Pakistan - Disrespecting The Parliament

The tirade of Sheikh Rasheed and PTI Chairman Imran Khan against the sitting parliament of Pakistan is not only extremely irresponsible but also a below the belt strike on the institutions of this country, particularly the democratic principles that both claim to be champions of. Both politicians have been a part of the same parliament since the last four years and despite their denial, they were very much made the parliament and the character that they accuse it of having.

In the last four years, these same politicians have been enjoying the perks as members of the parliament, and they have drawn salaries as members of the parliament. This is a huge question mark on their judgement of the parliament. It took them four years, after enjoying the privileges of the tax payers money, to discern that the setup is not working. This very much makes this more of a political gimmick rather an accusation based on facts. Had they believed, in the last four years, that the parliament is what they claim it to be; as honest politicians they should have resigned there and then.

Another aspect which is to be considered here is that if the assumption is being made that the parliament was not able to deliver anything substantial and does not have people of merit sitting on those seats, then the democratic way to go about it - as members of the parliament - would have been to take part in the proceedings and push for betterment. However, in the case of Sheikh Rasheed and Imran Khan both, their absenteeism from the parliament is no secret at all. In fact, when the National Assembly (NA) rightfully adopted the resolution presented by Federal Minister Baleegh-ur-Rehman condemning Sheikh Rashid and Pakistan Imran Khan for openly cursing the parliament at a rally in Lahore, both of them were absent during the proceedings.

This goes to show their commitment towards upholding the democratic principles of the country and respecting the institutions that make up the core of the state. As politicians it is very important to understand that the system one aims to change can only be changed by respecting its institutions and following the patterns laid out by the laws of the country to work towards betterment.