Nothing but the deluge

The Candid Corner

Political discourse in Pakistan has been reduced to reiterating ad-nauseam the respective narratives of various parties. In the process, rationality has been virtually banished from our conversation. This has been replaced with a profundity of vile, self-serving and self-promoting positions which usually compromise the interests of the state and those of its people. In doing so, we are also in denial of the ground realities as they continue to widen the division between a miniscule ruling minority which is in an eternal overdrive to perpetuate the status-quo edifice raised on skeletons of the impoverished communities on the one hand, and a vast majority of people who are waging a justice-driven struggle to bring about a change that would reflect the genuine ambitions of the people on the other hand.

The current divisions that the society suffers from are aptly symptomatic of this deepening malaise. Coercion has been a favourite method employed by those who have been traditionally opposed to the idea of change. They have had the seats of power and the state administrative machinery at their disposal which they utilise liberally and barbarically to quell any dissenting voices. In the olden times, this regressive strategy worked quite well as the means of communication were few and easily controllable. But, the exercise has become quite difficult in these contemporary times of social media revolution. The voices emanating from this platform are powerful sources of spreading information to all corners of the country as well as throughout the international domain.

Yet the stalwarts of the status-quo regimen are desperate in using the wicked tricks of their trade to stymie the genuinely representative voices of the society. A few days ago, Imran Khan’s speech at a rally was blocked by all television channels. Even YouTube was blocked in the country to deny public access to Khan’s spoken words. This scale of despotism can be traced to the need for implementing the sinister agenda of a foreign-dictated and locally-collaborated conspiracy. Since then the country has been caught up in a not-too-silent but peaceful revolution which is spreading inexorably through all parts and across all sections of the society. This has sent the protagonists of the conspiracy scurrying for their political survival which is gravely endangered by the sheer vibrancy of those opposed to the criminal stranglehold which the status-quo adherents have maintained to keep people hostage. This grip is loosening by the day and its hold is no longer tenable given the unstoppable spread of the effects of a silent revolution. Be it the numbers, or the overflowing passion, or the undying commitment to the objectives of the change, or the exuberance of millions from across the length and breadth of the country encompassing men, women, children, young and old, healthy and enfeebled – they are all irretrievably wedded to bringing about the transformation which has now become the devouring ambition of the people of the country. As a much-cherished future beckons, the option of looking back has been banished.

Given the existent situation, a battle in the political domain will end in the rout of the parties of the ruling cabal. That is why they are not only running away from facing Khan at the hustings, they are also using the power of their office and the institutions they can influence whose past is gravely tarnished, to eliminate him from the political arena. Be it the Toshakhana reference, or the prohibited funding case, or the contempt of court proceedings, there are defeated minds at work to see the back of Khan. This vile agenda is unfurling as his voice keeps gathering more momentum, resonance, reach and impact, pulling in people who had never participated in a political activity in the past, but who are all passionate followers of Khan today. In fact, they have brought fresh verve and meaning to politics in the country.

Ideally speaking, the political battle should be fought in the political arena represented though holding free, fair and transparent elections. But it appears that this option has dropped to the bottom of the possibilities that the government may be playing around with. Top of the list are non-democratic and non-transparent methods which members of the ruling criminal cabal are using to oust Khan.

This battle has now entered a defining stage. On the one hand is a criminal clan of people encompassing a convict who has fled the country masquerading illness and has since been declared an absconder, another convict who roams around free courtesy the powers that be, and those who are evading court summons by using the administrative power they command, and those family members who, too, have been declared absconders but attend official receptions in foreign countries. They have all joined hands to get Khan who is waging a principled battle with the help and support of millions of charged people who rally to his cause at his public meetings and who raise their voice through all available social media platforms. The former coalition of criminals has the power of the office they have captured while the latter’s arsenal is the belief that emanates from his personal conviction for a cause and that of millions of people who support him.

If the power of the government office which they are holding on to because of the support they enjoy from powers infatuated with the idea of lurking in the dark is taken away from them, the ruling cabal will come crashing down instantaneously and its members will be at one another’s throats for the debacle suffered, depriving them from piling up a mountain of pelf they have become accustomed to savouring with relish. But Khan refuses to compromise his position that is rooted in preserving and promoting the interests of the country and its people without any outside intervention and pressure.

This battle is now nearing its logical end. The choice for the ruling criminal cabal is between holding free and fair elections in the country and answering the charges of mega corruption they have indulged in, or face the scourge of the people whose patience with their foot-dragging has been rendered thin. Soon it may spill over on the roads of the country which will then be impossible to control. The time is well-nigh here for the criminal cabal to realise the gravity of the ensuing crisis and let saner voices assume charge of the country and take it forward. Failing this, there is but the deluge!

The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute