Empowering People

Due to Imran’s ‘jihad’, the nation has come to realize how a few families are ruling the country for decades

karachi: So the PTI is on the rise – that’s the trend set by the recent by-elections. The by-elections have also proved that the grand ruling alliance, PDM, is maladjusted by all means, above all, the crushing defeat of JUI (F), ANP, PPP and PML (N) repeatedly at polls is now the writing on the wall. In fact, the result of the Punjab by-elections has changed the complexion of Pakistan politics and the loud and clear victory of Imran Khan has proved that leadership is not just a title you inherit but you’ve to earn it by action and dedication to work for the masses.

New York Times bestselling author, coach and speaker John Maxwel has rightly said, “Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower other.” Both PML (N) and PPP must understand this fact, and the sooner the better.

The landslide victory of Imran Khan has also shaken Shahbaz Sharif’s government in the centre and in the words of a known columnist Zahid Husain, “The triumph of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has cleared the way for the party to regain control of the country’s most powerful province, leaving the fate of the government led by Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) at the centre hanging in the balance.”

So it seems almost certain that PDM will not be able to stop Imran’s winning streak. In fact, Imran has reached the kind of populism they can only dream of. In short it’s a wakeup call for them if they really wish to make their presence felt in the changing political landscape of the country. Their inefficient and ineffective ways of countering Imran’s onslaught will only boomerang right back at them.

In short the reason boils down to the fact that the PDM member parties lack democracy within their parties. All the major components of PDM are dynastic political parties. These parties are headed by the heirs of the men who launched the party. Moreover, there is no concept of intra-party elections. So when they come to power, instead of working to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen they try to consolidate their ‘inherent’ right to rule and dictate.

Main PDM parties PML (N), PPP, ANP and JUI (F) work on the principles of dynastic politics. Maryam Nawaz is the new face of PML (N) leading their way into politics, mainly because she is a daughter of a former PM Nawaz Sharif. So is the case with PPP. After the death of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, his daughter Benazir Bhutto took charge of the party and after her assassination her son Bilawal Zardari was named chairman of the party only after adding Bhutto to his name. Similarly, Asfandyar Wali being the son of Wali Khan was made the head of ANP. In the same way Maulana Fazlur Rahman was declared as head of JUI (F) after his father Mufti Mehmood.

Party heads thus selected rather than elected know very well that they are not answerable to either their voters or for that matter the general public as a whole.  The result one can therefore see is the miserable condition of the country. There’s a lack of deliverance in promises, bad governance, and massive corruption scandals which in fact, should have led to a demand of resignation from the party leaders, but since there is no accountability within the party in this regard, they continue to remain undisputed leaders to enjoy power and perks at the cost of their followers who pay the price through their nose. But now Pakistan is changing with every passing day and developing events. Party workers have attained a political maturity with the passage of time and now they understand that these monarchies and dictatorships within political parties have ruined the true spirit of democracy in Pakistan.

In fact, there are two main components of PDM, PML (N) and PPP who ruled the country alternately.  Now these two parties must now think seriously to develop a positive and aspirational vision for the country’s future. But first, they must fix the organizational matters and structural deficiencies within their parties which destroyed their recent election campaigns. The party leaders of these two parties must now forget to follow strict hereditary lineage, similar to monarchies.  Their next genuinely elected president must combine effective leadership with organizational reforms by delegating powers to provincial elected heads who are in a sound position to create the strong local leadership that in previous decades failed to organize the party at the grassroots level.

Whatever the outcome of the interparty elections, the contest among the genuine diehard members of the party will definitely bring forward a leader who would be strong enough to revive the party and contribute in developing a healthy democracy in Pakistan. Despite being a purely internal party matter it will also offer both PML (N) and PPP a chance to energize its political base and generate wider public interest.

Therefore, it’s high time for both PML (N) and PPP to understand that dynastic politics has destroyed the very essence of democracy in Pakistan. Fatima Bhutto has rightly said in an interview to a Chinese TV channel, “Dynasty is fundamentally incompatible with democracy and they are opposites. While dynasty is exclusive, democracy is inclusive. Democracy inspires participation. Dynasty enforces closed policy. Democracy is all about creative differences, tolerance for the unknown and dynasty is all about self.”

Despite the huge political and social changes that have occurred over the last seven decades, electoral politics in Pakistan has remained by and large a family enterprise. Only two families – the Bhuttos and Sharifs – continue to control legislatures, turning them into oligarchies.

The continuation of dynastic politics in Pakistan for a student of Political Science has always been a controversial and perhaps an undemocratic aspect of our democracies. A number of reasons have allowed political families to consolidate their position in the politics of the country. The lack of education, specially amongst the poor who make up the majority of the country, remains the most prominent reason.

Interestingly enough after several successive election defeats at the national and state level the Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party, has finally resolved the mystery and decided to do away with dynastic politics. For the first time in nearly 25 years, the Congress will elect a president who will not be a member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty — the family, whose history is inextricably linked to India’s ‘grand old party’.

According to Shashi Tharoore, also a candidate along with Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge for the coveted post says, “The Nehru-Gandhi family’s decision to step aside, together with the potential implications for the 2024 election, has revived public interest in Congress. It has also provided a welcome distraction from the party’s infighting and latest electoral defeats. As the 9,000 party delegates cast their ballots, former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will lead marchers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir as part of the party’s 150-day ‘national unity march’.”

With Imran Khan’s ‘jihad’ against dynastic politics one can sincerely hope that a normal individual in Pakistan will now realize how these dynasties have robbed Pakistan to the roots and slowly converting it into an oligarchy state, where only the two families are enjoying power and perks and the rest pay the price.