A never-ending crisis

As we all prepare to bid farewell to 2022, Pakistan’s political crisis shows no signs of abating. In fact, it is aggravating with each passing day as key political stakeholders continue to resort to brinkmanship, raising questions about the future of the entire system. The Shehbaz Sharif government-appointed Punjab governor did no service to the country and democracy by ‘de-notifying’ the provincial chief minister and dissolving his cabinet. The Lahore High Court did the right thing by restoring Chaudhry Pervez Elahi as the provincial chief minister in the very first hearing on Friday. However, the chief minister had to give an assurance that he would not dissolve the Punjab Assembly till the next hearing. This means that the PDM government may have stalled the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa assemblies for now, but it in no way means that the political crisis is over. In fact, it has further intensified and would keep the nation on tenterhooks in the days to come.

The very fact that a political matter had to be decided in the court underlines the complete failure of the political process and the system. All the political and constitutional issues are landing before the superior judiciary that in a way has made the parliament redundant. Should our politicians then be complaining about the shrinking space for themselves and the expanding role of the institutions? No.

The institutions, including the judiciary and military, are forced into action when the elected leadership provides them space to do so because of their own self-serving policies, incompetence and corruption. Pakistan’s continuing political instability, since early 2022, is proving ruinous for the economy and has shaken the confidence of the people in the entire system. It has now become a national security challenge. If immediate steps are not taken to stop the rot by the establishment, Pakistan’s political and constitutional crisis has all the potential to transform into an open confrontation that will pose an existential threat to the country. Therefore, the time to act is now.

But the fundamental question remains: what are the options for the establishment? If the establishment decides to throw its support behind the Shehbaz Sharif government, it will be going against the popular tide that stands opposed to corruption-tainted politicians. The idea of thrusting politicians who have been failing since the 1990s on a 21st Century Pakistan is suicidal. It will tarnish the image of the institutions as well. Pakistanis do not want in any way to see their armed forces be the protectors and sponsors of the corrupt. The military leadership should also take into account the fact that since the PDM government has come to power in April this year, the economy has nose-dived and the people are losing faith, even in the state itself. This is a dangerous situation that needs to be addressed on a war-footing.

The second and prudent option for the establishment is to help find the warring political sides a solution, a middle-ground from which the country can move forward. This is only possible if the country gets free, fair and transparent elections. Holding snap elections should not be seen as yielding to the demand of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or bestowing a favour on the ousted premier Imran Khan, but as a practical way out of this political mess.

Only a strong, stable and popular government can take the hard decisions that the country needs to revive its economy and make the state viable. Pakistan cannot remain afloat just by firefighting measures, some window-dressing and borrowing a few billion dollars from here or there. The country now needs radical pro-people reforms that have been on the backburner for decades. And these reforms are needed not just on how we manage our economy, but also politics. Fighting and punishing corruption, politically empowering the working and the middle-classes, freeing the parliament of the clutches of the elite comprising landlords, tribal chiefs and the super-rich, devolving power to the grassroots level by empowering local governments, turning around loss-making state-run institutions, ensuring equal education opportunities to all and on merit are only some of the items on the must-do agenda for Pakistan.

The people of Pakistan are overwhelmingly prepared for this kind of change, but are the decision-makers even capable of comprehending the signs of the times and read the writing on the wall?