The government's proposed meddling with the 18th constitutional amendment comes as an unpleasant surprise at this particular time. But it is certainly not out of character for the ruling dispensation. In fact, it is very much in keeping with the brutal logic employed by the party that has led us into Naya Pakistan: i.e. the best defence is a good offence.
Whenever the PTI faces fundamental questions on its legitimacy as the party of “tabdeeli”, and is losing face vis-a-vis any of its opponents, it responds with a fierce counter-offensive. And that always seems to take the form of some very authoritarian proposal which is thrown into the country's public debate purely to scuttle all other discussions.
Last year, it was the chimera of an “Islamic presidential system” to replace the existing Islamic-parliamentary setup – an issue that was created out of the blue. The point, of course, was never to actually get to that goal. It was all done merely to assert dominance and provide an escape for pent-up authoritarian fantasies and frustrations: those of the party's leadership and support base alike.
And this month, as the government faced mounting criticism for its destructive handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, its first response was to assign its loud-mouthed representatives - up to the federal ministerial level - to attack the opposition, primarily the Sindh government. Now that has developed into a full-fledged “debate” that calls into question the 18th constitutional amendment and the NFC awards system.
This is done in the full knowledge that these issues are central to the politics of the PPP – and a number of other opposition forces. Whether or not the ruling dispensation can summon the parliamentary resources and political capital to actually do it is a separate question. Here we are concerned with the political intention behind the move, as well as its consequences.
It may make sense from the perspective of realpolitik and warfare to go on the offensive every time the ruling party is under attack. But it also suggests a high level of political malevolence on the part of the government.
After all, this ruling dispensation demands loyalty from the masses and media alike on the basis of its “good intentions”, not its good acts. It demands an infinite acceptance and understanding for its self-inflicted political and policy failures. Having gotten away with things that few other parties would be allowed to, if the PTI now plays cynical power games because “everyone does it”, then it is hammering the last nail into the coffin of its own legitimacy.
At the moment, it is difficult to mourn the PTI's fall from the pedestal on which it had set itself up. Any illusions that this government was somehow “better in its heart” than others before it have been shattered long ago. All that one could dare hope for is that PM Imran Khan's government would avoid doing permanent damage to the federation in its struggles to wield power and browbeat opponents.
Attacking the 18th amendment during a political feud, using the cover provided by a global pandemic, may or may not bring the PM's opponents in line. But it will definitely dent the confidence of the Pakistani people - especially those from outside the country's powerful heartland and federal capital region - in the ability of the federation to accommodate their political concerns and aspirations. It will give them the message that the PTI is, at the end of the day, a representative of the country's old heartland, despite the immense confidence reposed in it by populations from other provinces. Above all, it will send out the message that long-term constitutional arrangements which are very important to the provinces are merely bargaining chips in this or that temporary feud, as far as the federal government is concerned.
It seems that like a long line of embattled and cynical Pakistani political forces before them, the current federal government will also go to any destructive lengths. The viability and health of the federation is, quite obviously, the least of their concerns.
But this destructive way of conducting political feuds must stop now. Pakistan, its constitution and its federation must be of paramount importance. The country cannot be held hostage to dangerous tantrums, unjustified resentments and malicious antics - neither by those in power nor those opposing them.
Whenever the PTI faces fundamental questions on its legitimacy as the party of “tabdeeli”, and is losing face vis-a-vis any of its opponents, it responds with a fierce counter-offensive. And that always seems to take the form of some very authoritarian proposal which is thrown into the country's public debate purely to scuttle all other discussions.
Last year, it was the chimera of an “Islamic presidential system” to replace the existing Islamic-parliamentary setup – an issue that was created out of the blue. The point, of course, was never to actually get to that goal. It was all done merely to assert dominance and provide an escape for pent-up authoritarian fantasies and frustrations: those of the party's leadership and support base alike.
And this month, as the government faced mounting criticism for its destructive handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, its first response was to assign its loud-mouthed representatives - up to the federal ministerial level - to attack the opposition, primarily the Sindh government. Now that has developed into a full-fledged “debate” that calls into question the 18th constitutional amendment and the NFC awards system.
This is done in the full knowledge that these issues are central to the politics of the PPP – and a number of other opposition forces. Whether or not the ruling dispensation can summon the parliamentary resources and political capital to actually do it is a separate question. Here we are concerned with the political intention behind the move, as well as its consequences.
It may make sense from the perspective of realpolitik and warfare to go on the offensive every time the ruling party is under attack. But it also suggests a high level of political malevolence on the part of the government.
After all, this ruling dispensation demands loyalty from the masses and media alike on the basis of its “good intentions”, not its good acts. It demands an infinite acceptance and understanding for its self-inflicted political and policy failures. Having gotten away with things that few other parties would be allowed to, if the PTI now plays cynical power games because “everyone does it”, then it is hammering the last nail into the coffin of its own legitimacy.
At the moment, it is difficult to mourn the PTI's fall from the pedestal on which it had set itself up. Any illusions that this government was somehow “better in its heart” than others before it have been shattered long ago. All that one could dare hope for is that PM Imran Khan's government would avoid doing permanent damage to the federation in its struggles to wield power and browbeat opponents.
Attacking the 18th amendment during a political feud, using the cover provided by a global pandemic, may or may not bring the PM's opponents in line. But it will definitely dent the confidence of the Pakistani people - especially those from outside the country's powerful heartland and federal capital region - in the ability of the federation to accommodate their political concerns and aspirations. It will give them the message that the PTI is, at the end of the day, a representative of the country's old heartland, despite the immense confidence reposed in it by populations from other provinces. Above all, it will send out the message that long-term constitutional arrangements which are very important to the provinces are merely bargaining chips in this or that temporary feud, as far as the federal government is concerned.
It seems that like a long line of embattled and cynical Pakistani political forces before them, the current federal government will also go to any destructive lengths. The viability and health of the federation is, quite obviously, the least of their concerns.
But this destructive way of conducting political feuds must stop now. Pakistan, its constitution and its federation must be of paramount importance. The country cannot be held hostage to dangerous tantrums, unjustified resentments and malicious antics - neither by those in power nor those opposing them.