According to a report in this newspaper the other day, people from a cross-section of society, including politicians, lawyers, trade unionists, human rights activists, writers, etc, have found common ground in opposing the state of emergency and protesting for the restoration of the constitution. Representatives of 32 political parties, including Left-leaning ones, and social organisations put their heads together in a press conference in Karachi to create a united front to achieve their objectives. The resolutions passed by the group in their two-day meeting condemned the imposition of emergency, promulgation of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), and arrests of lawyers, journalists, political workers and other citizens. Besides appreciating the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts who refused to take oath under the PCO and the members of the larger bench that termed the imposition of PCO ultra vires of the constitution, the representatives vowed for a social boycott of the judges who took oath under the PCO.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the ongoing political polarisation in the country and the role of political and social organisations in it. Their demands, that include immediate lifting of the emergency, repeal of the PCO, restoration of the status of the apex and high courts and unconditional release of lawyers, etc, are a manifestation of their pent up feelings in a depoliticised and politically fragmented society. Will the group, especially its Left component, be able to achieve any of its objectives? This is an open question. The fact that the representatives came from diverse political and social backgrounds is important nonetheless. Still, it seems to be an ambitious undertaking in every respect. In view of the inability of the political forces to come together and the Left not having a broad base among the masses, one wonders if the objectives enumerated in the meeting are realistic. It has to be said that in Pakistan the Left has been unable to come up with an alternative political, social, and economic programme — a reality borne out during the last three decades. This has led some people to believe that the Left failed to mobilise the people this time because over a period of time it developed its stakes in the existing economic and social set-up, rendering it even more ineffective. That prevented the Left from carving out its own independent identity.
The latest meeting can be best viewed in this background. First, the meeting and its resolutions reflect the Left’s failure establishing an existence independent of other democratic political parties. Second, the objectives of the meeting carry no revolutionary message that directly challenges the powers that be. The mere coming together of varied political and social forces that have resolved to only temporarily set aside their differences may not produce the desired results. The Left has been and still is a disorganised political entity caught in internal squabbling. Having said that, the Left still offers hope to many. This is partly because people are disappointed with the successive political and democratic governments in the past. The Left remains a choice because it has not been tested so far. To make up for its past slumber, the Left will have to come out in the open and face the experience of practical politics in Pakistan. This it cannot do without presenting an alternative programme to the people whose political understanding has come of age. In the absence of a programme, it will fail to inspire the common man and remain on the periphery of Pakistan’s uncertain political horizon.
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