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An amazing people
Shahzad Chaudhry
Thursday, May 16, 2013
From Print Edition
Just a few weeks back there was a lot of speculation about the political situation in the country. Would the elections be held? Was there a conspiracy to somehow postpone the elections? Was it a ploy for the establishment to finally intervene again and find another reason to take over? Were the terrorists in league with the establishment and creating turmoil to somehow sabotage the elections? Were the three liberal and (secular?) parties being targeted to keep them out of the electoral process? Was the rise of the right an engineered process? And finally, would there even be a May 11, as the people of Pakistan hoped there would?
May 11 came and passed, answering all these questions to what one might say to the full satisfaction of all. The people of Pakistan have spoken and in no uncertain terms. Bombs and bodies did not hold them back; neither did the heat of the summer. The turnout was unprecedented, evidence of the role the media has played in bringing about awareness of the rights and responsibilities of the people.
Those that spoke of it as a nation lost, without a sense of purpose, afflicted by its dysfunctionalities galore, needed only to see all the first-time voters of all ages who turned out to vote who turned out to express themselves at the ballot. I was one among those. What had till then been only a masses owned process historically sucked in its wake the too-elite-to-vote exceptionalists, as indeed those who had been disenfranchised by the travesties of poverty and marginalisation.
One is reminded of 1971 and of the experience of losing one half of the country, as one is reminded of earthquakes and floods that have struck this unfortunate nation, of the last five years of democracy that brought only misery to the people; and of how the people have always stood up to adversity and have tried to work towards building the nation. This nation has defied all. Those that called it a failed nation, and those that talked of it fracturing into smaller entities have all been proven wrong.
One swan does not a summer make, but given the potential of the people and their track record of emerging stronger than before after each such challenge these generalisations and stereotyping are continuously defeated. This has been one such summer.
For the last ten years, this nation has been facing the challenge of terrorism, with tens of thousands of lives lost and property destroyed. They have withstood it all. They defied threats from these same terrorists to refrain from participating in the elections and it was this threat that led to the belief that these elections would be bloody and violent.
At the altar of such deadly premonitions, the people of Pakistan emerged in large numbers to cast their ballot and in doing so defied the bullet. Terrorism, of the nature that afflicts Pakistan, is greatly dependent on the support and acceptability of the masses. In the absence of such support, life is taken out of such movements.
The 2013 elections answered in no uncertain way any apprehensions on where the allegiance of the people lay as well as their rejection of anything undemocratic and unconstitutional. This and other such aggregations are what, in the end, make up the political capital that parties winning elections employ in the initial days of their tenures. Such political capital is what needs to be put to best use, not frittered away in wishful pursuits by a new government.
Imran Khan has been catalyst for change; for political awakening and wide participation among a part of society that was known to keep itself isolated from the doings of the common man which is how elections have always been perceived. The media contributed to this sense of awareness among the people with a series of unending talk shows that for most part were derided for their overuse as indeed their quality. What those gave us instead is a people charged with the belief that they owe themselves their destiny.
As soon as the electoral system still leaky, still vulnerable to influence and manipulation by the traditional political brokers is put right and gains the trust of the people, this resurgent political awareness will convert itself into a force of good and vote Pakistan to progress.
This election was marred by allegations and counter-allegations of ballot stuffing, rigging and manipulation on some counts but has been seen to have largely steered the process towards an acceptable mandate. The process will more likely improve further with technological intervention. Such determination of their destiny by a politically aware people is the real change.
Here is how else the people spoke. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are more enterprising and will risk change amply evident in their decision to go with Imran Khans PTI. This was a deliberate vote that kicked traditionalists out of power and voted for those the people thought had better answers to offer.
No, it wasnt a vote against the drones, or in favour of beginning a dialogue with the Taliban, but a vote for a different way of governance and for a more relevant solution to present-day challenges. That is where the PTI needs to pay attention. Otherwise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is equally ruthless; no party that came into power since 1993 was ever returned to power at the end of its tenure.
Punjab remained conservative, and perhaps conventionally wise. Not prone to risks since the stakes are too high for such game-playing, the people of Punjab stuck to the traditional moulds. Voting the PML-N in, in no uncertain way, they have relied on the wisdom of experience and a proven proclivity within the party to a more assured attention to reinvigorating the economy. The people are more interested in secure jobs, a thriving industry and a burgeoning economy. That there will be a lot else on the PML-Ns plate when it takes the centre seat shows the innumerable challenges that face Pakistan.
If traditional politics is to survive, the PML-N will most certainly have to deliver. Otherwise, like the PPP, it will be relegated to having only a provincial existence.
The PPP and the ANP could be said to have been punished for their listless performance, proof yet again that at least the electorate has broken itself free of the traditional bonds. Sindh may appear slow on this road to change, but will eventually catch up. The PPPs likely tenure ahead in Sindh will define its image and place in the imagination of the people of Sindh, and determine whether the party can manage to rethink itself into a more relevant mould.
Nationalist parties doing well in Balochistan is a welcome change. Who can say the future is anything but full of promise for Pakistan? We have turned the corner.
The writer is a retired air-vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force and served as its deputy chief of staff. Email: shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com
An amazing people - Shahzad Chaudhry
Shahzad Chaudhry
Thursday, May 16, 2013
From Print Edition
Just a few weeks back there was a lot of speculation about the political situation in the country. Would the elections be held? Was there a conspiracy to somehow postpone the elections? Was it a ploy for the establishment to finally intervene again and find another reason to take over? Were the terrorists in league with the establishment and creating turmoil to somehow sabotage the elections? Were the three liberal and (secular?) parties being targeted to keep them out of the electoral process? Was the rise of the right an engineered process? And finally, would there even be a May 11, as the people of Pakistan hoped there would?
May 11 came and passed, answering all these questions to what one might say to the full satisfaction of all. The people of Pakistan have spoken and in no uncertain terms. Bombs and bodies did not hold them back; neither did the heat of the summer. The turnout was unprecedented, evidence of the role the media has played in bringing about awareness of the rights and responsibilities of the people.
Those that spoke of it as a nation lost, without a sense of purpose, afflicted by its dysfunctionalities galore, needed only to see all the first-time voters of all ages who turned out to vote who turned out to express themselves at the ballot. I was one among those. What had till then been only a masses owned process historically sucked in its wake the too-elite-to-vote exceptionalists, as indeed those who had been disenfranchised by the travesties of poverty and marginalisation.
One is reminded of 1971 and of the experience of losing one half of the country, as one is reminded of earthquakes and floods that have struck this unfortunate nation, of the last five years of democracy that brought only misery to the people; and of how the people have always stood up to adversity and have tried to work towards building the nation. This nation has defied all. Those that called it a failed nation, and those that talked of it fracturing into smaller entities have all been proven wrong.
One swan does not a summer make, but given the potential of the people and their track record of emerging stronger than before after each such challenge these generalisations and stereotyping are continuously defeated. This has been one such summer.
For the last ten years, this nation has been facing the challenge of terrorism, with tens of thousands of lives lost and property destroyed. They have withstood it all. They defied threats from these same terrorists to refrain from participating in the elections and it was this threat that led to the belief that these elections would be bloody and violent.
At the altar of such deadly premonitions, the people of Pakistan emerged in large numbers to cast their ballot and in doing so defied the bullet. Terrorism, of the nature that afflicts Pakistan, is greatly dependent on the support and acceptability of the masses. In the absence of such support, life is taken out of such movements.
The 2013 elections answered in no uncertain way any apprehensions on where the allegiance of the people lay as well as their rejection of anything undemocratic and unconstitutional. This and other such aggregations are what, in the end, make up the political capital that parties winning elections employ in the initial days of their tenures. Such political capital is what needs to be put to best use, not frittered away in wishful pursuits by a new government.
Imran Khan has been catalyst for change; for political awakening and wide participation among a part of society that was known to keep itself isolated from the doings of the common man which is how elections have always been perceived. The media contributed to this sense of awareness among the people with a series of unending talk shows that for most part were derided for their overuse as indeed their quality. What those gave us instead is a people charged with the belief that they owe themselves their destiny.
As soon as the electoral system still leaky, still vulnerable to influence and manipulation by the traditional political brokers is put right and gains the trust of the people, this resurgent political awareness will convert itself into a force of good and vote Pakistan to progress.
This election was marred by allegations and counter-allegations of ballot stuffing, rigging and manipulation on some counts but has been seen to have largely steered the process towards an acceptable mandate. The process will more likely improve further with technological intervention. Such determination of their destiny by a politically aware people is the real change.
Here is how else the people spoke. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are more enterprising and will risk change amply evident in their decision to go with Imran Khans PTI. This was a deliberate vote that kicked traditionalists out of power and voted for those the people thought had better answers to offer.
No, it wasnt a vote against the drones, or in favour of beginning a dialogue with the Taliban, but a vote for a different way of governance and for a more relevant solution to present-day challenges. That is where the PTI needs to pay attention. Otherwise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is equally ruthless; no party that came into power since 1993 was ever returned to power at the end of its tenure.
Punjab remained conservative, and perhaps conventionally wise. Not prone to risks since the stakes are too high for such game-playing, the people of Punjab stuck to the traditional moulds. Voting the PML-N in, in no uncertain way, they have relied on the wisdom of experience and a proven proclivity within the party to a more assured attention to reinvigorating the economy. The people are more interested in secure jobs, a thriving industry and a burgeoning economy. That there will be a lot else on the PML-Ns plate when it takes the centre seat shows the innumerable challenges that face Pakistan.
If traditional politics is to survive, the PML-N will most certainly have to deliver. Otherwise, like the PPP, it will be relegated to having only a provincial existence.
The PPP and the ANP could be said to have been punished for their listless performance, proof yet again that at least the electorate has broken itself free of the traditional bonds. Sindh may appear slow on this road to change, but will eventually catch up. The PPPs likely tenure ahead in Sindh will define its image and place in the imagination of the people of Sindh, and determine whether the party can manage to rethink itself into a more relevant mould.
Nationalist parties doing well in Balochistan is a welcome change. Who can say the future is anything but full of promise for Pakistan? We have turned the corner.
The writer is a retired air-vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force and served as its deputy chief of staff. Email: shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com
An amazing people - Shahzad Chaudhry
