Benefit of Doubt
Aziz Munshi temporarily succeeded in delaying the judicial process in the Supreme Court by his dedicated filibustering, if it had not been so annoying it would actually have been amusing. As it is he did not succeed in impeding the march of impatient history and since nothing fails more than failure, he has been temporarily consigned into oblivion from which no doubt he will soon rise Phoenix-like. It is most demeaning to see a man of substance squirm under the knowledge that his Brief is hollow, the pressure was such that he was reduced to dithering on reasons of no consequence to delay the inevitable. Aziz Munshi found himself symbolically in the dock in place of his Client and fighting a losing battle, he came off the worse for it. Defending the indefensible one has to accept the approbation that goes with it, in the face of adversity though, one must commend Mr Munshi in not resorting to the ultimate fall-back position, histrionics. That by far was his most saving grace, accepting with equanimity the historic Supreme Court verdict. The detailed judgement in the case is now more than overdue.
Flush with victory in the Supreme Court, in the face of existing realities which was his to lose if he faltered, eloquent Barrister Khalid Anwar seems to have gained an infallible reputation. With the utmost respect for the Honourable Judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) one has to observe that in the matter of Elahi Vs Wattoo, it has led them to re-defining the meaning of limbo and opened up a legal Pandora’s box. The Province of Punjab finds itself in a state of suspended animation because of the Interim Order given by the LHC on Wednesday last as well the plea of Counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada of vertical bias and the application for shifting thereof. Born Again – Chief Minister Wattoo’s state is that of betwixt and between, as an incumbent not illegal but being insecure hardly stable. His new ally in the Governor’s House, PPP Stalwart and Presidential confidante, Altaf Hussain (not to be confused by the gentleman in London), finds his seat of power itself under threat. According to the Interim Order issued by the LHC, the Constitutional position in Punjab reverts to what it was before the Honourable Governor dissolved the Provincial Assembly (PA), with the stipulation of status quo, that the advice of the CM to dissolve is not to take effect nor can he give any such advice till further notice, to balance off it has been mandated that a vote of no-confidence moved by the Petitioners cannot be further processed. In effect it does not prevent MPAs other than Pervaiz Elahi, the Petitioner, from requisitioning the PA and proposing a vote of no-confidence in the CM, except that if its result could not be applied till a final decision of the LHC. According to our much differently interpreted Constitution, the Assembly is supposed to dissolve automatically at the expiry of 48 hours after the advice is tendered, this raised another anomaly promptly exploited by the Speaker. The pressure cockpit of political currents seemed to have rushed the Honourable Judges into a rather ambiguous position. One surmises respectfully that in hindsight the Honourable Judges would come to the conclusion that judicious discretion required a more thorough negotiation through this legal minefield to avert this potentially Catch-22 situation. One does not live for an instant under the impression that the motivation of the LHC was anything but sincere, however since one cannot please everybody with a Judgement, an Interim Order is twice complicated. It has opened up a window of opportunity for those who are prone to fomenting anarchy, this time by casting undue aspersion on the judiciary.
While Nawaz Sharif was the underdog, beset by the forces of the Empire, it was a bounden duty for all and sundry who hold democracy dear to take up cudgels (and pen) on his behalf. For many it was not the singer but the song, a question of the struggle for dominance of the elected representatives over the selected of the Establishment. For a few golden weeks the intelligentsia and the masses responded to his clarion call for democracy and the freedom it enjoined, with all the powers that they could bring to bear. Most were well aware that certain mistakes had been made but comparing the track record of the Establishment and possibilities of the curtailment of their vast power were too tempting to ignore. The PM’s repeated assurances to correct the discrepancies gave him the benefit of a nagging doubt about the ultimate sincerity of politicians. With great satisfaction we watched him take a vote of confidence in the National Assembly and then subsequently follow it up with a symbolic offer of an olive branch to the Leader of the Opposition. For many “peace in our time”, sic Chamberlain after Munich, was the culmination of the dreams about democracy and Pakistan. This was a fitting climax of the weeks of rising tension, a high point of joyful proposition.
Two weeks after this scene was enacted in the NA and re-broadcast by Pakistan TV to ensure that the image of amity persisted in the minds of the populace, a dialogue of the deaf has returned to centre stage. The political tension continues unabated, the legal intricacies have got more complicated. The PM rightfully took the initiative, Ms Benazir rose to the occasion and was not found wanting, but what has happened since? The formation of 10-11 Committees for negotiations with different political parties failed in the ultimate test of political sincerity. We strongly feel that instead of giving an impression of delay, the PM should have insisted on a complete and unencumbered immediate dialogue with Ms Bhutto to set the ground rules. Setting up so many Committees conveyed a wrong impression of trying to divide the Opposition. Understandably, the Opposition did not bite and it did no good to the development of a conducive atmosphere.
In the Selection and Maintenance of Aim, which was the restoration of democracy, one does not expect Utopian standards to be emulated by any side but the basic requirement of sincerity in dialogue is a must for meaningful negotiations. Politics is the art of the possible, its hallmark is compromise. There are no pre-suppositions about the other’s intent if one’s own intent is sincere. A genuine give and take is a must, the majority always gets a bigger slice of the pie in a democracy but the minority must not walk away from the table with nothing. Without demeaning the credentials of the Honourable members of the Committees appointed, credibility requires that the top leadership participate in the initial sessions to set the pace. Leadership does not demand incredible facts, above everything it demands credibility. The PM could have maintained the momentum by spending the day after Eid (or the day after that or the day after that) talking to Ms Benazir and her immediate associates. As much as everyone was extremely keen that dialogue would be fully engaged in, the urgency has been undercut by the fortnight’s delay. In the nervous days of April and May when we believed that all was lost for democracy and Ms Bhutto had unfortunately done a Darth Vader on us in supersession of the Princess Leiah-role that befits her more, some of us may have been guilty of not giving equal treatment to both the major political groupings. Now may be the right time to restore the swing of the pendulum. The interpretation of various events means that we must be objective in such matters and reserve the option for disagreement. That is the best part of democracy, to respect the other’s point of view even as you demolish it.
Nawaz Sharif is luckier than most in having a great many good men (and women) on his side of the fence, he must use them in place of those who deserve to have been tarred and feathered. To put it bluntly, most of the mud about corruption against the PM stems from his privatisation programme. The privatisation of the banks is much more cleaner on evaluation than the privatisation of various industries. Case in point, the Metropolitan Steel Corporation (MSC), why do the buyers need to sell it before even a year is out? In Bangladesh, many of those who took over the jute mills on privatisation stripped them of all assets before making them bankrupt, acting not as corporate raiders but as legally empowered dacoits, try MSC for size in Pakistan! What is happening in MSC has happened in many of the other industries where the bids of genuine entrepreneurs were overcome by petty contractors with plenty of ready cash who saw it as a trading opportunity rather than any lasting commitment to industrialisation. As a test case, let the PM ask Senator Qadir as to what has happened in MSC? At the very least it will test the Senator’s credibility and show up his commitment to the fate of the poor workers from the officers down to the labour class whose jobs are on the line due to approaching bankruptcy. Where are the white knights for these poor people, does the PM have the time to listen? Or may we take it that having retained power, it is now business as usual. If so, then we are as guilty as the man on the hill for having elevated him to this pedestal, whether deservedly or not only history will tell.
The benefit of doubt must rarely be given to the incumbents, it is the prerogative of those who are on the other side of the fence. The ball is in the PM’s Court, not Ms Benazir’s. The PM seemed to be really interested in solving the problems of this country, he must, therefore, immediately enter into a serious dialogue on a one-on-one basis with Ms Benazir to lay down the parameters of a possible compromise. The people of Pakistan are more than anxious for a political settlement, to that end, the PM must be acutely sensitive to their desires, not the advice of sycophants who spent the best part of the confrontation on the sidelines. He has to get individually involved to the exclusion of almost everything else. If not, then we will reluctantly come to the conclusion that basic sincerity about PM’s agenda is lacking in the PM’s Camp and we were shortchanged in the restoration. The benefit of doubt must always go to the Leader of the Opposition as that post inculcates the only modicum of accountability than can restrain excess. The verdict of the Court may be in, the detailed judgement is anxiously awaited. The PM may not realize it but inaction as regards genuine dialogue is slowly moving the court of public opinion away from it, he must act now to keep the intelligentsia and masses with him.
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