Non-Issues Versus Core Issues

Knowledge-based general awareness, culminating into vibrant public participation, is the ultimate sledgehammer which tears apart the thick layers of exploitative darkness and the perverted selfishness of the rulers. It is a beacon light which illuminates the human vision and guides them to an overall dynamic process of self-realization, human dignity, freedom, fundamental rights, social justice and writ of law/constitution.

Knowledge is a powerful catalyst for progressive leap-forward in all aspects of national life. It is a matchless force multiplier, all-embracing, all-pervasive and multidimensional. Forces of inertia, tentacles of socio-political exploitation, unbridled loot and plunder, selfishly motivated illegal concoctions, degrading dictatorial distortions, logjam of military interventions and the destructive luxury of living in the whirlpool of trivial non- issues are the symptoms of an illiterate, backward, sleepy, uncivilized and immobilized society. The self-centered ruling classes are terribly afraid of the people’s overall awakening and their determined power of resistance… based on faith in their own destiny and unshakable conviction to pay the price for their fundamental rights, equality of status including that of opportunities as well as before law and social/economic and political justice. An awakened society, mobilized through the above motivational moorings can never be enslaved, subdued and even hoodwinked for too long. Therefore, the focused strategy of all the exploitative ruling forces has been to keep the people illiterate, divided, de-focused and deeply entangled in the quagmire of frivolous non-issues. Most unfortunately, the ruthlessly exploited, systematically plundered and forcibly impoverished people are kept tightly hooked on the selfishly engineered tenterhooks of crises and political uncertainty.

Such an unhealthy process started in Pakistan soon after the death of Quaid-e-azam. Formulation of the constitution was diabolically delayed. Elections were neither seriously planned nor held. Political parties were hijacked and rubbished. Genuine political leadership at all tiers, were neutralized and disqualified. State institutions were humbled, degraded and destroyed. Unconstitutional, illegal and non-representative governments became the order of the day through the direct and indirect involvement of the civil-military establishment. Illegitimate rulers created illegitimate crutches for self-perpetuation. Accordingly, such rulers manufactured and patronized bunch of self-seeking turncoats/political orphans, exploitative elements of ‘wadera/pir shahi’ and insatiable lackeys. These sham rulers and their shameless camp-followers had no roots in the masses and also had no love as well as respect for them. They did not believe in the sanctity of constitution, writ of law, fundamental rights, equitable distribution of resources/opportunities and overall fair dispensation of justice. The focus of such exploitative gang of so-called elites was self-enrichment, self-glorification and self-perpetuation. They damned the constitution, disfigured the national image, trashed the people as well as their genuine core issues, flouted the Quaid’s vision of Pakistan and kept the people ruthlessly engrossed in the self-created quagmire of non-issues.., far away from their urgent, genuine and pressing core issues. This has been the cherished philosophy of life of the two civilian (bureaucrats) dictators and the four military coup-makers, the self-styled saviours of Pakistan.

So, till today, to our utter misfortune, the illegitimate rulers are wickedly playing the selfish game of non-issues. Self-created trivial issues are kicked up, unending debates thereon are initiated, mountains are made out of mole-hills, existing rules are amended and whimsically interpreted, lame justifications are fabricated, new policies/plans are framed and war-gamed, hectic tempo is built-up, resources are shoved in, accelerator is pressed on, momentum is geared up, the balloon of non-issues takes off and it shoots up to the dizzy heights of nowhere. In the meanwhile, the priorities undergo a 180- degree shift, the old balloon is left high and dry in the wilderness and the above feverish process starts again for the launching ceremony of the next and still the next similar balloons regardless of the demoralization and wastage of time, energy and resources. The country hardly moves one step forward and cyclically three steps backward. Unfortunately, the national downslide goes on, while the rulers are selfishly hell-bent to keep themselves well-entrenched and beyond the reach of the hapless common people of the land. The bogus success stories of the rulers, on the contrary, are simply mind-boggling and totally disgusting. The intoxicated rulers seem to have lost sense of proportion. They have gone blind to the horrifying ground realities and the miserable status, grinding poverty, pervasive insecurity, wide-spread frustration and total disillusionment of the masses.

The people are being treacherously fed on the lollypops of non- issues which have no relevance, no significance and no attraction for them. They are sick of the self-fabricated garbage of inconsequential issues. People are least interested in the stinking justifications for the “doctrine of necessity”; rule through LFOs and PCOs; intervention of civil-military establishment; rigged elections and shameless floor-crossings; derailment of the political system and violation of the constitution, legal norms and moral values; 17th amendment of the constitution and orchestrated sham democracy; use of government machinery, NAB and agencies for promotion of unconstitutional, illegal and immoral agenda; destruction of national institutions and political parties; victimization and exile of political leaders; controversial uniform issue, holding of two offices by the President and his re-election through incumbent assemblies for the next five years; address of public meetings by the president in favour of Q-League; humiliating dismissal of Chief Justice and demolition of judiciary as the state pillar; security protocols, VVIP culture and misuse of public funds/resources; selective allocations of development funds to various groups/parties for ulterior political motives; politicization of bureaucracy and government machinery; so-called war against terrorism and extremism; policies and tactical moves to divide and rule; emphatic stress on enlightened moderation, mixed marathon races, Valentine obsessions, basant celebrations and half-hearted “women protection bill”; unbridled discretionary powers, poor law and order situation and culture of plunder; over-trumpeted poverty eradication programmes and the distorted flow of statistics related thereto; finally, the deeply focused and thoroughly orchestrated preparatory activities, already in progress, to manage the forthcoming election process of 2008 and thereby ensure the desired results, of course, by hook or crook.

This, in nutshell, is the selfish agenda of the present rulers, based on non-issues and exclusively geared towards self- perpetuation. Such agenda has no national connotation and enjoys no popular public approval. It is out-rightly ambitious, totally self-centered and stands poles apart from the harsh ground realities as well as people’s sentiments and aspirations. The masses have been pushed into and kept stranded in the whirlpool of such non-issues. The people are absolutely marginalized and dismayed. This is the traumatic tragedy of Pakistan.

Pakistan is confronted with great challenges in all the spheres of its life. These challenges are the core issues which range from constitutional governance to various pressing problems, pertaining to overall social and economic uplift. As regards governance, the basic issue is the repeated violation of the prescribed dictates of constitution. In the field of social life, the real challenge is to establish and promote such solid institutions which can help steer it into modern age of science and technology, without being de-linked from our religious and cultural roots. Similarly, in the area of economic progress and development, we have to broaden the industrial and technological base of our economy, urban and agrarian both, to ensure quality control and overall competitiveness in the world at large. And finally, all the benefits of economic progress have to be fairly channelized and directed towards the indiscriminate welfare of the people. The core issues of Pakistan revolve around the above three paramount dimensions…..CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE…..ECONOMIC PROGRESS and SOCIAL UPLIFT/JUSTICE.

The people demand total negation and final burial of the stinking politics of non-issues. In return, they clamour for the healthy environments, wherein their genuine and pressing problems are addressed to as per constitution and the fundamental rights, enshrined therein. The real issues of the people are independent judiciary, undiluted rule of law and guaranteed protection of their life, honour and property; empowerment of the people through genuine democracy, free/fair and uninterrupted election process under an independent Election Commission, thereby guaranteeing the right of the citizenry to elect or reject their own rulers; elimination of military intervention, its permanent return to barracks and its constitutional subordination to the elected civilian leadership; responsive, corruption-free and effectively accountable government machinery; grinding poverty, unemployment, high cost of living, poor healthcare, class distinction-based educational system, nepotism, favouritism and denial of merit; inequitable distribution of income/resources and cutting to size of ‘wadera/pir shahi’; focused attention towards eradication of poverty, illiteracy, religious intolerance, ethnic disharmony and population explosion through short/long term planning, directed at building up of educational, scientific and technological infrastructure, quality control of industrial/agricultural products, skilled labour (both in urban and rural areas) to push our economy and social aspects of our life into the 21st century. These are the real core issues of Pakistan and its people. Most unfortunately, we have failed miserably to address these issues systematically and effectively during the last six decades. We have been kept stuck up in the bog of non-issues by our unconstitutional, illegitimate and selfish rulers.

What is the solution? All the major power- brokers of the country (civil-military bureaucracy, political parties, judiciary, media intellectuals and the people at large) have to get out of the cocoon of utter selfishness by rising above the self. They should have mercy on Pakistan which has given them (less the masses) everything, much beyond their capabilities and even their expectations. All of them should sincerely look inwards, correctly read the ground realities, imaginatively see the writings on the wall, honestly understand the core issues and national challenges, accordingly readjust their priorities and practically display an undiluted commitment to a constitutionally-governed, democratic, just, progressive, vibrantly self-assured and modern Pakistan. Briefly, the action plan is as under: –
• The military has to make a final decision as to where does it belong in the future set-up of such Pakistan. There is no choice, it must get back to barracks and play its role, strictly as enshrined in the law.
• The political parties have to show better vision, sound maturity and genuine commitment to democratic values, writ of law and indiscriminate service to the people as well as the national interest.
• The civil bureaucracy should change its colonial mindset and get rid of the unhealthy grooves. It must redefine its role and stance as per the constitution of an independent and democratic Pakistan, where the people are sovereign who must be lawfully served as the real rulers.
• Judiciary should stand up firmly and fearlessly at the highest and honourable pedestal as the supreme guarantor and custodian of constitution, people’s fundamental tights and writ of justice.
• Media and various echelons of intelligentsia have to give personal example of selflessness and religiously promote the culture of undiluted patriotism, national harmony, civic sense, moral values, writ of law and indiscriminate social justice.
• Finally, the people at large, have to display unflinching commitment (both verbally as well as practically) for the defence of their freedom, their constitutional democratic as well as basic rights and their national obligations as citizens of an independent and sovereign country… by discarding their ongoing culture of silent spectatorship, criminal indifference and casual apathy towards the national affairs.
Supreme national interest demands that all the power-brokers (mainly the military establishment, with all its leaders including Gen Musharraf) must face the harsh ground realities of the political crisis in the country and help it rehabilitate its constitutional existence… through restoration of genuine democracy (free, fair and transparent elections) under the 1973 constitution.

Let us sincerely focus on the core national issues and reject the selfish politics of non-issues. We must rise above ourselves as well as to the occasion by dedicating ourselves and harnessing all our energies/resources for the enrichment of our own and our future generations’ homeland.