From rigged elections to parliamentary chaos

Sometimes it seems the pace of evolution in Pakistan has come to a halt. If there were any doubts, they were dispelled on Sunday when Shehbaz Sharif began his speech after casting the prime minister’s vote. Although the commotion had been ongoing since the swearing-in ceremony in the National Assembly, it has been ongoing since the inception of the country, echoing with the same mantra — the entire election is rigged. Within the press gallery, this recurring theme, witnessed in 2002, amplified in 2008, and peaked in 2013, continues to haunt, echoing into 2018 and now resurfacing again in 2024.

Reflecting amidst the press gallery, I contemplated the changes over the past two decades. Familiar faces from twenty years ago populated the space once again but Benazir Bhutto’s absence was palpable. My journey to Islamabad in 1998 marked the beginning of my career as a junior reporter. Back then, the likes of Ziauddin, Shaheen Sehbai, Ihtisham Ul Haq and Faraz Hashmi covered Parliament, while Rafaqat Ali tackled Supreme Court and Hassan Akhtar handled the Foreign Office, both of whom were called as Nawab Sahib. Their meticulous approach, dwelling on every word before cautious transcription, was the norm.

I am astounded by the deterioration of journalism. While other fields have seen declines over time, journalism itself has fallen victim to this trend.

There was a time when the Parliament’s proceedings were chronicled in captivating diaries, eagerly awaited by readers. Esteemed journalists like Shaheen Sabahi, Ziauddin, Nasrat Javaid, Amer Matin, Muhammad Malik, Hamid Mir, and Absar Alam penned these accounts with finesse. Even Arshad Sharif contributed to the parliamentary diary for a period. Our late colleague Faseehur Rehman also left an indelible mark with his contributions. Although Nasrat Javed persists in this tradition, many of these talented writers have been absorbed by TV channels and social media platforms. Consequently, newspapers have lost interest in maintaining these diaries, and the once vibrant tradition has waned.

As I surveyed the press gallery on Sunday, I noticed the absence of familiar journalistic faces who once authored these insightful diaries, eagerly anticipated by both politicians and readers alike. The decline of parliamentary diaries, once an essential component of newspapers, has been gradual but unmistakable.

Now, social media and Twitter have taken over, where there is so much venom that it’s astonishing how we all harboured such hatred for so long, whether we kept it suppressed or expressed it.

Then, I remembered that throughout history, humans have expressed hatred againt fellow humans. Even in the era of the king Bahadur Shah Zafar, Mirza Ghalib faced this hatred. At that time, those who disliked him would write anonymous letters and send curses. There was also a time when Ghalib stopped reading the letters because he knew what was contained within them. When the postman came to deliver, he would say, “Just throw it into a corner somewhere.”

I wonder if Ghalib were alive today during the era of social media, how much hatred he would have had to face. Now, such hatred has spread that breathing seems impossible.

Let’s assume that ordinary people have a lack of tolerance because daily issues weigh heavily on them. They try to alleviate their frustration by venting it out on others on social media. But what about those politicians who turn out to be even worse than ordinary people, becoming masters of bad behavior and discourse? Shouldn’t a ruler or politician’s attitude and approach be better than that of ordinary people? But then I think, when they, as rulers, are elected by people like us, how can they be better than us? If they are representatives of ordinary people, then their behavior will also be similar to those who elected them.

I thought as time passes, we all would mature. Some would become more democratic. Some would embark on a journey forward. Tolerance would increase. After the elections of 2002, a child born then would be casting a regular vote in the 2024 elections. They would be choosing the rulers of this country. So, how have we sent such a crowd to the assembly, who are engaged in cutting each other’s throats? Openly, on the assembly floor, they are hurling abuses at each other. They are punching each other. They are pushing each other. Who are these people and where have they come from?

In 2002, PPP and PML-N accused General Musharraf of rigging, claiming he rigged the elections in favour of PML-Q. In 2008, the same accusation was made against General Musharraf by PPP again. In 2013, Zardari declared Nawaz Sharif’s victory as an RO election, implying rigging. In 2018, Imran Khan was accused of becoming prime minister due to rigging. And now, in 2024, all records have been shattered. For the first time, the number of independent candidates surpassed those from PPP and PML-N, and PTI suffered such a setback that its symbol and leader were snatched away. They didn’t even get the seats reserved for women. Imran Khan is in jail, and his party is protesting in the House, just like PPP and PML-N used to do in the past, or sometimes Imran Khan used to protest.

Where do we go from here? It seems democracy in Pakistan has become stuck in a quagmire of hooligans. No one understands how to rescue it from this mess. The British thought they recognized democracy in this region, thinking that now the Indians wouldn’t have to kill to change their own kings. But what to do? Indians have been using swords for changing kings for thousands of years. Now how to change that mindset? How to make this region’s attitude more democratic? It reminds me of the British officer who said that the British had oppressed the people of this region, imposing laws made for European nations onto them.

The book “The Strangers in India” mentions that these laws were for societies where lying was considered a grave sin. However, in India, almost everyone habitually lies. In Europe, one cannot imagine giving false testimony for murder. Yet, in India and Pakistan, false testimonies abound in murder cases, leading to innocent people being hanged.

This is the same situation with democracy in this region. Here, people are stronger than democracy. They are not ordinary leaders; they have become such sacred entities that they are now worshipped. The purpose of democracy has been lost. Now, groups have formed among us who spend their entire days abusing each other.

If after twenty years, as I saw in the 2002, the environment in the assembly remains the same assembly, was democracy really meant for this region? Democracy was just a name on a piece of paper, while here, the use of reason has always been forbidden. In this region, kings have always been successful, not political rulers. It’s like the old tale where in a kingdom, thousands of poor can live, but not two kings. And here, we have several kings, who constantly fight against each other to rule the ordinary people.

Web Desk