EDITORIAL: It is somewhat ironic that the Imran Khan government has just had to assure the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that its obsession with temporary legislation through presidential ordinances is about to come to an end. It was Imran Khan, after all, that never tired of enlightening Pakistanis about the peculiarities of parliamentary democracy - frequently citing examples of the Westminster model - and making everybody believe that he would show how it was done once he came to power. Fast forward three years and his administration has so far promulgated at least 54 such ordinances for no bigger reason than the fact that the prime minister himself considers most if not all opposition members corrupt to the core and beneath his dignity and stature to so much as engage with even elected representatives of the people to conduct the business of the House in keeping with the constitution.
So there hasn't been much debate, counter-debate or progressive legislation 'in the interest of the people', as mandated by the law of the land, under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI's) watch and the promise of setting an example of a perfectly functioning parliament remains unfulfilled. But then such has also been the fate of other promises like question-hour in parliament, on the British model, every 15 days, the PM's regular presence in the House, thorough consultations with stakeholders before all important decisions, etc. In court the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) said that the prime minister had finally decided to exercise the constitutional provision that makes room for presidential ordinances more judiciously in the future. But what, exactly, does that mean?
Is the republic to assume that the prime minister will no longer be the leading authority in deciding who among the elected opposition is worthy of consultation on important matters? Or does it simply mean that the ruling dispensation will lower its standards and indulge the allegedly corrupt opposition a little more frequently than before just because the AGP had to answer for this practice in the honourable court? More likely the AGP just furnished the court with the most appropriate reply that came to mind, considering the circumstances, and things will proceed more or less as they have over the last three years.
PTI, which is now largely made up of seasoned old hands who have enjoyed their time in the sun when other parties were in power as well, no doubt understands very well that such practices damage not just its image and popularity, they are also contrary to the spirit of democracy. Government and opposition parties aren't the best of friends in any functioning democracy, yet politicians on all sides respect the fact that all their colleagues, whether from the same party or others, represent the choice of the people that was exercised through the power of the vote. And since the business of the state must go on, the rule is that all shades of politicians leave their personal or even political differences at the door when they enter the two houses of parliament.
That's not to say that the opposition is completely without fault in this matter. It was their leaders, wasn't it, that drowned the PM's maiden speech in all sorts of venomous insults and set the tone for future proceedings. Still, owing to the burden of command, it is the responsibility of the sitting government to make sure that the affairs of the house run smoothly. And by treating opposition members as if they are undeserving of the status and privileges bestowed upon them, they have made it very easy for the latter to paralyse proceedings whenever something important does come to the National Assembly. Therefore, there is an important lesson for the PTI government in what happened in the IHC the other day. It still has time to get its act together and give parliament the centrality it deserves in any democracy. Otherwise, it will just have to wait and see how the people feel about its belief that only it is fit and honest enough to rule over this land when the next general election comes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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