EDITORIAL: Everything that has anything to do with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is given very high importance for very obvious reasons. All things considered, the Chinese government’s plan to reconstruct the ancient silk route for enhanced trade and commerce in the present setting has turned out to be a real godsend for Pakistan. That is because CPEC is a small but integral part of the bigger design and provides all sorts of benefits to Pakistan - from Chinese-aided and funded infrastructure upgradation to transit fees for using our ports and roads - just when there was a very real danger that the country’s growth trajectory and debt burden would not let it grow at par with the rest of the region. Therefore, everybody is expected to play along whenever anything concerning CPEC shows up in parliament. Yet the way in which the CPEC Authority Bill was passed through Senate left a little to be desired.
There was really no need for a treasury-opposition showdown over the matter, leading to yet another walkout by the latter. So even though the headlines spoke of the bill sailing through the Upper House, the reality is that even something over which there is no disagreement whatsoever can so easily become a bone of contention. All the opposition asked for, while appreciating the importance of the bill, was routing it through the relevant standing committee before passing it. But that didn’t seem to fit the government’s timeline because they wanted it done in time to make ‘budgetary considerations’, and that was pretty much the end of the argument as the government went on to pass the bill unanimously while opposition members left the House.
There’s also something to be said about the mild opposition lament that something as important as this, which certainly merits very serious debate and discussion, was brought to the Senate through supplementary agenda at the end of the day; naturally raising the question, “Why can’t it be taken up tomorrow?” Granted, there is nothing wrong with it technically or legally, and it is the government’s prerogative to bring supplementary agenda at a time of its own choosing, but in the absence of a better, more plausible explanation it will be widely believed that the government decided to delay the bill precisely so the opposition wouldn’t have much time to make a fuss about it.
Now the government has what it wanted and the CPEC Authority has been given legal cover, one way or the other, one can only hope that it would function to the best of its ability and make the Corridor an outstanding success. Yet the way the widening government-opposition cleavage is deepening the deadlock in parliament is quite worrisome. The present administration is past the halfway mark and there’s still not been any legislation to speak of precisely because both the government and opposition haven’t learnt to stand the sight of the other across the aisle. The government accuses almost everybody in opposition of being corrupt and rules out so much as discussing the country’s future with them though they have the legitimacy of an election victory behind them and have earned their places in the House. And the opposition accuses Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of stealing the last general election to come to power so they too would rather not waste time talking to a ‘selected’ government.
It is unfortunate that the only workable solution that both sides have been able to come up with so far is to stay away from each other by staying well away from parliament. That of course compromises the basic job of government and it is more the duty of the ruling party, at the end of the day, to make an effort to create a conducive environment for parliament to function properly. And the way it is approaching this matter hardly deserves much praise. Surely, issues like the CPEC Authority Bill are better handled by presenting them in time to hold a constructive debate, especially since all parties are for them, instead of trying to provoke the opposition into yet another completely needless fight. That way the government would have got its bill passed and the opposition could be counted on to lend an ear when similar things come to the House.
Now, though, you can expect everybody to disagree on everything simply based on which party presents which bill and any hopes of purposeful legislation in the interest of the people have already been pretty much dashed. That is not just counter-productive, but also against the very spirit of democracy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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