fence-sitters. Needless to say that under these circumstances, the country is faced with a real threat to its security and survival.

In such a grievous environment, the PML-N, PTI and JI should bury mutual differences, set aside egos and join hands to save Pakistan. They need to mobilise the masses, demanding an immediate formation of a ‘national government’ with a composition of non-partisan, honest and selfless individuals, who should steer the country out of the crisis, undertake genuine electoral reforms and hold free and fair elections.

The PTI, being the potential catalysts, faces a litmus test.

The writer is a former vice chief of the air staff. Email: shahidlateef57@gmail.com

-The News