ONE shudders to see our beloved country being driven to disaster. Almost every day brings new difficulties for the common man. The will of the people is being trampled, making them feel helpless and hopeless in the face of the harsh realities of everyday life.

The authorities charged with bettering their lives and mitigating their misery, paradoxically enough, are responsible for their travails in the first place.

The army of bureaucrats is rarely available on the spot to discharge its duties.

For example, rulers and bureaucrats restrict themselves to issuing declarations and warnings about impending natural disasters, much of which are brought about by the neglect, pervasive corruption, mismanagement and an absence of accountability in high places.

The masses suffer needlessly as the ruling class becomes increasingly venal and busies itself in self-aggrandisement.

Over the past couple of years, an onslaught on the higher judiciary has been too visible and a sense of injustice all around is inescapable. This is no fertile ground for democracy

The ball now lies in the court of the coterie ruling the country at present. It thinks that just by crushing terrorists, everything will be all right.

But the powers that be gloss over the fact that the root of the malaise is absence of the rule of law, mismanagement and a blatant denial of justice to the common man.

Even the Constitution has been put in a state of suspended animation so that dummy governments can be installed — hardly a recipe for unity and peace.

Over the past couple of years, an onslaught on the higher judiciary has been too visible and a sense of injustice all around is inescapable. This is no fertile ground for democracy.

The government’s fixation seems to be the denial of human rights and opposition-baiting. Even basic human rights like freedom of speech and assembly are regulated by rushing a bill through parliament, depriving citizens of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The history of a nearly octogenarian Pakistan is a sorry tale of disorder and self-aggrandisement. This lies at the root of authoritarianism.

A peep into history

For a historical perspective we may we go back to the milestone event of 1954 elections held in East Pakistan. The Muslim League government was routed, losing over 300 seats to the opposition alliance known as the United (Jugtu) Front. Mr H.S. Suhrawardy demanded fresh election for the Constituent Assembly, describing the elections as a referendum.

I remember reading an editorial published in these pages, captioned ‘Awful Majesty of Peoples Will’, but that verdict was rejected by the all-powerful and authoritarian rulers based in West Pakistan.

The nation was elated when the Sindh Chief Court invalidated the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly as it thought the verdict would put the country on the road to constitutional rule and democracy. But it was undone by the Federal Court, headed by Chief Justice Muneer. Justice M. R. Kiyani was the lone dissenting voice.

There is a similarity between that saga and later developments. In 1969, General Yahya Khan imposed martial law and initially did the right thing by undoing one unit and held general elections on the basis of one man one vote.

But he undid all the good work by refusing to convene a session of the National Assembly which was elected in Dec 1970. It was apparent that West Pakistan’s ruling elite didn’t agree to hand over power to the majority party — the Awami League of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.

Parallels with present day

There is a significant similarity between that brazenness and the present exceptional events. One political party got the single largest majority in the Feb 2024 general election, but its founder, his spouse and other leaders are facing unrelenting hardship through imprisonment and lodging of case after case against them.

The party is not being allowed to hold public meetings and a special law has been enacted to punish it in case of any deviation from the deputy commissioner’s order.

Should one remain silent to the fact that the last caretaker government caused losses running into billions to an economically stressed country by importing wheat and exporting sugar.

Can a provincial caretaker government approve corporate farming and sell thousands of acres of land to conglomerates headed by army personnel in the name of ‘green Pakistan’.

Land has always been a weakness of the rulers, politicians and the establishment. Is this going to foster unity, solidarity and the rule of law and ensure justice to the common man?

How can one expect to generate goodwill and win the support of the majority if the nation continues to be ruled by undemocratic and ruthless arbiters of our destiny.

One begs to ask the powers that be whether they are ready to follow the call of their conscience and revisit the entire course of their overt and covert actions. The nation badly needs such introspection so that its leaders change their attitude — a panacea for the ills afflicting this country — before it’s too late.

The writer is a former deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2024