Why it is important to follow the constitution, despite its imperfections

[phoenixdesi]

Re: Why it is important to follow the constitution, despite its imperfections

@Sir_Dig_A_Lot

Disclaimer #1: I am a lurker. I have been a gupshup member for almost twelve years but reduced to being a passive reader over the last few years. I enjoy following the PA topics and appreciate the energy you all have for such lively discussions.

Disclaimer #2: I am a “pro-stability” Pakistani expatriate. I believe that no matter who’s running the government (even dictators), that if we avoid shocking the system every couple of years, there is enough potential in our country for it to make very rapid progress. The size of our domestic market alone makes for a huge and untapped growth potential. So when I see yet another movement that is destabilizing the system (regardless of the intentions of its leader) and distracting us from undertaking any long term projects, I feel saddened and feel compelled to offer the following thoughts which will likely anger the members sympathetic to PTI.

I’ll be the first to admit that our constitution and its implementation are far from perfect. But unlike Iraq and Syria, we are fortunate to have a largely non-controversial constitution that has the consensus of all political factions in the country. Remember that a constitution is primarily just a framework that gives us methods and bounds for balancing the interests of various constituencies in the country. Pakistan is a huge country with a population of 180 million and not a small homogenous group of people. There are huge differences in political, cultural, and religious leanings among people living in different parts of the country. In the absence of a framework followed by everybody, we’ll be reduced to an Iraq or Syria like situation where every faction thinks that they are more deserving or capable (or both) of running the country. So when I see demands for resignation of the PM and dissolution of assemblies by mob force, I am taken back to the 90s where this exact cycle went on for a number of years, and created the frustration in the political environment that Imran Khan had supposedly entered to change.

I have heard some of my PTI friends justify their demands as constitutional by claiming that the ‘act of resignation’ and the ‘advice to dissolve the assemblies’ are indeed methods described in the constitution so their dharna movement is constitutional. I find this comical. The “act of withdrawing money from an ATM” is legal on its own. But you wouldn’t call it a legal act if I held a gun to your head and made you withdraw money for me. It would rightly be called a robbery which is exactly what PTI is trying to pull off right now.

AT this point, I can expect some forum members to dismiss me as a PTI hater and a “noora](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=NOORA) ,” so let me get to my next set of grievances.

I was a long time Imran Khan supporter. I killed myself raising money for his hospital, and I was a huge supporter when he founded PTI. I had hoped that his message was one of “change in politics” not “change in politicians,” and sadly he has thoroughly disappointed me (and countless others). The Jiyala culture was a product of our tendencies to become fanatic in our support for a leader and not having the honesty of separating from our leader or party’s positions when they were unreasonable. Imran was supposed to liberate us from it, not bring it back in an even worse form. I am deeply offended by this “Oye Nawaz Sharif” mannerism. I had hoped that he’d nurture a more civil political atmosphere, and teach our next generation a better way to conduct themselves politically, but little did I know that Sultan Rahi was such a huge inspiration for Imran Khan.

Now about this #NayaPakistan](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=NayaPakistan) and #Inqilaab](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=Inqilaab) business: We are a country of 180 million people, not a small company with only a few hundreds employees. In the latter case, you could bring in a new boss to run the company and the small scale would allow him to fix all that is wrong with that organization. But in a country of 180 million people, if you magically install the perfect leader overnight, the business of life must still go on the following day. The bureaucracy with honest and dishonest people will need to come to work the next day. The corrupt and non-corrupt policemen will need to show up at their jobs. No matter the intentions, you cannot find angelic policemen, clerks, bureaucrats, doctors, teachers, administrators overnight and replace the current lot with them. Similarly, there is no magic power plant that only Imran Khan knows to switch on the very next day of his becoming the PM. All improvements we are looking for, in people and in infrastructure are gradual and will come through the ‘filtration process’ that successive elections provide us. We could hope to accelerate this filtration process by finding better people to lead us, but when I see the politicians around Imran Khan and Qadri, the slogans of revolutionary leadership seem comical at best. I don’t begrudge Imran Khan for joining hands with Chaudhery brothers, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, etc. But let’s also not deceive ourselves that are not still following the typical politicians.

On this dhandhli business: The local irregularities will never be completely eliminated from our electoral process, but we can certainly learn from each election cycle and incrementally enhance our system to maintain a high degree of confidence and transparency in the process. But let’s be honest, aside from local irregularities and a few big problem constituencies (Karachi anyone?), all local and foreign observers thought there was no industrial rigging of the results and the OVERALL outcome at the national and provincial levels seemed fair (i.e., the overall control of national and provincial assemblies, not individual seats here and there). With that said, Imran Khan’s dhandhali claims just seem delusional or dishonest. And even if he’s completely correct about this industrial scale rigging, that part of his demand to investigate via Supreme Court has already been accepted by the government. After that, holding the country hostage with demands of resignation simply seem an overplaying of his hand and eroding trust in his political maturity. He has certainly lost the support of our family

KPK had provided him an opportunity to both learn and showcase some governance skills, but unfortunately he’s eroding the trust of voters and establishment simultaneously! I was never pro- anybody, but I am certainly anti-Imran now. We need someone better and more mature to lead the country.

I am sorry…you are talking way too sensibly…not acceptable. GO AWAY!

Soon you will be attacked by PTI trolls and will be called a noora and patwari and what not. You will be presented with a logic that will shock you…

when you will point out that assembling few thousand people in the capital and shutting down down it to take resignation of an elected PM cannot be justified in a democratic country and is against any constitutional measure and will set a very wrong precedent.… you will be yelled at and will be presented with a logic that will simplify shock you and you will be left dumbfounded…you will be told that we are getting rid of a rigged government. When pointed out that even international observers did not find any evidence of massive rigging you will be given a shut up call that imran and PTI have all proofs and we saw it on TV!

**when you will point out that imran uses extremely vulgar and offensive language starting every sentence with oyaee this and oyaee that and even threatened to kill IG Islamabad today **…you will be told “so what”…nooras and his chamchas do not understand any other language and they deserve this…

when you will point out that Imran’s electroal reforms demands are just and when govt finally crumbled under pressure and accepted all of his demands he should also give in and focus on getting those reforms implemenetd…PTI trolls will start shivering with anger and will slap you on your face asking you how dare you to ask this question…they will tell you that noora was too late in accepting our leader demands…so now no talk…and oyaee nooray resign karo!

and oh yes…when you will bring the topic of setting up a wrong precedent...you will be told hey no one else has the street power to collect so many people for so many days..only PTI can do it. So no problem it wont become an issue in future and even if it does, who cares!

hell PTI could not even win the poll at gupshup…but yet they are claiming to represent majority in its demands…lakh dee lanat!!!