Has vengeance unseated idealism in ‘naya’ Pakistan?

Imran’s government ought to rise above pettiness to enable the country to stand tall in the comity of nations with its values

These are interesting times in Pakistan. There is a giddy round of constant entertainment in the form of highprofile arrests, a reformist setup and the rosy-hued civilian-military honeymoon the whole country is basking in. Unfortunately, like all honeymoons, these end and reality and egos can shatter any perfect setup. Reality is almost always hard-nosed and grim, and those basking in illusions should realise that soon.

The only thing that remains is integrity, which is critical for the continuity of any ideal, or survival in the cesspool we call politics. And while integrity and politics are often not compatible, these together could ultimately serve a higher cause, both of survival and continuity of ideals.

But first let us review the seismic or ordinary (based on one’s perception) recent event — the arrest of Pakistan’s opposition leader and former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif days before the by-elections. The timing could not have been worse. If the arrest was after the elections, it could have dispelled the opposition’s claims of misuse of force and attempts to affect the outcome or the morale of Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

It was hardly likely that Shahbaz would have turned absconder and slipped out of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) grasp.

The hasty arrest is bound to backfire on Prime Minister Imran Khan. Such measures do not bode well for political stability or inspiring confidence in democracy and accountability. The arrests of Shahbaz and his brother, the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and his daughter, Maryam, before the general elections in July, have confirmed that a troika comprising the military, judiciary and Imran’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) is seeking a vendetta.

Allegations of massive and systematic rigging of the 2018 election had ferociously divided opinion and polarised the society. Similarly, the challenges thrown at the political and social system have ignited a tussle between the old guard and the new aspirants for power.

The image of a ‘naya’ (new) Pakistan is being cultivated as a game-changing moment. But therein lies the rub. Targeting elite structures and the old world order is in itself debatable as the PTI’s top rung, barring a handful of socialist-minded officebearers, themselves belong to Pakistan’s entrenched elite.

The economy is adrift with the finance minister increasingly displaying his ineptitude. The lack of interest in the agricultural sector, the country’s mainstay, underlines the government’s poor understanding of its potential. What the farm sector desperately needs is technology and resources to harness its true worth.

But these are early days, and Imran’s government has a lot to learn. It should rise above vengeance and pettiness, and value integrity.

We were promised Quaid’s Pakistan. That Pakistan was inclusive of faith, creed, caste and, if I may add, no discrimination. Sadly, PTI’s aspirations to follow Quaid’s ideals seem to be a mere illusion: The ouster of a capable, well-respected economist is proof.

Is this yet another beginning of the end of those ideals?