Sarmad Shahbaz
Who was envisaging it? To be honest, no one. None of the political analysts and legislative experts were taking into consideration the humiliation of constitutional sovereignty in the way it had been done on Sunday. A similar happened on Wednesday in the Punjab assembly when the stature of deputy speaker, who saved the IK’s illegitimate selected government from so-called travesty of foreign conspiracy, got locked out in the assembly. The rebellion by the provincial executive enclaves the constitutional dodging, if not the constitutional annihilation. Now the question arises that what went wrong and how did it happen? Most importantly, till when the political crises are going to stay tuned on the national television?
Considering the international arena where the new cold war is set to go, Pakistan’s inclination towards the modern-day Russian Czars and the contemporary Han Dynasty has become a nettling element for Pakistan’s relation with the West. Pakistan has been in the western bloc since its inception. Even during the years of nonaligned foreign policy, Pakistan remained somewhat loyal to the West. Explicitly, the West pressurized Pakistan during its making of a nuclear state. Even then, the envelopes of conspiracies were empty.
However, in the international relations theories, only a country with weak economic factors gets its sovereignty challenged. This is all due to its dependence on others. The realistic opinion must be disseminated instead of keeping the readers in a fool’s paradise that Pakistan is a self-sufficient country. Pakistan has altitudes of talent, overflowing brains and abundance of resources. But, due to mismanagement and inattentiveness, the country remains at contingent upon others, especially the West.
When one is nurtured based on others, how come one’s inept self-tucks in the shirt of audacity? This is the case of Pakistan. Surprisingly, how come Pakistan suddenly started to give a cold shoulder to the West? Not justifying the alleged intrigue of the West but the system works this way. It is wrong but this is how it is. Be economically free or stay aligned. The confrontation or betrayal can cause severe crashes. Countries act like people in the international arena. Yet, all this is an enigma fenced with the tragic ending of the forever war and shifts of priorities from geo-politics to geo-economics.
The factor of the excessive regional market and Indo-Pacific neck-to-neck confrontation are also the players in the existing fissure between the Markhor and Eagle & 12 Gold Stars.
There is no doubt about the fact that the timing, situation, and repercussions, everything were calculated beforehand. Nevertheless, there was an opportunity that brought a eureka moment for the populous regime of interim Prime Minister Imran Khan. The opportunity turned into a seamless panacea for the menace of opposition. This cure-all antidote was gesticulated by the premier at the end of March in the form of a white paper. But the consequences of this act are going to have a contagion effect that can last for decades.
The blank white paper drama is going to haunt the democratic values of this country. People, who are politically novice, are unable to grab the importance of the constitutional framework. They support anarchy if they support a fascist regime. One must understand the fact that no one likes a troubling individual. No matter how good one is, the trouble-making habit undermines one personality. This is what happened with Khan he upended the whole system. Not only in Pakistan but also, to some extent, at regional and global levels.
The dilly-dally arguments of foreign pressure and conspiracy, according to the insightful forecasters, are of less importance. The main bang has blown with the clash of multiple titans including the post-truth narcissist Khan, obscure and visionless opposition, and the all-time-ruling inflexible establishment. History tells that the latter is mostly influenced by foreign powers.
This is justifiable as a sharp difference of opinions was seen in the Islamabad based National Security Dialogue where the former premier alleged the West for its conspiracy and the Defense Chief tend to counterbalance the situation by claiming facts that around 80% of the Pakistani export market is sandwiched between West and its allies.
“When one is nurtured based on others, how come one’s inept self-tucks in the shirt of audacity?”
Fast-forward to the end of March and the beginning of April, the plot was settled and the trump card of Mr. Trump Khan was on ready-set-go. However, the kingmakers were still considering what can be the best approach to neutralize the situation. Given the fact that the Prime Minister was provided with the three options, he took the most practicable one i.e., early elections.
Fine with early elections but the way PTI ambushed its considerable adversary, the opposition, was unexpected. The trap was poorly set but still, it achieved its agenda of dissolution of the assembly. In one of my previous write-ups, I mentioned that the Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf has its root in fascism grounds. The successive events after the publication of the write-up proved the theory of insaneness that PTI has ingrained in the Pakistani political system. Their plot not only dug a ditch for themselves but also buried the supremacy of the constitution inside it.
Today, Pakistan has seen the repetition of constitutional subversion in the form of civilian hegemony of a fascist regime. Country’s rule of law has been thrashed by the pretended unchallengeable ruling of the Deputy Speaker under Article 69 and the dissolution of not only the assemblies but the democracy by Article 58. The contagious effect has also reached the provincial capital of Punjab where to avoid the embarrassing defeat by the opposition, the assembly has been occluded with barbed wires by the Punjab government. Democracy is being abased at the provincial level by the effect of callous precedence set on Sunday. The nation should be dreadful towards the mutation of this undemocratic virus that can enter the local and domestic levels where respect, dignity, ethics, and values will be challenged.
The situation is still confusing. The game of musical chair is being played where, perhaps the only difference is that the music has been changed with mourn and grief. But who cares, the game continues as the players are having the earphones on. The interim government is happy because it has failed the international conspiracy. The irony is that international cabalists wanted to end Khan’s regime and PTI is happy that they have ended themselves, hence they have not been punished by the death penalty but wholeheartedly accepted the suicide. Quite confusing, right? On the other hand, the opposition is going to the utmost level to save its legitimacy and its scare-face from Article 05 and is participating in a legal battle for the imposition of Article 06 of high treason over the acting prime minister and deputy speaker.
In this whole zig-zag maze, all eyes are on the Supreme Court which is also facing unmatched burden due to give-and-take for the throne of an interim government under former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed. The custodian of the rule of law and constitutional supremacy is the final umpire in this quagmire. This whole performance is going to be continued till the final ruling and verdict of the Supreme Court. Only the apex court can save democracy with its clear, judicious, and prudent interpretation of the law. My advice to all is to stick to the screens and turn on the radios. The House of Cards in this enfeebled political scenario is either going to be fortified or collapse into endless ruins.
About the Author,
The writer is Pakistan-based political commentator and social critic with keen interests in political-economic sphere, social order and philosophy.
