By Farhan Bokhari
The end of a three-week protest in Islamabad last Monday lifted a practical siege of the Pakistani capital and the prospect of growing paralysis surrounding some of the country’s major cities. The manner in which the protest mounted and eventually ended badly exposed the credibility of a government whose credentials were already in tatters.
To sum up, Pakistan’s emerging prospects remain in disarray as the country remains adrift under the rule of a government whose single-minded obsession is just the future of its controversial leader. Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N), who was ousted in July this year, remains defiant of Pakistan’s top judicial institutions as he continues to dispute the Supreme Court verdict that led to his departure.
In the process of defending Sharif, however, the PML-N, which continues to rule Pakistan under Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who succeeded Sharif, has effectively become a ‘Nawaz bachao tehreek’ or save Nawaz movement.
Tragically for Pakistan, the end result has been that whatever little work of national significance was done by the ruling structure prior to Sharif’s departure, has since been put on hold. Consequently, Pakistan has been placed on an auto-pilot mode with little evidence in sight of a robust effort to resolve the most pressing issues.
The sense of paralysis comes at a time of critical importance in the country’s history. The forthcoming parliamentary elections due next summer will mark yet another milestone in the country’s democratic journey. And yet, that journey has already become stifled with a drift away from the most pressing issues.
On Friday came yet another powerful reminder of the security challenges confronting Pakistan when 12 people were killed in a terrorist attack targeting an agricultural office in Peshawar. The ‘burqa’-clad terrorists stormed the building, disregarding whatever few security arrangements that were in place. The use of the ‘burqa’ by the well-armed and apparently well-trained terrorists suggested the variety of ways in which militants have learnt to penetrate well-fortified locations. The attack once again renewed the need for mobilising the nation to take on terrorists, beyond the work already done by the security services. Clearly, the security challenge for Pakistan will eventually be tackled through a two-dimensional approach. First, the work done by the security services has already begun to make a difference. With the Pakistan army locked in a comprehensive clean-up operation against terrorists, the number of terrorist attacks has already declined compared to just a few years ago.
Second, a more permanent solution to this challenge lies with building a badly-needed national consensus against terrorism. Beyond the ground regained by the army and other branches of the security services, it is essential to mobilise members of communities across the board towards the common cause of ensuring a more secure Pakistan.
Tragically however, little has been done by way of ensuring a societal change. Part of the challenge must relate to the ways in which basic human needs such as education and health care are provided to the mainstream population. This is vital to not only deal with fundamental needs, but also to encourage a popular participation in national issues.
But as the government remains obsessed with the future of Sharif, causes such as revamping of government health-care facilities or revitalising academic institutions have suffered further. These essential segments were already the targets of neglect even when the ruling structure was thought to be performing at its best.
Pakistan’s experience with Sharif as the country’s top leader also badly exposed the way he has remained detached from mainstream issues. Whenever he or a member of his family suffered a medical ailment, their first reaction would be to head to the United Kingdom for treatment. This detachment from Pakistan’s mainstream tragically runs across the board and includes key players of different political parties. With the exception of Imran Khan — the former cricketer-turned-politician who built the Lahore-based Shaukat Khanum memorial cancer hospital dedicated to his late mother — it is hard to find another politician with a similar claim.
Similarly, some of the more promising world-class educational institutions include the Lahore-based Lahore University of Management Sciences, pioneered by Syed Babar Ali, the well-respected businessman, the Karachi-based Aga Khan University, pioneered under the leadership of prince Karim Aga Khan, leader of the world’s Esmaili community, or Karachi’s Habib University, backed by the Karachi-based Habib family with interests in business, finance and industry. Yet, there is little to mention by way of a similar world-class and internationally-recognised initiative evolved under the guidance of a political figure. The absence of such a legacy in higher education clearly highlights the disconnect between vital human needs and the interest of the political class. As Pakistan struggles with its day-to-day challenges, it is clear that the country’s elected leaders have little interest to emerge as visionaries and chart a more promising future.
The recent protests in Islamabad have indeed brought a timely focus on the degree of disquiet across Pakistani society that deserves to be tackled urgently. Left unattended, the disquiet can easily turn into chaos and possibly a prolonged crisis in a country that urgently needs to settle down.
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