The other day I heard Shoaib Shaheen a PTI-backed candidate who lost the election from Islamabad speaking to the media, hurling allegations at the establishment for rigging the elections, notwithstanding the fact that the candidates of his party who contested elections as independents have won majority of the National Assembly seats and PML(N), contrary to pre-poll predictions, has not been able to emerge as the single largest party. Many of its stalwarts surprisingly have been defeated.
That in itself is a clear testimony to the fact that the elections had been held in a free and fair manner. Had the establishment intervened as alleged by Shaheen, the PTI-backed independents would not have won in such great numbers.
The PTI standing true to its political creed wants the whole of the cake, showing disrespect to the mandate given to other parties by the people. I, as an independent observer and political analyst, take exception to the threatening words that Shaheen used against the alleged role of the establishment and accuse it of repeating the experiment of 1971 which according to him would have very serious repercussions for the country. That is the height of irresponsibility which descends into the realm of maligning the state institutions on the basis of one’s own wisheda rather than any credible evidence to the effect.
He has surely crossed the Rubicon by likening the situation to the 1971 events, hurling threats at the establishment and asking it to go to Adiala Prison to apologize to Imran Khan or face the consequences. Such indiscretions have serious consequences and people like him should be made to face the law. His threats are also suggestive of some sinister move on part of PTI to create a law and order situation in the country. This impression gains currency from the statement of the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, who the other day, speaking to the media, said that the government had credible information that some elements were planning to create a situation like May 9 and warned that there would be a severe reaction by the government to any such attempt.
Pakistan is not a banana republic where it is free for all. In my estimation it is a well planned campaign to malign Pakistan and its state institutions, particularly the Army and to build international pressure on them to secure clemency for Imran Khan. Taking a cue from the PTI false propaganda, the foreign media as well as some governments have expressed concern on the process of elections and delayed results. I heard an Indian anchor saying that it is impossible to hold elections in Pakistan without rigging. That is regrettable indeed.
If the PTI and other contestants have any complaints regarding irregularities in elections and rigging. then instead of launching a sustained campaign to tarnish the image of the country and its institutions, they should adopt the legal mechanism available to seek redress to their complaints. As per law, the Election Tribunal and ECP are the proper forums to deal with such complaints and the latter has already taken up their hearing for adjudication. The next forums are the higher courts. So until and unless it is proven through the legal process that rigging has taken place it is not appropriate for anybody to jump to the desired conclusions.
It is pertinent to point out that Imran Khan had created a lot of fuss in the country by building a narrative regarding rigging in the 2013 elections by vociferously claiming that the then caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab had helped the PML(N) to win at least 35 seats which he dubbed as 35 punctures. He also demanded a judicial probe. But when the judicial commission in its findings announced that there had been no rigging in the elections, Imran Khan admitted in a TV interview that 35 punctures was only a political statement and somebody had told him about it.
The country needs political stability to overcome the security and economic challenges it faces. The political parties, therefore, must learn from their past mistakes and place the national interest above their political ambitions.
The PTI has chosen to knock at the doors of high courts, bypassing the initial legal avenues that are there to address elections-related complaints. They are addicted to jumping the queue. First of all they have to learn to respect the law of the land and behave according to the democratic norms and internationally recognized principles of political behaviour. The Lahore High Court has done well to return the petitions filed by PTI-backed losing candidates against winning candidates of PML(N) by advising them to approach the appropriate forum, which is the ECP.
Unfortunately some of the media outlets and their wizards have also played a role in reinforcing the impression regarding rigging without verifying the facts, not realizing that such indiscretions can bring a bad name to the country. Freedom of expression does not mean doctoring the information in accordance with one’s own wishes and whims or the dictates of the vested interest one represents. It is actually intellectual and professional dishonesty.
There is no denying the fact that PTI has a considerable vote bank in the country which has been amply reflected in the election results, but it is also a reality that PML(N) and PPP also enjoy massive public support. However the PML(N) has not secured the number of seats that it expected and different polls held before elections had predicted.
However, the party has gracefully accepted the split mandate and expressed the desire to cooperate with other stakeholders to winch the country out of the quagmire it is stuck in. The PTI is therefore well advised to abandon its usual rhetoric and narrative of maligning the state institutions and focus more on the consolidation of the gains that it has made in the elections instead of thinking and planning to create chaos in the country.
It has the right to form a government in KPK where it has gained a comfortable majority and also to try to stitch together a coalition government at the centre if possible, as the PML (N) and the PPP are doing at the moment. It is obvious that no party is in a position to form the government on its own and it ultimately will be a coalition at the centre. The same seems to be the case in Balochistan and may be in Punjab. These are the ground realities. It is said that politics is the art of the possible. The parties have the right to do whatever is possible in view of the developing ground realities.
The country needs political stability to overcome the security and economic challenges it faces. The political parties, therefore, must learn from their past mistakes and place the national interest above their political ambitions.
