Under One Banner
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
So, pivotal Punjab largely stuck with continuity of the traditional voting pattern, choosing it over the novelty of change.
Expectations and momentum of change were shifted and stalled by three self-imposed hiccups: the perceived specter of buzzards riding the horse of change; dragged out and divisive intra-party elections; and the usage of harsh rhetoric. Then too, it was not the media’s finest hour, with its exaggerated hype and hysteria. The media, instead of giving public service, has become a vehicle for propaganda and publicity for politicos.
A head of a leading Pakistani university told me the other day that Pakistan is equipped with the finest human and natural resources. But where there is a glaring shortfall is in the zone of character. The downward spiral of integrity has infected the very grassroots of society.
The challenge, he elaborated, in an over compromised milieu is essentially ethical, with the observance of religion confined to external rituals.
The bottom line is that elections won’t resolve the national crisis. The issues of security, economy, and venality remain as is.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) emphasized: “Electoral systems can never be the panacea for all the political ills of a country.”
In fact, elections have served only to highlight and widen the ethnic divide, in that no single party or leader has the stature or appeal to transcend tribal barriers. Neither the winners nor the losers have the mindset to take on what is required for game-changing impact and achieve psychological breakthrough. The process of self-evaluation has yet to take root in society and polity. Change comes when there is a change of philosophy.
Can the new incumbents tackle the population bomb, which is exacerbating a widening incompatibility between resources and requirements? Can they instill inspiration and direction to streamline and discipline the raucous behavior of youth? And most importantly, can they develop the moral stature to forge a sense of cohesive nationhood and drag it out from the suicidal abyss of ethnicity and sectarianism?
Based on past precedent, it would be hard to be sanguine. The familiar route is littered with the debris of blind ambition, pragmatic perfidy, and utilitarian decision-making. The other is a road through unchartered territory. But to cite the poet Robert Frost:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
There are some points left to ponder and ruminate.
The majority-winning party has to be grateful to the flawed campaign of its closest rival, which restricted the wave of its broad-based appeal and helped usher the winners to power. The silent voter is sometimes more deadly than the vocal supporters who tend to live in a bubble and exaggerate their impact and look down on their opponents.
And finally, Musharraf is left to rue how his own actions enabled those he had banished, to stage a remarkable comeback.
Pakistan today is in need of statesmanship of the caliber of Mandela and de Gaulle, which can make the nation come together under a single banner.
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