How to move ahead

If there’s anything that Pakistan needs today to improve both its political environment and economy, it is some degree of unity and the willingness of all parties to work together.

We as citizens need to acknowledge the fact that Pakistan currently faces one of the worst crises in its history; its economy is in shambles and most people are starving because they are unable to buy food at inflated rates. Petrol prices continue to increase as well. A high number of people are unemployed, and this contributes to the high rate of petty crime in all parts of the country.

Unfortunately, as we saw in the National Assembly on Sunday (March 3) as the new prime minister, Mian Shehbaz Sharif, was elected – and before this during a session in the Punjab Assembly – there is clearly no willingness on the part of the PTI to move towards reconciliation.

In acts that can only count as being extremely hostile to the country, PTI chief Imran Khan has allegedly dispatched a letter to the IMF asking the organization not to lend any money to Pakistan until a fair and free election is held. He states that this was a promise made by the IMF. There is controversy over the wording and context of his message.

But what is clear is that Pakistan today cannot survive without the vital IMF loan that will come after a new round of talks in March. At the moment, we must hope it does come in, giving the country the much-needed time to set some agenda for the future.

As Shehbaz Sharif said in his victory speech, work ahead will be “difficult” but not “impossible”. We hope that this proves to be true for the sake of all citizens of the country, especially the one-third who live below the poverty line.

The PTI’s refusal to move towards dialogue or show any willingness to work with the government in power is alarming. Yes, most analysts and observers believe that the elections held on February 8 were not transparent. But even so, Pakistan’s future is what all political leaders should be thinking about. After all, controversial elections have been held in the past as well, including the 2018 ballots which brought the PTI to power. Indeed, there have been many who argue that no election in the country has been fair since the first exercise carried out in 1970.

The reality is that only a stable political situation can benefit the country and its people. This stability can be brought about only if there is some willingness to work within the rules of parliamentary democracy. At the moment there is no evidence of this, with Shehbaz Sharif’s speech largely drowned out by shouting and a volley of noise from PTI members in the NA and those supporting them in the galleries.

There is also another element to all this. Pakistan – even after over seven decades of existence – has not developed the majority that democracies need. We have seen this in provincial assemblies and parliament. The waving of watches in the KP and Punjab assemblies is simply childish. It serves no purpose and is not dignified. Yes, the Toshakhana case needs to be sorted out and those responsible brought to justice. The degree of their offences also needs to be determined in the context of Pakistan’s past history, but simply making a mockery of parliament by bringing up the offences of others serves no purpose.

The purpose of parliament and assemblies is to legislate in favour of people and, most important of all, work on an agenda that can push forward the course of the people who have been wronged for far too many years and are today in desperate need of help and a way to move forward. The fact that we see no way towards the future is manifested in the fact that more people than ever before left the country in 2022 and 2023 by legal means. Others have left illegally, including PIA flight attendants who slipped away from flights to Canada.

The fact that a woman can be driven so desperate by the existing situation in her homeland that she leaves behind a three-year-old child, as one air hostess did, simply shows the mindset of people who see themselves placed before a wall that they know they cannot climb up.

The PTI meanwhile has essentially issued a cry for war and bloodshed by appointing Amin Gandapur as KP’s CM. This is a move intended to show the intent to go to battle whether it is to talk or govern. The PTI should be working towards making KP a model province so that other provinces can see what is happening there and favour the party in any future poll. Some believe this poll may happen sooner than mandated in the constitution. Others of course point out that different outcomes are also possible in the coming years.

But Gandapur is a sign that the PTI wishes to retain the animosity and hostility it has displayed in the past, using verbal abuse as a kind of weapon against opponents and misogyny against women opponents as well as news reports and anchors. Besides this, in 2017, there were reports about Gandapur’s alleged involvement in the alleged stripping and parading naked of a teenage girl in Dera Ismail Khan. People cannot simply ignore such allegations.

Things need to change. They need to change fast. We need a united stand by all parties on what is to be done in the future and how this is to happen. There is no point in continuing with the strategy of endless hostility and acrimony. The amount of abuse we have heard in the past years under the PTI government is virtually unprecedented.

It is time to return to the dignity and respect that political leaders should demonstrate in order to set an example for others. It is also true that such dignity will also bring greater benefits to themselves. We at the present moment have chaos in the country. We are indeed very close to anarchy.

This is, in so many ways, dangerous and shows that our political leadership has nothing for people who struggle to place a meal or two on the table before their children. There is now growing evidence of the desperation of people and at the same time evidence of the indifference of political leaders to this. The mix is a disaster.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. She can be reached at: kamilahyat@hotmail.com