Politics as a profession: Politicians must go beyond “tactical gains”
Experts claim that the only peaceful solution is to persuade the military to “back off.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s politics are primarily distinguished by their dominance and feebleness of the political forces because the civilian leadership’s ultimate goal is to become the “favourite child” of the security establishment, despite the military leadership’s repeated declarations that the armed forces would stay out of politics.
Political discourse is dominated by a toxic political culture, competing factions’ animosity is growing, and statements advocating the use of firearms have become commonplace. The civilian leadership is still looking to the influential stakeholders notwithstanding this political squabbling.
The PML-N-led ruling alliance, which recently criticised the establishment, is now pleading for its backing to finish the “reverse engineering” process and demands a “fair playing field”. Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI, who managed the nation with assistance from the establishment until April of this year, has now begun to complain and has made covert calls for the return of the “hybrid system.”
The words “compromise” and “bargain” are regarded as “dirty” in our nation’s political culture, according to PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence said, “Although in all mature Western countries, the capacity to ‘compromise’ or make a ‘deal’ is a sign of political maturity and effective leadership.
The experienced politician remarked, “The political crisis will be over if today the political forces agree on only two things: the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament in letter and spirit; and the way to power is through the voting box, not a wink or nod from Rawalpindi.” The senator believes that political parties can work together to combat establishment meddling in politics.
He did, however, add that in order for this to take place, the political establishment must be prepared to give up the “winner gets all” mentality and look beyond short-term party-political advantages. Sayed believes it was possible and doable to lessen the toxic language that currently dominates political discourse.
However, this is only achievable if the political elite is prepared to put aside their egos for the greater good of the country. Politicians, he continued, should quit being held captive by “political tribalism,” their meagre local or personal interests.
“For that, you need to have a big heart and be flexible to see the wider picture,” he stated. In response to the question of what was really preventing the political parties from working together, Sayed fired a barrage of inquiries, asking what prevented Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from coming to an agreement in 1971 that could have prevented the country from disintegrating, what prevented the PPP and Pakistan National Alliance from agreeing in 1977 that could have avoided martial law, and what prevented the two main parties from working together today.
