Stop pretending to be the state…Raoof Hasan
The scope and passion of the spontaneous support witnessed on the occasion of Imran Khans appearance before a Lahore High Court bench for securing protective bail is an affirmation of his ever-ascendent popularity and singular domination of the national political landscape. This was despite the widespread speculation that the occasion may provide another opportunity for an attempt on Khans life.
Simultaneously, the perilous dereliction in just about every aspect of governance is expanding with every passing day, but there is neither any method visible, nor an earnest effort to stall the plunge into chaos and anarchy. We are virtually staring into a bottomless pit with no route available for escape.
The pivotal focus of this madness is the elimination of Khan as an adversary, either politically or physically. In the former context, his stature and standing has only increased since his ouster from government and, in the latter context, one failed attempt has already been made on his life with bullets piercing his right leg which is still in a cast pending full recovery. Yet another option is his incarceration which, according to the governments own strategists, will further increase his popularity.
The institutions of the state have collapsed as economic default looms. The resignation of the NAB chairman on the plea that he cannot operate under pressure from other institutions and individuals to let mega criminals stay free and punish the petty ones is a slap in the face of the ruling elite and their sordid beneficiaries. Sultan said that there can be no accountability to soothe someones whims: I can neither initiate a false case, nor drop an established reference merely because the culprit is related to some big shot. This, in no way, validates his integrity as, during his tenure, he allowed numerous certified criminals walk away free. If a compromised person like him could not continue any longer, one can imagine the extent of pressure exerted on him to do the criminal cabals bidding.
The mandatory provision of the constitution to hold elections to a dissolved provincial assembly within a maximum period of 90 days is being flouted with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the governors of the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blatantly violating the appropriate Article 224 (1B) (2) which states categorically that when the National Assembly or a provincial assembly is dissolved, a general election to the assembly shall be held within a period of ninety days after the dissolution and the results of the elections shall be declared not later than fourteen days after the conclusion of the polls.
This violation is ongoing when virtually all legal and constitutional experts have stressed on the inviolable need to hold the elections within the stipulated period as contained in the constitution. The same has also been ordered by the high courts of Punjab and KP. Instead of proceeding with holding elections, the ECP is planning legal recourse in a desperate bid to delay the process which emanates from the fear that the incumbent criminal cabal would be administered a battering at the hustings.
To redress the situation and put the process in motion, the president, using his powers under Section 57 of the Election Act 2017 which states that the president shall announce the date or dates of the general elections after consultation with the commission, has fixed April 9 for holding elections in Punjab and KP. Rejecting a presidential role in the matter, the ECP contends that it is bound to announce schedules and hold elections only after the competent authority announces it. Now the governors of the concerned provinces and the ECP/CEC continue shying away from accepting responsibility to be that competent authority in the existent case which is tantamount to ensuring that the matter lands up in the court with the exclusive intention to delay holding the elections as per the constitutional provision.
Is it that we should dig out the framers of the constitution to explain who that competent authority is in the matter whom the ECP/CEC are looking for? Or, following up on the letter written by two sitting judges of the Supreme Court to the chief justice to take suo-motu notice of the shenanigans of the concerned institutions and officials, should we request his lordship to do so? Or should we implore the gubernatorial offices and the heads of the concerned institutions to proceed urgently with discharging their constitutional duties, or resign their offices? Or should we just give up on the state and let it slide into anarchy at an ever-accelerated pace, this being the clear option for the ruling criminal cabal for whom even the most disastrous outcome would be preferable to the prospect of holding elections?
Till some years ago, one could not imagine that a day shall dawn when there would be no one to stand up for the law and the constitution, not even the institutions and individuals whose prime responsibility it is to defend the statute book and the regulations and practices emanating from it. We are witnessing such a state in our midst now with conditions deteriorating rapidly with no one coming forth to stall the fall.
The regime-change experiment has floundered disastrously, but its architects and implementers are unwilling to take note of the damage which has been done, and that which may yet be done. They show little sensitivity, even less resolve to concede their grave mistake and make amends in terms of letting the law and constitution dictate what needs to be done by binding the respective institutions and officials to perform their duties in accordance with the key constituents of their oath. Or have they made up their mind that their will must prevail irrespective of the damage it may accrue to the state, even its prospect of survival? If that be so, they should have the courage to come out from the shadows and show us what their agenda is for this hapless country.
For now, an egotistical and unrepentant mindset has taken hold of the country and its affairs. No method, no mechanism is visible to address the grave challenges it faces in the aftermath of the failure of the ill-conceived regime change operation. It is time to soothe the exceedingly bloated egos and let the state and its interests take precedence over individual survival and advancement. One person, or a select coterie of persons, cannot be the state. Pretending to be the state must end. The state is and will be regulated by the constitution and the laws that flow from it. Nothing else and nothing less will do.
Courtesy The News