May 11 Elections Are Landmark: the upcoming leadership in Pakistan
04 May 2013
By Saeed Qureshi
The May 11 elections will herald a genuine democratic
era in Pakistan. The holding of elections by itself is
a landmark accomplishment and a laudable threshold for
the onset of a thus elusive democratic order. While
the country is caught up in spiraling diabolic lawless
and violence, it would be after a pretty long
authoritarian spell that the dawn of a representative
governance born by the popular vote, would shine at
the land and smile at the people of Pakistan.
Powered by the popular mandate, the government in
power would be fully competent and legitimate within
her right to translate their pledges into concrete
outcomes on the ground. The power belongs to the
people and that phrase has been truly practiced and
reinforced after a lull of long night of darkness and
uncertainty. The new era is not going to be "God's
kingdom on earth". But certainly it is going to be a
harbinger and a prelude to a better future for a
nation suffering so long at the hands of inept and
self-seeking leaders.
By all reckoning there is going to be a hung mandate
which means that no single party would be able to form
a government. As such one can visualize that the
regime coming to the fore would be a coalition
government.
The army's role in these unsettling and fragile times
has been sober, modest and detached. Otherwise there
always was the enticing bait for the army to step in
and capture power. General Kiani has to be genuinely
commended for keeping the army away from the trapping
of intervention on the pretext of bridling appalling
lawlessness and curbing incessant violence that is
still rife.
The outgoing PPP regime deserves a genuine credit for
holding elections in face of overwhelming odds and the
looming specter of army takeover. The media and
judiciary of Pakistan also deserve huge applause and
generous approbation for dispensing a pioneering and
historic role during most murky times. Both these arms
of civil society have been berated and occasionally
maligned for demonstrating partisanship. But
truthfully they deserve the entire nation's gratitude
for serving their respective role and responsibilities
in an aggressive and befitting manner.
The newly saddled government would be faced with some
of the most pressing challenges to be addressed. The
ideological dissensions, the ethnic malice and bias,
the inter provincial rivalries, the danger of
disintegration, the broken down system of basic civic
services, soaring cost of living are priority issues
to be addressed immediately.
Equally indispensable is curbing the epidemic of
violence and terrorism. The dire need of good
governance with the dispensation of unalloyed justice,
an enlightened education system, universal literacy,
and the health faculties for all, a clean and
pollution free environment would be another set of
reforms to be put in place. But most imperative would
be the empowerment of the people for making decisions
at their local levels, which means creating city
governments or universally recognized local bodies
system.
The development and creation of a massive
infrastructure, boosting the industrial sector to
restore the confidence of the business community and
the transparency in departments from top to bottom are
indispensable ingredients for a new Pakistan to emerge
and be respected domestically and aboard.
The contours of the foreign policy have to be redrawn
freeing Pakistan from the external hegemony and
interference. The national sovereignty and integrity
should become an article of faith with the new rulers.
Pakistan direly needs to disengage itself from being a
crony and hireling of the international hegemonic
powers.
The economic health and prosperity is vital for the
nation to come out of the morass of poverty and
impoverishment. The culture of human rights,
emancipation from taboos and superstition, elimination
of sectarian discords and decadent fundamentalism, are
priorities issues to be given urgent attention. Access
to inexpensive, prompt and equal justice and
availability of abundant basic civic amenities would
spruce up and groom Pakistani society and provide a
modicum of dignity of life to the citizens.
The list of modernizing Pakistan and putting it on the
road to progress, prosperity and stability is not
exhaustive. But at least a beginning should be made
for a glorious and momentous journey that would
gratify the future generations more than the existing
one.
The centuries old abomination of feudalism and
enslavement of the downtrodden has to be rooted out
once and for all. The sway and overpowering influence
of parasitical and comprador classes has to be
doggedly curbed. The possibility of martial law and
attendant cronyism subverting the democratic order has
to be decisively obviated.
The rulers and the bureaucracy have to be bound by the
ethics of simple living and made accountable to every
penny they spend from the tax payers' money. The
ruthless and insidious customs of exploitation of meek
and marginalized by the powerful and influential
segments and individuals has to be abolished.
We have to watch how after May 11, the new set up
unfurls itself and how the formation of governments at
federal and provincial levels come up. Would the new
government, be humane tolerant and people friendly. Or
else it would fall back upon serving the elite and
aristocratic classes, feed party interests and filling
their personal coffers? Would they earnestly make good
their pledges and manifestos splashed during the
electioneering campaigns.
Hopefully the upcoming leadership in Pakistan would
fulfill their solemn commitments made to the nation
and thus earn the honor of being trail blazers of a
glorious destiny for Pakistan as well as the
forerunners of an ensured resplendent future for its
citizens. There is no gainsaying that Pakistan is
blessed with enormous resources, immense potential and
brilliant manpower to gallop on road to the progress
and an all-embracing development in a much short span
of time.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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