By:Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

The war cries raised by the opposition and the language it is using remind one of the days after 1988 through 1990s when PML(N) and PPP politicians indulged in no-holds-barred struggles. Political rivalry which is the beauty of a democratic polity is again being turned into personal enmity. There are threats of removing the government though extra-constitutional means. This amounts to derailing the system which despite being faulty possesses the basic inner mechanism through which it can be improved over time.

All the normal avenues in a democracy to seek changes in government policies or putting curbs on its accesses are currently available. The constitution has laid down a clear formula for an in-house change and for getting rid of the administration at the end of its tenure through fair and free elections. Unlike the 1988-99 period, there is a genuinely elected parliament and the courts are both independent and assertive. The media is free as never before. There is no restriction on the freedom of expression, association and protest.

Agreed that the courts are free not because of the PPP government but despite it. After trying to block the restoration of the independent judiciary, the administration decided to put up with it under sufferance. It still plays antics with the courts, puts legal and administrative hurdles to delay court proceedings when these are likely to go against it. It tries to bypass court decisions maintaining that the judiciary has no jurisdiction over the running of the administration.

The government sometimes commits excesses and its functionaries may not always abide by law. The government insists on appointing its blue eyed boys to important posts to help it bend or override rules. Despite all this, the courts finally, albeit belatedly, succeed in asserting their authority.

The media is free not because of the PPP or any other government but on account of its long struggle to break the chains put on it by successive autocratic regimes. While it should maintain at least an appearance of impartiality and avoid vindictiveness, a small section has all along sought the government’s removal by hook or by crook. The mission undertaken is not entirely in consonance with media ethics.

The government however has made no attempt to muzzle its opponents. Keeping in view the breakneck competition, the media simply cannot afford to neglect pubic sentiment or cover up scandals in high quarters. It would lose viewers and readers if it did so and deprive itself of lucrative private sector ads that ensure its freedom from government pressure. So whatever an opposition leader says finds place in the media, the coverage being of course in consonance with the estimated popularity of the person and his party.

Unlike the past, there are no political prisoners except in Balochistan. No accountability machinery with an aim to target opposition has been put in place. The practice of punishing opponents through accountability courts that started in the 1990’s and reached its zenith under Musharraf has been abandoned. A new Election Commission has been created in consultation with the opposition.

There is freedom to express views both inside and outside Parliament. Soon after coming to power, the government appointed the leader of the Opposition as Chairman Public Accounts Committee, a job that he performed with exceptional courage without sparing any official or public office holder found involved in corruption or misuse of authority. There is no restriction on holding public meetings and protests and taking out rallies. There are no no-go-areas for the opposition anywhere in the country. This is how things should be in a democracy.

The opposition however continues to retain the tragic flaw that finally led to the dismantling of the democratic system in 1999. It displays political intolerance. Its impatience is leading it to the path of confrontation that totally disregards rules of game in a democratic polity.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif has again reverted to the language of vendetta that characterised the 1990s. He calls for hanging the opponents upside down and of dragging them in the streets. The vocabulary is reminiscent of the Punjab thana culture and indicates an inherently undemocratic mindset. The old charge of being a “security risk” is replaced by the supposed ‘irreversible damage to national economy’ if PPP was allowed to complete the remaining two years of tenure.

PTI Chief Imran Khan is more careful in the choice of vocabulary. He is however equally desperate to overthrow the government before the end of its tenure. He has threatened to issue a call for civil disobedience in case his demand for the declaration of real assets is not heeded by Zardari.

The political atmosphere evokes a sense of déjà vu. Is the opposition providing an opportunity to someone with Bonapartist tendencies to once again derail the democratic system?

Source: Opposition sans caution