Time to dump allies
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Editorial, Dawn, Pakistan
By Asha’ar Rehman
Sunday, 24 May, 2009
THE people in government must embarrass themselves as they strive to perpetuate their stay in power. The ones billed as their replacement may only be slightly less acrobatic and less amusing in their antics. The gymnastics show is so repetitive that we would have gone crazy by now had we not learnt to laugh it off.
As usual, the latest democratic run coincided with vows of reconciliation and greater tolerance among the politicians. The quality of politics has suffered seriously in the melee that has followed in the subsequent 16 months or so. Just think it over: it’s been days since anyone talked about the sacred Charter of Democracy here.
In a statement that appeared in Friday’s papers, Nawaz Sharif has categorically reported that all political forces are behind the military operation in Swat. His is a heartening statement but the reasons cited behind it are varied. It is obvious that good old Mian Sahib is going to come under pressure from many of his old allies for having dragged them into this front that he is currently in the process of building. At any rate, the politician, the pivot of civilian rule and civilian supremacy the famous CoD celebrated and pledged to nurture, appears to be the least plausible cause behind the PML-N leadership’s sudden change of mind.
The record substantiates the suspicion. The politician — the leader, the worker — has died a hundred deaths in the war against the extremists. ANP rallies have been bombed and party members besieged, PPP gatherings have been blown up, while others have not only watched from a distance but have actually, to borrow a recent original expression from Ahsan Iqbal, tried to get political mileage out of the situation. The same politicians are now aghast when they are at the receiving end of uncharitable remarks of JI chief Munawwar Hasan.
‘PML-N reacts strongly to JI allegations’ read the headline to a news item carried by Lahore papers last week. How long have we waited for this bit to come for we knew all along that given the demands generated by an earnest push for power this was inevitable.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz … dismissed as ridiculous Jamaat-i-Islami chief Munawwar Hasan’s statement that it had changed its stance on national issues to appease the United States….” was the introduction to the story. “ In a written statement, PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal said his party needed no ‘certificate of patriotism’ from Hasan.”
Mr Iqbal was quoted as saying that “the PML-N had always taken a clear and categorical stance on all national issues, which is evident in the growing popularity of the party’s top leadership...” and that “… some religious political parties were unfortunately trying to gain political mileage through hypocrisy” (reference to JUI-F) and that “this … was not the time for political point-scoring; political forces should rather help the government steer the country out of the prevailing crises….”
In case someone was looking for consistency, the statement was rounded off with the PML-N refrain on just how unreliable the federal government is in carrying out the wishes of the all-parties’ conference (APC) on Swat.
The APC widened the fissures within the right. It ‘formally’ pitted the ones who are sensing a return to government against those who are not in the run for power and can thus afford to take principled stands.
The gulf will increase with time. Others will come forward to fill the void created by the PML-N’s departure from the anti-imperialist camp. Life will continue. We know what best some of us can do in times like these: wish for a third force to emerge.
Those fed up with the system are once again making noises that the incumbents and pretenders must lend an ear to. There has been a series of small incidents that tell the populace that even the gods in the PML-N may have feet of clay. Even though he has escaped the public condemnation of Justice Dogar’s daughter, an N-League lawmaker from Rawalpindi has been pulled up for examination fraud; there is an inquiry pending against the Punjab prison minister on the allegations of breaking customs rules; and while the fiery rights activists are yet to tear him apart in front of the camera, an N-League member of the Punjab Assembly has been named in a torture case.
Right now the PML-N may — one more time — dump unwanted allies like the JI, it may sacrifice a few errant members of its own to maintain the high moral ground that it has been holding. The party will find it harder to make similar sacrifices the closer it finds itself to the seat of power in Islamabad. And it has treaded the path frequently enough to not be talking about the Charter of Democracy and principles any more.
Source
By Asha’ar Rehman
Sunday, 24 May, 2009
THE people in government must embarrass themselves as they strive to perpetuate their stay in power. The ones billed as their replacement may only be slightly less acrobatic and less amusing in their antics. The gymnastics show is so repetitive that we would have gone crazy by now had we not learnt to laugh it off.
As usual, the latest democratic run coincided with vows of reconciliation and greater tolerance among the politicians. The quality of politics has suffered seriously in the melee that has followed in the subsequent 16 months or so. Just think it over: it’s been days since anyone talked about the sacred Charter of Democracy here.
In a statement that appeared in Friday’s papers, Nawaz Sharif has categorically reported that all political forces are behind the military operation in Swat. His is a heartening statement but the reasons cited behind it are varied. It is obvious that good old Mian Sahib is going to come under pressure from many of his old allies for having dragged them into this front that he is currently in the process of building. At any rate, the politician, the pivot of civilian rule and civilian supremacy the famous CoD celebrated and pledged to nurture, appears to be the least plausible cause behind the PML-N leadership’s sudden change of mind.
The record substantiates the suspicion. The politician — the leader, the worker — has died a hundred deaths in the war against the extremists. ANP rallies have been bombed and party members besieged, PPP gatherings have been blown up, while others have not only watched from a distance but have actually, to borrow a recent original expression from Ahsan Iqbal, tried to get political mileage out of the situation. The same politicians are now aghast when they are at the receiving end of uncharitable remarks of JI chief Munawwar Hasan.
‘PML-N reacts strongly to JI allegations’ read the headline to a news item carried by Lahore papers last week. How long have we waited for this bit to come for we knew all along that given the demands generated by an earnest push for power this was inevitable.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz … dismissed as ridiculous Jamaat-i-Islami chief Munawwar Hasan’s statement that it had changed its stance on national issues to appease the United States….” was the introduction to the story. “ In a written statement, PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal said his party needed no ‘certificate of patriotism’ from Hasan.”
Mr Iqbal was quoted as saying that “the PML-N had always taken a clear and categorical stance on all national issues, which is evident in the growing popularity of the party’s top leadership...” and that “… some religious political parties were unfortunately trying to gain political mileage through hypocrisy” (reference to JUI-F) and that “this … was not the time for political point-scoring; political forces should rather help the government steer the country out of the prevailing crises….”
In case someone was looking for consistency, the statement was rounded off with the PML-N refrain on just how unreliable the federal government is in carrying out the wishes of the all-parties’ conference (APC) on Swat.
The APC widened the fissures within the right. It ‘formally’ pitted the ones who are sensing a return to government against those who are not in the run for power and can thus afford to take principled stands.
The gulf will increase with time. Others will come forward to fill the void created by the PML-N’s departure from the anti-imperialist camp. Life will continue. We know what best some of us can do in times like these: wish for a third force to emerge.
Those fed up with the system are once again making noises that the incumbents and pretenders must lend an ear to. There has been a series of small incidents that tell the populace that even the gods in the PML-N may have feet of clay. Even though he has escaped the public condemnation of Justice Dogar’s daughter, an N-League lawmaker from Rawalpindi has been pulled up for examination fraud; there is an inquiry pending against the Punjab prison minister on the allegations of breaking customs rules; and while the fiery rights activists are yet to tear him apart in front of the camera, an N-League member of the Punjab Assembly has been named in a torture case.
Right now the PML-N may — one more time — dump unwanted allies like the JI, it may sacrifice a few errant members of its own to maintain the high moral ground that it has been holding. The party will find it harder to make similar sacrifices the closer it finds itself to the seat of power in Islamabad. And it has treaded the path frequently enough to not be talking about the Charter of Democracy and principles any more.
Source
Labels: APC, JI, JUI(F), Militants, PML(N), Swat Operation, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Terrorism
posted @ 10:38 AM,
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