Like People, Like Rulers!

Nevertheless, it has been experienced umpteen times that as soon as the meticulously managed elected or selected civil or military rulers appeared to have served a hidden agenda, or they were found to be getting, out of the crease in a fit of nationalism or something else, their immediate political or physical elimination was ensured by the not very invisible masters, not only in Pakistan but in many other parts of the world, e.g., Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Algeria, Nigeria, Tunis, Turkey, and so on. However, authoritarian rule always looks more organized, better managed, and relatively more focused on developments with corruption somewhat under check in the short term. Ironically, the downfall of dictatorial rule starts as soon as the same old reigning corrupted political elite manages to join hands to serve and rule indirectly, with flak directed at the overjoyed military rulers and the military institution, and most of the appreciation cared for the evergreen power elite. Lately, it has been termed as a hybrid government… unholy, unconstitutional, and counterproductive by all governance standards nevertheless. The mortals keep wondering, “If absolute power corrupts absolutely, where does that leave God?”

Let’s now focus on the other side of the ruling coin. We all understand that the world is sufficient for man’s needs but not greed. In its 76 years of inconsistent history, Pakistan has seen democratic governments with a tinge of socialism, communism, and the hue of dynastic monarchy. Conversely, autocracy under military rule with shades of democracy with only a few changes of faces necessitated due to natural fade away.

The moment may pass on a victory note for the perpetrators, but the state loses in the long run, as has been proven repeatedly by Pakistan’s political past.

However, in all experiments, the corrupt ruling elite with new generations on board remained a constant, besides the domestic and foreign movers and shakers. The pivotal reasons for the continuous ‘so-called democratic regimes’ failure in Pakistan include a corrupted electoral system that thrives on an abundance of filthy money, the ability to buy votes and electable/turncoats, meddling by the invisible power brokers, isms/ schisms executed by ‘rent a crowd companies’ in the name of sectarian, tribal, clans, religious and social biases, immoral and illegal practices to suppress the political opponents, lawlessness, no induction as well as further grooming criterion for the politicians/legislature as in the case of Judiciary and the Executives, politicized Election Commission and the compromised whole electoral machinery.

Consequently, such a lopsided election system results in unending lousy governance by the poorest human resource continually getting in the helms of affairs. Thus, the overawed public unavoidably continues to suffer from rampant corruption, political victimization, worst human conduct and shameless pomposity, reckless extravagance by the powerful ruling elite, lack of accountability, weak writ of the law, desperately slow judicial system, suffocating unbridled inflation, addiction to foreign loans at the cost of compromises on national sovereignty and decision making, adjusting to foreign influence or even interference, and unstoppable slide down of the economy.

It is a matter of concern and demands reappraisal that the sincere efforts by military institutions like the National Defence University to contribute to grooming all segments of the society, including other law enforcement agencies, politicians, civil bureaucracy, wealthy class businessmen, selected bright youth, media personnel, think tanks, etc. by organizing National Security Workshops and other courses, have helped them to mimic only the cosmetic side of the military life and national security realm.

Moreover, as an unintended consequence, the genuine exercise has helped further strengthen the unholy alliances and bondages among the participants rather than contributing positively towards nation-building. Ironically, with all the governance experiments so far, the vicious circle of the inept and avaricious ruling elite has never ceased to plunder the national wealth, stash and escape abroad, then come back triumphantly, overnight get clean chits by the courts and the institutions and rule again with “Khatay hain to lagatay bhi hain” having become the most conformist slogan by the benefactors. The prevalent culture of political victimization, suppression of freedom of speech, and highly offending oppression of political opponents through kidnapping, torture, and registration of fake cases by misuse of the state machinery with judiciary conniving or watching helplessly has far-reaching consequences.

The moment may pass on a victory note for the perpetrators, but the state loses in the long run, as has been proven repeatedly by Pakistan’s political past. It is said that “Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.” The star-crossed public wonders with complete disbelief, “When honour and the law no longer stand on the same side of the line, how do we choose?”

Therefore, the meaningless comparison between the military and the so-called democratically elected rulers is more like a contrast of oranges with mangoes that have already yielded a new hybrid fruit named ‘Orangoe,’ which only proves the point that irrespective of the type of government in Pakistan, the public at large has mostly remained deprived, ignored and barely surviving under a humiliating environment.
Needless to say, “no nation can survive politically free but economically enslaved.” The democratic process in Pakistan has been repeating the same experiments again and again, expecting different results in vain. It has remained one step forward and two steps backward or the exact old wine in new bottles.

The PDM government and allies (especially the PML-N and the PPP) have parted ways as was predicted and are once again resorting to the traditional unsparing competition as long overdue general elections have finally been announced to be held on February 8, 2024, with the PTI officially mauled and decimated and probably out of the game and Nawaz Sharif and other convicted politicians getting reprieve by due amendments in the national laws to return to national politics; a destructive beaten track of course. The sale and purchase of turncoats have already begun, and smaller parties of virtually defunct PDM are running between the PPP and the PML-N for better bargains and a more significant share of the pie, as always. The fate of the newly created PTI runaway Tareen, as well as the Aslam Khattak group, hangs in imbalance with visibly some assured role in the national dirty politics. The land of the pure keeps teetering on the brink of economic collapse and sustained by insulting IMF’s conditions, with severe security crises from within and outside.

The democratic process in Pakistan has been repeating the same experiments again and again, expecting different results in vain.

Let me conclude by praying that the Armed Forces should remain aware of the more lavish designs of the foes and the perils of once again getting embroiled in the same rut as was the case for the last six decades…that is what the enemy wants us to do. The real success will be to turn the table on the enemies of Pakistan both on internal and external fronts by exercising the right strategic choices rather than reacting and firefighting on tactical battlefields on unfamiliar grounds. The leaning on the Army by all state institutions at any drop of a hat has made the civil bureaucracy, political elite, and the general public addicted to using the Army as an indispensable antidote for the quick fix and the cure of minor and significant national syndromes. Pakistan’s brief history confirms that this injudicious practice has always proved fatal in the long run for the state as well as for the military institution, just like the use of antibiotics proves fatal for the treatment of dengue fever.

The path forward requires bold actions. The military, in cooperation with the judiciary, will be well advised to play the role of an honest umpire (desirably one last time) and enable the much-preferred holding of free and fair general elections in the country to take place under absolutely apolitical judiciary and Election Commission with all parties and leadership including the PTI given equal and fair playing field. Any elections short of that will be seen as foolish with cataclysmic repercussions. Let the hatred, prejudices, grievances, and dark past be buried and take a fresh and positive start where a genuine political process inevitably ensures a gradual cleansing procedure. Providing the ‘Protection of People and the Constitution’ is the terse message for the Armed Forces of Pakistan, being the most dependable national saviours. That is considered the finest remedy for restoring the image of all state institutions and for highly desired political and economic stability in Pakistan.

The military and national intelligence agencies have their plates full of internal and external security challenges; pre-empting, preventing, and defeating those threats ought to be the prime and only focus of the military, leaving the rest to the civil side of the governance. When given free hands, the political elite, judiciary, and the civilian component of the executives and other stakeholders are bound to perform well, maybe with a few more stumbles. The world and even regional experience show that the more democracy is based on honest foundations, the more the chances of political, economic, and security stability. The wisdom lies in learning from history, and the truth is that you always know the right thing to do. The tricky part is doing it!