Pakistan: Avoiding the worst

For months now Imran Khan has been demonstrating that we are living in an age defined by uncouth and ill-mannered leaders. He has been using foul language against the government, legislators, bureaucrats, the judiciary, the election commission and its members. He did not even spare the US ambassador to Pakistan or the Chinese government. The result is that no one in his right mind is ready to venture into any territory that might involve the opposition’s consensus for its initiation. First Justice (retd) Rana Bhagwandas, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, refused to become the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and now it is Justice (retd) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, again a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, who has declined the offer. The refusal of these two leading and highly respected members of the judiciary to head the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), throws light on the damage Imran Khan’s accusations have wrought to the democratic process. Thanks to Imran and his aspersions against anyone who fails to size up to his expectations of helping him become the country’s prime minister, the task of appointing the CEC may not be able to meet the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) deadline of November 13 (tomorrow). The disservice Imran has done to the country by making its institutions, it leaders and its laws controversial can become a thorn in the side of his own political career that might eventually pull him down, something that might already have begun.

Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has put forward two conditions for considering becoming the CEC. One is that the ECP is made as independent as is the Election Commission of India. Two, he does not want his name to be challenged once finalised for the candidacy. As far as the first condition is concerned, no one can deny the importance of having an independent ECP, be it on the lines of India or not. But achieving this in a matter of days, since November 13 is the deadline by which the new CEC should be appointed as per the orders of the SC, is demanding the unachievable. The second condition though sounds cautious, considering the stature of a Chief Justice of Pakistan, and especially of someone who had already served as the acting CEC. The government is here as much to be blamed as Imran for acting unwisely and making the ECP controversial. Why is it that the government has to be pushed to abide by the constitution in nearly every case? The appointment of the CEC should have been completed when Fakhruddin G Ibrahim had resigned and without the goading of the SC. Let us see how the government goes about achieving this (seemingly) Herculean task, now that the deadline is looming over its head.