Selected or elected PMs?

Despite being a constitutional democracy since August 14, 1973, mass confusion prevails in the mechanism of transition of power in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Selected PMs have badly failed to deliver. Selection by the selected has never worked in the past nor will it work in the future.

Only genuinely elected leaders can instil hope in the masses. In the decade of the seventies, it was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) who rekindled the flame of democracy with massive reforms some of which did produce results. His daughter Benazir tried but with limited success.

In the decades of the nineties two political parties were launched in Lahore. In the year 1996 it was Imran Khan’s (IK’s) Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and in 1997 Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari’s Millat Party (MP). In the 2002 elections that followed another King’s Party (PML-Q) came into power. Sardar Sahib was asked to merge his party with the selected which he did. His Secretary General the able and talented Javed Jabbar decided to step down. Disgruntled he decided to bid farewell to politics. PTI could win only one seat, enabling IK to enter the parliament.

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was selected as the 15th PM by Chief Executive who had been selected by the 14th PM who had been selected earlier by the third usurper. It was a long chain of selections in which merit did not matter. Jamali was an honest person. I was the last person to meet him before he was shown the door in June 2004.

The topic of discussion was the induction of technocrats in technical ministries. Initially, he was against the idea as he thought that they were not elected to occupy important positions.

After my explanation that technocrats replace bureaucrats not politicians he was convinced and asked me to prepare a proposal. Little did he know that it was his last day in office of the prime minister. He was replaced by another selected PM, Shaukat Aziz, who had impressed the CEO by his zeal and diligence. A meeting of all senior officials was called in the PM Secretariat, which he addressed with a passionate appeal for change.

A question-answer session followed. First to stand up was Tasneem Noorani the then Secretary Commerce. He suggested that young officers should be brought on board if genuine change was desired as it was too late for the seniors like him as they were in the last days of their careers.

As I was battling with the prevalent Mafias of Islamabad that thwart change, my question was direct; “Sir, will you back us up if we take on these Mafias for the sake of bringing the much-needed change”? He was baffled, sweat appeared on his forehead after a few minutes of silence he said ‘ yes ‘ but very half-heartedly with no conviction. It was a clear indication that he was there only to serve the boss not the people.

A farce election is also a selection. Those who make it Via Bhatinda (Indirectly) then do not follow merit or seniority for selecting individuals in important positions. The defence minister has recently revealed the basis on which the previous Army Chief was selected.

Basically, it was a fool-proof guarantee from his father-in-law that the interests of the ‘Selector’ would be protected at all costs. Despite his popularity and public support IK was handicapped with the induction of so-called ‘Electables’ in his party. In the end, he too was projected as a selected not elected PM. Earlier, ZAB was also trapped in a similar fashion. Despite his popularity he was cornered and then eliminated.

He was advised to dissolve a genuinely-elected assembly ahead of time to gain ‘absolute’ majority but what followed was a well-coordinated effort to get rid of him.

Leaders with public support are considered a menace by the selectors. Attempts are made to brand them as selected and vulnerable before they are pushed out of office.

Another selection is then carried out through a farce electoral process by the selectors. The selectee is dead long live the selectors.

For the Republic to survive and move forward such practices must stop. Like India, seniority should be the basis for all promotions in Services of the state with no provision of extension. The current un-constitutional practice of caretakers must be done away with. Elected incumbents should hold the elections in the stipulated period and hand over power to the genuinely elected representatives of the people.

The assembly should then elect the leaders of the house and opposition. The electoral process should be fool-poof. In India EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) are used. In Pakistan at least Biometrics can be employed for this purpose. Only genuinely elected leadership can take on the Mafias to deliver change for common good by restoring merit at all levels.

Major course correction is mandatory as the system is non-functional. Selected, then selecting the selectors to be pushed out by them has been a viscous circle that has caused an institutional collapse which has to be checked before it is too late as the survival of the motherland is at stake.

Let us clean the slate and start afresh with a genuinely elected PM to take oath of office in January 2005. There must be a clear distinction between elected and selected positions for the prevailing confusion to end. Only people have a right to elect, while the selected obey and follow.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024