Multi-dimensional Judicial Commission Report a Stricture on the Election Commission of Pakistan
By Salahuddin Haider
Karachi, Pakistan
Apart from being a setback to Imran Khan, and elevating Nawaz Sharif to new heights, the Judicial Commission Report is simultaneously a serious stricture on the Election Commission. It therefore is not only multi-dimensional in character but loaded with lessons for almost everyone.
Its first impact was indeed a happy one as both the principal opponents, involved in a bitter fight for well over a year, accepted it gracefully and with unexpected humility. While the PML(N) chief, accused of stealing the 2013 elections waived an olive branch to all and sundry, Khan’ response too reflected positivity.
Sharif’s appeal to friends and foes, occupying the political arena, was definitely a new and a welcome trend. If hostility replaces goodwill, tolerance and mutual respect, it is bound to set new traditions - joining hands for rebuilding the much needed edifice for a nation on firmer grounds. Political bitterness, and fraternal fight, on since Liaquat Ali Khan’s assassination in 1951, will automatically be capped now.
The main thrust of the premier’s nationwide broadcast, hours after the release of the report by the august body, was on writing a new chapter of confidence and mutual trust among leaders. This was inconceivable for decades in Pakistan and must surely bring relief to a nation, jolted and disillusioned by the behavior of its leaders
The point to ponder here is whether our politicians possess the necessary insight to understand the lesson which the Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and his two other Supreme Court colleagues wished to convey to them in their 237-page judgment on polls rigging.
Quite apart from dealing with the long duel between Sharif and Khan, its indirect tutoring was for many more. Seen in the backdrop of an on-going tussle between MQM leader Altaf Hussain and the para-military Rangers force, the report assumes a special dimension.
Let it be said as impartial assessment that the MQM leader’s speech against the Rangers chief, could only be categorized as a tirade. Its tone and tenor was couched in a language which is unprintable. The reaction from the two-star General and or his men, carrying out a siege and search operation for months now, too was natural, but open to question. Training guns on a party with 25 National Assembly members, 7 Senators and 59 Parliamentarians in Sindh Assembly, demanded careful consideration. This was sadly missing in this particular case.
An operation, meant to clear the deck of criminals, gangsters etc., is now clearly misdirected. The prime minister and his colleagues need to check the situation now, lest the chain reaction assumes ominous characteristics.
The report of the Commission, enjoying statutory sanction, took 90 days to compile instead of the original 45-day time limit, but it did take the Election Commission to task, passing serious structure on the latter’s working.
The detailed remarks from the apex court judges, spread over 10 pages, dwell on the gross neglect of duty from a highly august body of five serving or retired senior judges. The wording used indict the Election Commission of Pakistan was, in fact a huge relief to the PTI, and in fact ensured an easy exit strategy to Khan and his supporters.
Many an analyst believed that the report, released on July 23, was a huge setback for Imran and his party, but such a conclusion can be misleading. Khan, whose 126 days of sit-ins before the parliament house, and the siege around the prime ministers’ residence, has awakened a nation from deep slumber. His campaign has not been wasted. It shook the entire country.
Opinion varied from mild to harsh about the politicians' remarks against the PTI chief. It ranged between sympathy to demand for his resignation from party or retirement from politics, but the Jamaat-i- Islami chief Maulana Sirajul Haq offered the most balanced suggestion to ask for wholesale electoral reforms to ensure fair and transparent elections in future.
In his speech Nawaz Sharif too promised to thoroughly overhaul the electoral process, saying it was part of his manifesto, but the huge gap between words and deeds has been the principal hurdle on the road to progress in Pakistan. Unless that negativity is completely overcome, disappointments may continue to haunt a nation which has still not lost hope for better days, despite all the drawbacks of the system in vogue for long.
Opinion that Imran’s image stood tarnished, can be true to some extent, but those close to him, seem convinced about his determination to fight against odds. His popularity has plummeted no doubt but his capability to bounce back ought not to be overlooked.
The report has been a matter of joy for Sharif, but much will depend on his ability to cash on the chances coming his way in next three years. Consensus that Khan would be the main challenger to PML(N), is a fairly reasonable assessment. All that Khan needs to do is to quickly resolve differences within the party.
It would be correct to conclude that Pakistan has seen the start of a new era. The victor or vanquished philosophy will be meaningless here. What counts in the ultimate analysis is the realization that justice alone has been the winner. (The writer is a senior journalist and a former Minister of Sindh)
