Election dates
PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s surprise vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Thursday is part of a chain of events linked to the Supreme Court’s hearing of the elections delay case and the first meeting of PTI and PDM representatives in Parliament House to discuss polls.
Though the political atmosphere has been toxic over the last one year, these developments indicate that the country’s warring elite may be inching towards a negotiated solution to the prevailing constitutional and political crises.
The PM’s successful vote of confidence — though in a rump parliament shorn of any practical opposition — was designed to send a message to the apex court. Yet the question is: where to from here? Will the move help defuse the ticking time bomb? As the chief justice noted during Thursday’s hearing, the SC cannot force the government to hold negotiations with the opposition.
With the PDM-PTI meeting, facilitated by the Senate chairman, both sides have taken baby steps towards, hopefully, a democratic solution to one of Pakistan’s most protracted political crises.
Now it is up to the protagonists to find a way out of this morass so that the country can embark on the path to recovery. But as the events of the past year have shown, this will be far from easy, particularly when there are rigid elements within the PDM — such as the JUI-F as well as hardliners inside the PML-N — that want nothing to do with the PTI.
Still, with Mr Sharif securing the confidence of the Assembly, he needs to instruct his side to hammer out a deal with the PTI that can pave the way to polls.
The onus is on both sides to find a democratic solution to the impasse. If the PTI has shown some flexibility, the PDM should respond in kind. While the latter has said that parliament alone has the mandate to make laws and decide on elections, it should be kept in mind that no decision by the legislature should violate the Constitution.
Already the 90-day constitutional limit of the caretaker governments in KP and Punjab has passed, and it would not be incorrect to say that both interim administrations are operating in legal limbo.
Ideally, polls for both the National Assembly and the four provincial legislatures should be held on the same date, but the government should not insist that these be held in October or November after the current administration completes its term.
As this paper has previously argued, early polls nationally and in the provinces can offer a way out. If the political class fails to negotiate a settlement and powerful quarters move in to ‘save the day’ through extra-constitutional means, the politicians will have to answer to the people.
Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023
HRCP report
IN its flagship annual report on the state of human rights in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has painted a sorry picture of where the state actually stands — more than 75 years after independence — on civil liberties, religious freedoms and other fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The report, which examines the rights situation in the country in 2022, is a blunt reminder of how the pillars of state — the legislature, judiciary and the executive — have failed in their duty to protect citizens from violence and political and economic exploitation. Particularly at risk are such vulnerable groups as religious minorities, women, sub-national groups, workers and children, while state institutions continue to violate each other’s territory, undermining their institutional capability and credibility. The report specifies how the (ongoing) political and economic turmoil in the country has had a disastrous impact on the human rights situation, and points to the resurgence of terrorism that claimed 533 lives last year. The state’s growing intolerance towards dissenting opinions, free speech and the freedom of assembly has resulted in a large number of enforced disappearances — mostly in Balochistan — as well as the arrest of journalists, social media influencers, political workers and politicians linked to the opposition. Many were subjected to custodial torture while some are facing sedition charges.
Likewise, the inability of the state and its different organs to rectify discriminatory legislation and implement the state’s writ and laws to convict perpetrators has led to an escalation in threats to religious freedom and sexual violence against women and children. The scale of violence and discrimination against trans persons was aggravated by the backlash against the hard-won Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018. Incidents of mob lynching also appear to have risen, underscoring the fact that intolerance and a lack of respect for the laws of the land at the state level have now completely permeated our social and public life. HRCP has been highlighting these deep-rooted issues afflicting our state and society for decades. But successive governments have failed to address them because the protection of vulnerable segments of society and human rights doesn’t figure on the agenda of political parties. It, therefore, isn’t surprising that, as pointed out by HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani, the human rights community is losing the space which it had gained after a long struggle.
Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023
Tragedy at sea
YET another migrant boat tragedy is in the news, once again with Pakistanis among the dozens who died in a terrible accident that occurred off the coast of Libya recently. The story follows the heartbreaking pattern of earlier ones, where migrants from crises-hit countries cram into unsafe boats in a desperate attempt to reach greener pastures. Two boats were involved in the tragedy; one of the boats was reportedly ferrying 80 passengers when it sank. According to the International Organisation for Migration, 441 migrants and refugees drowned in early 2023 when trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, the highest number of deaths in the past six years over a three-month period.
Aside from Pakistan, the migrants were mainly from Syria, Tunisia, Egypt — countries with authoritarian rulers and/or security and economic issues. It is a shame that people are ready to undertake perilous sea journeys to reach safer countries, as they see no hope in their own. For instance, in Pakistan, as if the economic and environmental crises were not enough, a protracted political predicament and security challenges are sending a signal to many that their future at home is bleak. While the political, military and judicial elite squabble, the poorest are caught in a storm of crises with no solutions in sight. Even with the knowledge that death and serious injury are never far away from dangerous routes out of the country, these people still opt to go. As they embark on these treacherous journeys in search of better socioeconomic opportunities, they have no choice but to travel on unsafe, overcrowded boats. Criminal smuggling networks profit from their fears and exploit illegal migrants who cling on in the hope of opportunities in another land. Even as they engage in power battles, our politicians and institutions should spare a thought for those whose life is so difficult that they are willing to risk life and limb for distant shores.
Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023