Living in the future

Forget the past and look to the future - that is Prime Minister Gilani's message which he wants the media to convey to the people of Pakistan. The government has nearly completed four years, but if you heard him on a television programme jointly hosted by Aaj News and PTV it appears his five-year term was just about to begin. Don't ask him where did his government fail; listen to him, what he is going to do in the future. Committees and commissions are being set up all over the place to take care of myriad problems that have made common man's life simply unbearable. His government has set up a committee headed by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh that is tasked to bring about improvement in the energy sector, while the Water and Power Ministry is also being restructured. Not only is his government 'talking' with India to import 500-1000MW of electricity - don't ask him what happened to the plan to import electricity from the Central Asian states - accept his argument that if the Kalabagh Dam is not there, it is because the previous governments never allocated any funds for that project, as if his government did. And that the State Bank governor is assigned to formulate proposals for the restructuring of Pakistan Railways. As for the restructuring of the public sector enterprises he raised the issue with Australian businessmen during his recent visit. And the Steel Mills, according to him, the FPPCI wants to take over. His message: Don't give up on hope, for "I will soon announce a two-year plan to change the whole economy and turn around the state-owned entities". How many of us would like to endorse his perspective and perception, that's not his issue. All that he wants is uninterrupted peace and tranquillity so that he can do all what he couldn't in the last four years. Therefore, Prime Minister Gilani thinks all this fuss about early elections is a 'joke' and a 'frivolous demand'. But this is not what the Constitution provides for; there is a clear, unambiguous provision for snap elections, as is the internationally accepted norm in the Westminster form of government that having failed to deliver or if to its own advantage, the incumbent governments go for snap election to win a fresh mandate. The opposition is on the streets asking the Gilani government to seek a fresh mandate. Yes, he is right in asserting that if the opposition parties don't like him they should bring a no-confidence motion against him. Likewise, the Constitution also provides for the impeachment of the President through the parliament. But what to do if the opposition insists upon toppling the government through street power as it doesn't have the parliamentary majority? That's where the constitutional provision of an early poll comes into play. If the Gilani government has such a brilliant record as he claimed in his interview why should it be hesitant in going for snap elections. For, the alternative to this constitutional path is street agitation, with consequences that cannot be predicted. Prime Minister Gilani is absolutely right in saying that dislodging an elected government by force would be 'an invitation to a third party', which means martial law and if history is any guide that may not offend the people given their plight at the present moment. That the power tussle doesn't come to such a sorry pass is primarily the government's responsibility and also of all the political players. In this age and time, it is just not impossible to prove right a wrong by sheer words; thanks to the ubiquitous reach of the media the public's access to information is massive - which in our case is all the more inclusive given that the proof of what is said in words has irrefutable physical existence. How credible is the Prime Minister Gilani's claim that the "economic indicators are better placed and we are moving in the right direction". Driven by hunger and desperation every day some five people commit suicide and four times that number fail in their attempt to do so is certainly not a better-placed indicator of our economic situation. Then he says if anybody has any proof of corruption by the government functionaries he should go to the court - as if the corruption cases are not in the courts where the government is invariably a reluctant help in catching the corrupt. One may ask why the Gilani government is dragging feet on the implementation of the apex court's judgement on the NRO cases. The truth is that the wares the prime minister has brought to the market are too outdated and out of fashion to get him ready buyers. In a democratic dispensation, the fundamental consideration is not the durability of his or any elected government, it is the quality of governance that an elected government provides or fails to provide to the people. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011