FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

"Mans feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell," is a famous quote of Jean Paul Richter, a German novelist and short story writer. Perhaps this quote gets very fit into what was mostly expressed by some enactors in their farewell speeches on Saturday.
As these senators are going to retire next week, they spoke for the last time on the floor of Upper House of the parliament. One would say that it was too late for them to say that billion of rupees were spent on senators without any tangible outcome for the people. Some outgoing senators were demanding that like the MNAs and MPAs, senators should also be directly elected.
This will make the Upper House more powerful. This was one of the main points in MQMs Allama Muhammad Abbas Komaili speech. He touched other issues as well. Exactly like other senators, he also opposed the imposition of Governors Rule in Punjab. He was very critical of the government apathy to the situation in southern NWFP city of DI Khan, where the terrorists are on open spree of killings for the last two years.
Well-spoken Senator, Abbas Komaili discussed too many things, but here, take up his assertion of direct election to Senate. One will disagree with the senator on the ground that indirectly elected representatives are now part of even directly elected national and provincial legislatures. Musharraf-appointed National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Chairman Lieutenant General Tanvir Naqvi (Retd) introduced this and some other reforms.
One will disagree with Komaili on another account that despite being powerless institution, Senate has not ceased interest for the people who could not contest general elections due to one or the other reason. Some people are keen to become senators even if they had to pay millions of rupees to MNAs and MPAs. Even some MNAs, sometimes, make an issue of lack of powers enjoyed by the National Assembly. Direct election to the Upper House could not solve the problem.
Senator Nisar Memon put it rightly when he said that if corruption continued in grabbing senate seats, it will be a disaster for the country. "People become senators by giving bribe, using backdoor channels etc. It is very dangerous and will destroy the roots of democracy", he added. Some people come to corridors of power through the senate election and are appointed as ministers in the federal cabinet.
It will not be wrong to say here that in the present set up, the most powerful ministers are senators or MNAs elected against reserved seats. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, who spoke very well to ignite the PML (N) and its leadership in the National Assembly on Friday, is a Senator. Farooq H Naik and Waqar Ahmad Khan are Senators and they have larger say in the national affairs than the ministers who are also directly elected MNAs.
Certain new faces are coming and one of them is Interior Advisor Rehman Malik. These people are considered very close to Presidency. This link could also be the result of the fact that President himself remained a senator. Like these people, the President is little exposed to vote politics. Komaili could be simply asked "Please dont put these people in trouble. Contesting election will be very difficult for them. In Pakistan, personalities, not institutions, matter. We see this both in democracy and dictatorship.
In case you are powerful and you matter to the ruler, then you have no problem even if you are member of the powerless Senate. "I had come to this House with a lot of expectations. I am leaving it with disappointment and regrets," said independent Senator from Fata Syed Muhammad Hussain. "In the last six years, we could not correct a word from incorrect "Mirandi" to "Mirwandi" of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai poetry carved in one of the government buildings in Karachi.
"This has really disappointed me," said the outgoing senator. When he ended his speech, someone told me that the senator was not disappointed because he was worried about the Senates powers or its performance. According to him Muhammad Hussain was disappointed because he could not make it to the House in the recent elections. The senator tried his best to be part of the Upper House for another six-year term.
So apparent disappointment expressed by senator was caused by some other factors. These senators are about to complete their full term. This is very rare opportunity or probably the first opportunity that these senators were not sent home prematurely. Our present lot of politicians always tells us that they could not deliver to the people because their governments were prematurely dismissed in 1990s decade.
The disappointments of senators could be taken as a serious jolt to democracy and some circles would make us believe that this system could not work for the betterment of the people even if directly or indirectly elected houses completed their term. There is a lack of vision. On the paper, we have constitution. But the on the ground we always remain hostage to one man either a military general or a civilian.
How sweetly Liaquat Bangulzai of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said that in this country there are Muslims but no Islam, there is judiciary, but no justice, there are labourers but no reward, there is hard work but no return, there are masses but nobody is there to improve their plight, there are brains but no creativity, there are leaders sans prestige and there are horses without bridle. One of the outgoing Senators Gulshan Saeed of the PML (Q) spoke very well on the current political situation.
She said that Nawaz Sharif should learn some lessons now and quit politics of agitation. He should avoid talking about civil disobedience, as it will harm democracy. In an angry tone she cried out that go and ask him (Nawaz) that what sort of a person is he, sometimes he clashes with army and sometimes with judiciary, what is the reason, why he is doing this? By agitation both Nawaz Sharif and Aitzaz are harming democracy. She was right.
There could be a lot of things that need to be asked from Nawaz Sharif. All democracy lovers would like this political dispensation works smoothly. But there are lots of things, which could be asked from the government as well. The PML (N) leader Chaudhry Nisars comment that he would not call Zardari president is something very serious. This is, in fact, a first step to dispute another institution after judiciary.
Presently, the image of Pakistan institutions like army, police and civilian bureaucracy is seriously damaged. Gulshan Saeed was right that there is a need of toeing some middle ground. Extreme steps by politicians could harm the country.