By Saroop Ijaz
June 28, 2014
The writer is a lawyer and partner at
Ijaz and Ijaz Co in Lahore saroop.ijaz@tribune.com.pk
A few days ago, the newspapers
headlines had a statement of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, which read, “if
I am allowed to complete my term then …”. Reflect on this for a moment, on the
uncertain nature, almost pleading nature of the statement. This is
humiliatingly and bracingly candid. And for once, Mian Sahib is not to be
blamed. The missteps of the Mian brothers and this government are many and then
some more, yet they have the mandate to govern for five years, and no one, not
Mr Imran Khan, not His grace Tahirul Qadri, not Gullu Butt, have the legitimate authority to
strip them of that right. Mid-term elections are democratic, yet those who ask
for them have very shabby democratic credentials and cannot and should not be
taken on face value.
His holiness, Tahirul Qadri’s precise
demands are unclear. He wants the “revolution” yet will settle for protocol,
armoured vehicle and live coverage. However, the desires of his heart are
crystal clear; he wants a ‘coup’, ‘a military takeover’. Deep down, he
must fancy himself as a philosopher king of antiquity, however, the pragmatist
in him is simply hoping for the army to take over and give him some power or
perhaps, merely protocol. Mian Sahib has dealt with Dr Tahirul Qadri with
spectacular ineptness, yet this is no way excuse the very dangerous politics
(or is it non-politics) that Allama Sahib espouses and seeks to practice.
There is little
point in euphemism, Shaykh-ul-Islam wants us to believe that he is backed by
‘our guardians’, i.e., the military. The government also believes it, and that
is making it shake in its boots. Dr Tahirul Qadri made it clear at the Lahore
Airport that he was not willing to be escorted out of the plane by anyone less
than the Corps Commander Lahore, yet, not even a lance naik answered Dr Qadri’s
melodramatic plea. It is certainly premature to say that the ‘boys’ do not back
him anymore (and please, let us not pretend that they have not had a soft
corner for him in the past, to say the least).
Shaykh-ul-Islam is
a veteran of Machiavellian politics, with no greater objective in life than
himself, and is clear in what he desires to achieve (military takeover) even if
hopelessly opaque in how he seeks to bring that about.
The case of Mr Imran Khan is more
curious and certainly sadder. Mr Khan is not sure what he wants, except maybe
that this elected government should go home. Why and how it should go home are
questions that might require a few minutes of thinking, and Mr Khan clearly has
not been able to find the time to do much thinking at all. The election was
rigged, he says. It very well might have been. Yet, Mr Khan was the prime
beneficiary of pre-poll rigging, with inordinate media coverage given to him,
and the TTP extending him the assurance of not attacking him or his party
during the campaign (a concession not extended to the PPP and the ANP).
Mr Khan is
anti-government, anti-this system, anti-corruption and all the rest of it. The
question is what is Mr Khan ‘pro’ (except for himself and just a tad TTP)? We
don’t know the answer. Mr Khan is also clearly becoming angrier by the day, at
this internal confusion. He has abused ‘his heroes’ of the past breathtakingly
easily. Exhibit-A, Justice (retd) Iftikhar Chaudhary, when some of us
(including your humble servant) pointed out that Justice (retd) Chaudhary was
very fallible like the rest of us, Mr Khan and his devotees called us
“conspirators against Independent Judiciary”, “apologists for the corrupt
government” and other more strongly worded, lovely names. Mr Khan either loves
or hates, he does not agree or disagree. Be it General (retd) Musharraf or
Justice (retd) Chaudhary. Mr Khan does not like even semi-complex thoughts and
loves binaries, one-liners and Sheikh Rashid.
Mr Khan said that
he will himself “execute” any police officer, who tries to restrain or use
violence against his workers. Take a bow Mr Khan, you have outdone your best
friend Sheikh Rashid at his game, namely, crude, violent remarks. If Mr Altaf
Husain’s speech can be construed as incitement to violence in other
jurisdictions, then how is it any different? Short answer: it is not. The
violent outbursts of Mr Khan are inexplicable, perhaps professional jealousy at
Dr Tahirul Qadri stealing his thunder (and some parts of the script). In any
event, Mr Khan resorts to violent imagery and the use of force rather easily
except when it involves “our estranged” brothers (the TTP, in case you are
still wondering). What, Mr Khan, no talking with the police officers prior to
the execution, no committees, display of love, etc., are they not “our people”?
This seems to be nitpicking at a stray remark, and it perhaps, is. Yet, Mr Khan
does incitement to violence and if he wants to do national leadership, he will
be called out on these remarks.
The spirit continues to sink ever
since Dr Tahirul Qadri’s arrival. Firstly, the government made muck out of handling the arrival of
Shaykh-ul-Islam, who thrives on attention and disruption. Had he been ignored,
the wind out of his sails would have been knocked out. Secondly, and more
importantly, the coordination and implementation capacity of the government
seemed to be exhausted merely in dealing with one Canadian, this does not bode
well, there is a war going on with hundreds of thousands of people displaced,
Mian Sahiban will have to up their game.
Thirdly, if Dr Tahirul Qadri and a
couple of failed and fringe politicians is actually what ‘our guardians’ have
come to using, well then, how the mighty have fallen, indeed; from the IJIs to
clowns and retirees. Never mind, that the war should keep ‘the boys’ busy these
days anyway. If ‘the boys’ have nothing to do with it, one clear, public
statement from the ISPR should be enough for the much-awaited and well-deserved
flight back to Canada. Lastly, the deficit of our politics has become such, that
while a war continues, people are in internally displaced camps, Punjab remains
the theatre of power politics, with Mr Khan, Dr Qadri, the Media and Mian
Saihban prioritising it over the existential and humanitarian crises that we
face.
As far as the mainstream
political forces are concerned, united they will stand. Mian Sahib needs to get
his act together, there is no doubt about that. Equally, there is no,
absolutely no justification for anything which is ‘extra’ constitutional (which
is just an oblique way of saying illegal).
Published in The Express Tribune,
June 29th, 2014.
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