Sunday, August 24, 2014

Pakistan Happenings: Of Poor Rights, A Political Solutions & The Dharna Women.

As the 10th day of the so called Inqilab & Azaadi marches rolls across the television screens and we see a hot summer landscape in Islamabad, many thoughts come to my mind. How much the leaders of  movements are responsible for the comforts,discomforts of the women and children in these marches.How and what is the commitment of these marchers? What does their demands actually translate into?
I t seems to me that the marchers of the Inqilaab march are very committed as a religious duty to their leader . They are disciplined and are ready to brave any hardship, sincerely believing anything that their leader says.They are not clear in what their demands actually are except one that the June Model Coloy, Lahore firings and alleged killings by police be probed by a formal process of law by a fair trial and not as by a commission appointed by the government which itself is a party as said by the aggrieved.This issue is the strongest point for which they have the support of all the people of Pakistan as the  lack of access to justice especially in cases where the accused are in positions of responsibility and power is the real dilemma.
the other demands about a fair system in  Pakistan, a fair governance etc are areas which can only be brought about by a debate , discussion in the parliament and deciding the mechanisms and modalities of implementation and the skeleton of the policies in parliaments by the consensus of all the political parties.representatives only. for this the whole system of governance cannot be wound up and non-political forces brought into the picture as repeatedly warned by the much pragmatic and better leader . Mr Siraj ul Haq of Jamaat e Islami & Qamaruzaman Kaira of the PPP.The most logical tangible demand in this scenario that can be immediately accepted and implemented by the government is that of the Local  Bodies elections. The Punjab government should announce immediate Local Bodies elections and appease the Inqilaabi marchers .
The issue of the Model Town fiasco will not go away simply and Mian Nawaz Sharif should understand that linking Punjab politics to Federal politics is not helping their party in any way.If this issue would have been addressed in  a fair non-partisan manner earlier this march would have been avoided. The persistence of the Punjab government to non resignation of their chief executive is dragging a dead horse and has bode very bad, ominous signs for the federal government.
This issue has given Mr Imran Khan also an impetus in his fast tracked Azaadi march.Thier demands are generally acceptable to the government except the sequence or the order of demands. The country cannot afford the kind of dragging their feet politics Mr Nawaz Sharif and his buddies are doing at this critical juncture. As Azaadi marchers have toned down their demands for his resignation so should the Chief Executive consider  the free and fair recounting and election results audit as an urgent exercise.
The economic losses caused by these marches have to be quickly recovered and Mr Imran Khan should realize that Pakistan cannot be either liberated or made New by empty slogans and damaging the economy. He should reverse his call for non-compliance and ask his followers to behave as responsible citizens. Just by reading books and giving calls does not a change make. The process of good governance and just rule is slow. It is an attitude and will only come with strong institutional oversight.The parliament needs to be strengthened at this critical juncture in our history.His much publicized change will come with time. He has won in so many ways. His bringing young, unconcerned elitist and upper middle class into functioning, protesting politics is one big achievement.His forming a government in KPK was another good achievement where they should implement their change and good governance ideas and compete for a renewal in next elections.His demand for fair and free elections is close to the hearts of all Pakistanis. He has already brought about a change where the Pakistanis have become much aware of voting process, hurdles and fairness methods for next elections. A concession to end the protest in a dignified manner will only heighten his stature and make him a frontline player in this game of electoral politics.

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