Democracy lost
WITH the PDM-led government’s controversial tenure drawing to an end, it is worth reflecting on what was gained from the change of leadership its component parties imposed on the country last year.
In March 2022, with the PTI at the nadir of its popularity amidst rising inflation and general disillusionment with its capability to govern, the opposition parties coalesced around the single-point agenda of taking down Imran Khan’s government.
It had seemed like a golden opportunity at the time — a chance to bury the ‘hybrid regime’ and reposition the parties that had been sidelined after the 2018 general elections as the true and deserving inheritors of Pakistan’s political destiny.
The task before them was clear: reverse the economic slide triggered by the PTI’s bad policies and offer the people the promise of a better future closely aligned with the aspirations of Pakistan’s youthful population.
Unfortunately, those who took over never did their homework. They worsened the economic crisis by wasting months dilly-dallying over the ‘best’ response, introduced repressive and regressive policies to counter and contain the PTI, and pushed a legislative agenda that seemed tailored to suit a few vested interests rather than address the growing needs of the many.
This quickly led to disenchantment with the PDM-led government’s version of ‘purana Pakistan’. The new rulers never really figured out how to address the vigorous challenge to their legitimacy launched by the prime minister they had ousted. Misstep after misstep lost them immeasurable political capital amidst social turbulence and a perfect economic storm.
Eventually, it seems, the politicians simply gave up trying to solve political problems with the lawful means at their disposal. In their desperation to keep Mr Khan away from power, they let unelected forces back into the driving seat. The rest, as they say, is history.
The PDM-led government now leaves behind a political system ravaged by legislative subterfuge and organised subversion of the parliamentary process. It leaves the Constitution looking weak and irrelevant, and has consciously ceded civilian power in its last days to forces that have historically refused to play by any rules but their own.
How could a political movement that prided itself on utilising constitutional process to remove a ‘bad’ prime minister end up condemning Pakistan to a worse iteration of hybrid rule? One is now inclined to believe that bringing down the PTI government was never about principle.
Those who, with some justification, criticised Mr Khan for being a puppet prime minister proved more than eager to take his place. Ultimately, it was a race between two rival factions to prove who could be more ‘loyal’ and ‘obedient’ than the other. One has now won favour; but for how long is anybody’s guess.
Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2023