Since 1985, a lot of dirt has piled up in the house. After several decades of this piling up, Imran Khan (IK) as the elected Prime Minister (PM) has shown his resolve to clean up this accumulated mess in the ‘Mecca of Democracy’ called the ‘Parliament’. The people of Pakistan may not be happy with the policies of the PM but they are certainly not in favor of the return of ‘Thugs’. The parliament of the corrupt is the last hope of the unscrupulous, as they have no street power.
The parliament has been rendered ineffective and irrelevant since 1977, however, Benazir Bhutto tried to revive it after her 1988 electoral victory. Despite the evil influence of Zardari, she went down fighting. A similar No-Confidence move was tried against her by PML-N and the President but she prevailed. Finally, she was sent home under the Draconian Article 58 (2b) inserted by the Zia, the founder of ‘Dirty Politics’ in the land of the pure of which the current legislature is an extension.
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Will marches ever solve our problems?
As an activist, I have had the unique distinction of being a part of all Long Marches except the most recent Bilawal Circus. In October 1958 at the age of five, I stood on the Mall holding my father’s finger waiting for Qayyum Khan’s marchers to enter the city but instead he was arrested and taken to the dungeons of the Lahore Fort. The march in 2007 for the rule of law was both interesting and historic. The crowd at D-Chowk was fired up, they wanted to surround the parliament and stop the members from entering the house. The Lall Masjid affected were scary as they sought revenge for the military action against them. As the marchers had come from all the four corners of the country, they were tired but their spirits were high.
Finally, when Comrade Aitzaz Ahsan asked them to disperse, the situation became tense. The young people wanted to stay till the restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. As both Benazir and Nawaz were out of the country, Imran Khan’s speech was hailed by the crowd. On the promise of an amicable settlement, the march was finally called off and the crowd dispersed peacefully but with a heavy heart.
As the sole national leader in the country at that time, Imran Khan’s popularity was on the rise, with the help of ideologues like Comrade Ahsan Rashid and Ms. Saloni Bokhari, the party graph was on the rise. The Lahore Jalsa in October 2011 was the turning point. Personally, I think, PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) was denied election victory in 2013 as it was not yet infected with the scourge of ‘electable’.
In 2018, it was this group that pushed out the old guard of the party to surround the leader. Now the ‘Political Dirt’ is on both sides of the house whose sole aim is to pile it higher. The opposition is relying on the PTI members to vote against their own party in return for favours. In 2018, IK emerged as a hope for the nation, in the absence of another honest alternative, despite his performance he commands respect for his integrity and commitment to nation-building. I am confident, the people of Pakistan will stand by him. In the darkness of ‘Political Corruption,’ he stands out as a ray of light and hope.
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Will Pakistan ever stop suffering?
After the fall of the genuinely elected leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) in 1977, it’s again a defining moment for the country and its over 220 million suffering masses. While the PM has promised to build a Welfare State on the lines of ‘Riasat-e-Madinah’, he is surrounded by ‘Political Rogues’ of status-quo. The ‘Mecca of Democracy’ is full of piled-up dirt from the Zia era which has not been wiped out. During the preparatory years, IK was warned about the evil of turn coats.
The menace of the Sugar Mafia and the ‘Pirs’ was also highlighted but he was confident of his leadership capabilities. They are joining us to follow our party lines were his words. Those who do politics for personal gains only work for themselves, not for the nation. Unfortunately, the elected house is full of them in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Even the constitution is not followed in letter and spirit. There are over 20 clauses in the unanimously passed document that cover fundamental human rights, not one of them is followed. Article 25 A (right to education) has been blatantly denied, there is no one in the house to raise voice for the people who elect them.
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Fortunately, for the nation, IK is a leader who is willing to fight till the last ball. The match is in the final overs. On March 27, 2022, the venue is the famous D-Chowk Islamabad for a showdown between the forces of change and status quo. There is no going back to the corrupt ways. Continued corruption will destroy what remains of the republic. It is time to weed out the menace of foul play by the ‘Dirt Dealers’ of Islamabad. The message is loud and clear, Chalo Chalo Islamabad Chalo to win back our Pakistan, the land of the honest and pure. In 1947 Jinnah asked the US for financial assistance to run the new country but when strings were being attached, he offered to sell his house in Karachi not the freedom and integrity of his nation.
The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be reached at fmaliks@hotmail.com. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.Â