Shrinking political space

The speeches in praise of each other, after the four days of the ‘fake march’ exposed the reality of status quo politics today. It was insincerity at its best. In no way can this be seen as a victory for democracy. In fact, the rhetoric and actions can be seen as the hijacking of progressive space by the right-wing conservative forces in the political sphere. Using Minhajul Quran, which is known for its extensive network of religious seminaries and NGO-oriented initiatives, Tahirul Qadri was able to mobilise large numbers of people. The revolution was manufactured and despite his claims in no way could TuQ claim to be seen as the self-proclaimed saviour of the oppressed masses.

Starting out, TuQ for quite some time had been calling for the military and the judiciary to have a more dominant role in the caretaker administration. This rhetoric only played into the hands of those who have been against Pakistani democracy. The outcome was that TuQ had been effectively isolated politically and there was a consensus in favour of the democratic system. Despite all of this, the government appeared quite keen to negotiate with TUQ. The ‘charter’ signed as a result of these negotiations, has reinforced a form of ‘anti-politics’ which is bizarre yet hardly a unique example in our chequered history.

On the most basic level, this means that in the upcoming elections, TuQ will be consulted on some important issues regarding the electoral process. On a broader level, by bowing down to the demands of TuQ, the PPP-led government has legitimised the status quo and anti-democratic elements within society.

There can be no doubt that major political parties in Pakistan are still dependent on the hegemonic structures of the state. The military and bureaucratic apparatus heavily influence the distribution of resources, and hence political ‘power’ and decision-making. Mainstream political parties are forced to negotiate space within this framework, which seriously hampers any possibilities of radical social change.

The most pivotal and well-advertised political debates of the past five years have more often than not lacked real substance. Till now the debate on critical issues such as electoral reforms, has been limited to populist rhetoric and simply undermining the unpopular PPP government. Driven by the nature of coalition politics itself, these debates failed to venture beyond the surface, to ask tough questions about the ‘systemic’ nature of corruption, patronage and rent based politics itself.

Away from media attention and the bizarre (anti-)political circus, smaller left-wing parties had been working on more substantive electoral reforms for nearly two years when on June 6, 2012, the Supreme Court finally produced its landmark judgement in the case titled ‘Workers Party and others versus Federation of Pakistan and others’. Strangely enough, this case, fought by the Awami Workers Party’s president and esteemed lawyer Abid Hassan Minto, and considered largely inconsequential by the media, was rediscovered by none other than TuQ. In his many fervent speeches, TuQ has alluded to and finally clearly mentioned this particular petition.

Declaring the spending of millions of rupees on elections illegal, this case brought up and sought to resolve major problems inherent in the electoral culture of Pakistan. Like everything else, TuQ was able to use this case as a mere rhetorical device, without due credit to the source of the petition, or any serious understanding of the underlying issues and implications of the judgement.

Instead, TuQ and other forces that be, have successfully put the real issues on the back-burner while reducing discourse and political action to appeasement and mere realpolitik. One wonders why the government was unwilling to implement this SC ruling in the first place, and why it managed to be towed into line by a religious seminary.

In this regard, the TuQ charter is also disturbing because it reaffirms the true nature of the state. It uses and panders to the right-wing forces out of convenience and interest. The charter also becomes part of the process in which the establishment over the years has legitimised the dictator’s laws.

The enforcement of electoral reforms through the dictator’s laws in form of articles 62, 63 and 218 (3) of the constitution is perhaps the worst aspect of the charter. Being adequately vague, these laws can be used against any person or party that does not toe the establishment’s line. There is no indication as to who has the right to define the standards of ‘ameen’, ‘sagacious’, ‘righteous’ et al. Moreover, it divests attention from the more fundamental issues of election spending, and participation of working class representatives in the ‘democracy for the rich’.

Promulgated under Ziaul Haq, these laws suit the needs of a dictator who aims to control the “free will of the people” by controlling the candidates who can contest the elections. Instead of looking to change these laws, the mainstream parties have instead found ample use for them over the years.

Today, these laws have not only extended the “coercive apparatus of the state” but also ensured that the already limited political space for resistance shrinks even further. With a political non-entity like TuQ defining the caretaker setup in the upcoming elections, the possibility of developing a real, thriving democracy and moving beyond the authoritarian heritage have yet again been thrashed. This means that the charter is also a serious indictment of the PPP-led government and its allies that continues to pander to the rightist and clearly regressive forces in this country.

The writer is the general secretary of the Awami Workers Party. He tweets at @farooqtariq3