The Pakistan People's Party, that is the incumbent in Centre and three provinces, seems to be jumping the gun even before hearing the last word on the removal of NAB Chairman Syed Deedar Hussain Shah. The detailed judgement has yet to come which helps any legal to mind to understand the raison d'etre of the court order in its correct perspective.
Then the government has the right to a review. And above all, the Supreme Court order is on the procedure and not against an individual. So, an impression has been formed in the country that flashing the so-called Sindh Card is the PPP's first priority in facing any serious challenge to its incumbency in power. That's not only undesirable at this crucial time for the country but also amounts to abdicating its right to govern the federation and the provinces, which it acquired by playing a heroic role in the restoration of democratic order in the country.
A party that came to power riding the wave of democracy seems to be bartering away its democratic right to rule the country to feed a misplaced hubris infested with allegations of personal gains. No democracy can survive and flourish in the absence of an independent judiciary, a universal truth that has acquired added significance in today's Pakistan given the colossal governance failure.
Of course, the right to protest a move or a decision that is unpalatable is the sacred right of an individual or a group is an accepted democratic norm. So in Pakistan also, this right forms the part of the Fundamental Rights in the Constitution. There can be no two opinions on this right of public protest. That a peaceful protest should morph into violent mob rule in the streets is not acceptable. Within hours of the Supreme Court's order in the NAB chairman case, the city of Karachi, where peace is already on the edge, turned into a picture of a burning settlement.
Somebody has to inject sanity and patience to moderate the easy-to-inflame public anger. Primarily, it is the government's responsibility to ensure that protest marches and rallies do not cross the limit. But what should one do if the party that has given the call for the strike in Karachi and other cities and towns in Sindh is also the government of the day? The fact should not be overlooked that a day's shutdown in urban Pakistan costs billions. If schools are forced to close, public transport is off the roads, making it nearly impossible for a large number of people to go to their workplaces and the wheels of industry come to a halt, who is the net loser; the ordinary people of Pakistan who become the politicians' carriage to centres of power and authority.
That's indeed the fallout from rash and impulsive developments that require proper analysis and understanding to map out a sane response to such cases. But what happened. The PPP's response added to the people's sense of insecurity, particularly in Karachi, which is already in the grip of violence and lawlessness. However, the countrywide public reaction is that of frustration with the present democratic dispensation. The general impression has begun to gain confirmation that the parties which came to think and devise practical solutions to their myriad problems are more closely focused at strengthening their hold on power and personal welfare, individually and collectively. For instance, what is the outcome of the much-touted 18th Constitutional Amendment, nothing on the ground except making their seats more secure and adding to their party chiefs' powers to monopolise the thought process and punish dissidents? Has it succeeded in checking 'lotaism'?
We all seem to be working hard to unlock the floodgates for the forces who begin their day with a call to 'My dear countrymen' - an invitation to be accepted in the present circumstances most reluctantly. Before it is too late the political elite must try its hand at some democratic steps to prolong its stay on the stage. One and probably the most pragmatic step could be going for snap elections. As a columnist says such recourse has become inevitable to agitate the 'stagnant waters (to) become clearer and lose some of their slime'. Or, the PPP accepts openly and wholeheartedly, the apex court's verdicts, because more such verdicts in near future cannot be ruled out.