2-8-2018

A new day, a new beginning

The outcome of Election 2018 is now clear. The PTI will form the government in
the centre and, almost certainly, in Punjab. The PML-N has been swept off the
‘throne’ that it had held for so many years and should be pondering its own
future, with signs of skirmishes beginning to emerge within the party.
The opposition has, as a united force, sensibly opted to stay within parliament and
fight its battles from the lower house. This is how things should be. According to
the latest calculations, the PML-N has secured 64 seats and the PPP has clinched
43 seats. The PTI is being forced to seek the support of independents – which is
always risky business – to obtain the 172 seats that it needs to form a
government. It seems that the opposition will be a powerful one.
In many ways, this is beneficial to the people as it will ensure proper checks and
balances. The MMA has added its own 12 seats to the opposition benches, with
others coming from the ANP and various other parties. This can help give
parliament an opportunity to fathom the best ways to run a complex a democratic
system.
There was a surreal element to Imran Khan’s victory. Thousands of social media
posts, often from the youth, have suggested that the results are a reminder of
what people must have felt on August 14, 1947 when Pakistan was created. The
advent of ‘Naya Pakistan’ is being equated with the creation of a new country.
Amid a sense of injustice during the pre-polling and polling processes, there is also
a great deal of excitement over electing a new leader. Pakistan is now officially a
state with three major parties, and this can only be hailed as a positive
development. However, to compare current events with those that occurred
during Partition – which stands out as one of the most crucial moments in modern
history that resulted in bloodshed and suffering – is rather inappropriate.
We must, however, hope that the new nation which people believe they are living
in is not treated as badly as the old one was. Within the ‘old’ nation, hatred grew
quickly along with political rivalry and the death of democracy. Within 10 years of
Pakistan’s creation, a prime minister had been assassinated; a military dictator
had seized power; and coercion, repression and force had become the order of
the day as parties from the left and their media organs were repressed. Many
other forms of oppression occurred as well.

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Pakistan has perhaps never recovered fully from those difficult times despite the
periods of democracy that interlaced three more eras of military dictatorship. An
entire wing of the country violently broke away in 1971. We hope ‘Naya Pakistan’
will enjoy a better future than the old Pakistan that the often zealous supporters
of Imran Khan insist has been buried and left behind.
However, they should remember that history doesn’t disappear. It looms over a
nation forever and needs to be accepted, learnt from and embraced rather than
merely forgotten or pushed to the sidelines. The controversies that preceded the
elections and the dubious actions reported during the polling process take the
shine off from the newly-minted ‘Naya Pakistan’.
Political adjustments and the games involved in forming majorities in assemblies
will hold sway in the coming days. This is inevitable, with so many blocs winning
seats alongside mainstream parties. We also hope that matters involving the
allegations of wrongdoing can be dealt with in a constitutional manner through
the ECP and in parliament rather than on the streets. Pakistan doesn’t need more
dharnas. We have learned this lesson from Imran Khan’s dharnas.
Imran’s initial offer to investigate the concerns that other parties have about the
electoral process is encouraging. We hope that he will adhere to his promise and
create a cabinet that is willing to do the same as well. Since corruption was the
main slogan during this election, those who have been accused of corruption
within Imran’s own setup also need to be removed from the scene. This will truly
convince the people that a ‘clean’ government has been put in place. Imran has a
reputation for immaculate honesty. He must ensure that this image isn’t ruined
through actions that raise questions or associations with those who are
considered to be ‘clean’.
When we challenge the ‘old’, a great deal of introspection is required. The tweet
by a woman associated with a political family that belongs to the upper echelons
of society stating that she wouldn’t even allow rural women who line up at polling
stations to run her kitchen, generated outrage. But the fact is that many of our
elite think in precisely the same manner. There are many people in our society
who think it is acceptable to make fun of domestic servants and publically demean
them.
The servants, of course, cannot respond. Although there is no doubt that they
discuss these matters in the privacy of their own cramped servant quarters, very
few of us are privy to these conversations. A ‘new’ Pakistan must work towards

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narrowing the divide among people and building respect for all groups regardless
of their social standing, political affiliations and religion.
Pervez Khattak hasn’t been helpful in this regard as he has used abusive language
against his opponents and the women of a particular party. Women, it seems, are
the favourite target of slurs made by the powerful in a society that remains deeply
misogynistic and patriarchal. Building rationality, developing scientific thought,
and removing superstition from our midst should also be our prime target. The
failure to do so has held us back for too long.
Imran Khan and the team he selects will need to begin the inevitably long process
of addressing these issues along with the immediate concerns that he partially
identified in his speech. Unfortunately, it appears once more that we may be left
with no choice but to borrow from the IMF and leave it to our future generations
to incur the massive debt that we have accumulated due to severe
mismanagement. Dealing with misgovernance and corruption goes beyond
changing who run key bodies. It involves reforms in the system. This is also an
issue that Imran needs to think about carefully and put before parliament – a
body that he hasn’t shown too much respect for in the past.
The ‘old’ Pakistan will need a true effort to extract the rot that has eaten away at a
country where people are desperate for change. Many people believe that Imran
Khan can deliver this change. At the same time, the emergence of hatred, and the
presence of people who suggest that certain groups should be killed or express
their lack of respect for a particular party or ethnic group are simply frightening.
There is a pressing need for tolerance.
Imran Khan will also need to prove that he is prepared to deal with extremism,
even though groups like the fiercely anti-Shia Pakistan Sunni Tehreek are allied
with his party. The challenge of setting up a new country is an immense one. The
circumstances are quite different to 1947 – the year to which present-day events
are being compared.
While a comparison of this nature seems ludicrous, it is equally true that creating
something new is harder than addressing problems that have entrenched
themselves deeply in the system, damaged institutions and torn to shreds a
constitution that few people are willing to abide by as they go about their quest
for power and use people as pawns in their effort to gain what they can.
By: Kamila Hyat