The press conference of a senior leader in Karachi showed the lighter side of politics, a game full of action, comedy and drama. One of the revelations was the letter written by the MQM to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The letter was an open invitation to a foreign power to intervene in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, which has become a norm in our politics rather than an anomaly. In the last decade, Nawaz Sharifs exile agreement, the NRO and the reinstatement of the judiciary were all resolved through the intervention of foreign powers bringing pressure to bear on our major political parties. In this environment, who can blame the MQM, a junior partner in the PPP-led coalition government, for seeking the patronage of a foreign power for political expediency? The real questions to ask are: why do political parties resort to seeking foreign patrons and how do we contain this practice?
The principal reason for this behaviour can be traced to the failure of local institutions to resolve political disputes. Institutions that play a significant constitutional role to resolve political disputes are the judiciary, election commission (EC) and law enforcement. The judiciary throughout Pakistans history has been a biased party in judging political matters. For instance, they have legitimised the role of military dictators citing the doctrine of necessity, awarded the death penalty to an elected prime minister under pressure from a military dictator, and were unable to punish military dictators for abrogating the constitution. Notwithstanding recent activism, this track record has resulted in the loss of the credibility of the court to be a fair arbiter of political disputes and constitutional matters.
The EC performs the vital function of ensuring that the citizens have a chance of awarding their mandate to the political party of their choice, without coercion. It is expected that the EC will ensure that no member of its staff or supporting departments engages in voting fraud or that any external factor affect the results. Historical and empirical data suggests that the EC has failed miserably in discharging this important national responsibility. This failure may not affect larger parties as they align themselves with vested interests of society but it affects smaller parties that do not have the resources or wherewithal. This creates discontent that not only produces militancy but also encourages parties to seek foreign patrons to bring pressure to bear on stakeholders.
Peaceful transfer of power is essential to reduce political tensions and animosities between political parties arising from hotly contested elections. It is ironic that when politicians are in power, no law enforcement agency is able to prosecute their crimes. But, as soon as they relinquish power, all their crimes come to the surface, which gives an impression that survival depends on clinging to power.
A crime committed by any citizen whether elected, uniformed or bureaucratic termed as white-collar crime must be persecuted by law enforcement. The institution of the national accountability bureau (NAB) is a stigma on the face of the nation and has become an instrument of political exploitation and wasteful use of national resources. NAB should be abolished, even if a constitutional amendment is required, and a white-collar crime cell of the federal investigation agency (FIA) should be given the powers and resources to investigate and prosecute these crimes. Most democracies have a parliamentary ethics committee that penalises parliamentarians who have breached the law or abused powers, separately from law enforcement that prosecutes for the crime.
The US, UK and Canada have immigrants from countries around the world, but the Pakistani community is the only one that has international chapters of their political parties. These chapters not only show the cleavages of our society to the whole world but also make our Pakistani identity subservient to ethnicities. These party offices operate like embassies engaging in lobbying with policy makers, securing funds and making appointments for their leaders during their foreign visits. Now the situation has gotten so out of hand that even mediation between political parties is organised by these offices, usually under the patronage of foreign patrons. This practice becomes an avenue for foreign interests to create their sympathisers in political parties, which, in most cases, creates a conflict of interest. Political parties should be required to make full disclosure of their foreign offices, their activities, office bearers and their financial accounts.
An office bearer of a registered political party is a custodian of sovereign interests. He is required to preserve and maintain the interests of the state. It has become a routine practice that Pakistani politicians meet with foreign delegations and policy makers outside the country without the presence of a note taker. Rules must be amended to ensure that all meetings of party office bearers with foreign delegations are recorded, reported and archived with the ministry of foreign affairs and the EC as they have a direct impact on the relationships between nations and their strategic interests.
The failure of local institutions to hold free and fair elections has invited foreign observers to monitor our elections, which is a mild form of foreign intervention. It is unwise to think that a foreigner is more sincere in helping our country than ourselves. No respectable society will allow a foreigner to tell them they have been dishonest to each other.
The individualistic and dynastic politics of Pakistan have given rise to another form of foreign intervention where other nations dictate who they prefer to be in power to provide aid, economic incentives or provide market access for our products. This situation will be fixed when political parties are organized on democratic principles and state institutions are staffed with people of merit.
Our sovereignty is only as strong as our desire for self-respect and dignity. If we do not respect ourselves no one will.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\06\story_6-9-2011_pg3_5
The writer is a US based PTI member
The principal reason for this behaviour can be traced to the failure of local institutions to resolve political disputes. Institutions that play a significant constitutional role to resolve political disputes are the judiciary, election commission (EC) and law enforcement. The judiciary throughout Pakistans history has been a biased party in judging political matters. For instance, they have legitimised the role of military dictators citing the doctrine of necessity, awarded the death penalty to an elected prime minister under pressure from a military dictator, and were unable to punish military dictators for abrogating the constitution. Notwithstanding recent activism, this track record has resulted in the loss of the credibility of the court to be a fair arbiter of political disputes and constitutional matters.
The EC performs the vital function of ensuring that the citizens have a chance of awarding their mandate to the political party of their choice, without coercion. It is expected that the EC will ensure that no member of its staff or supporting departments engages in voting fraud or that any external factor affect the results. Historical and empirical data suggests that the EC has failed miserably in discharging this important national responsibility. This failure may not affect larger parties as they align themselves with vested interests of society but it affects smaller parties that do not have the resources or wherewithal. This creates discontent that not only produces militancy but also encourages parties to seek foreign patrons to bring pressure to bear on stakeholders.
Peaceful transfer of power is essential to reduce political tensions and animosities between political parties arising from hotly contested elections. It is ironic that when politicians are in power, no law enforcement agency is able to prosecute their crimes. But, as soon as they relinquish power, all their crimes come to the surface, which gives an impression that survival depends on clinging to power.
A crime committed by any citizen whether elected, uniformed or bureaucratic termed as white-collar crime must be persecuted by law enforcement. The institution of the national accountability bureau (NAB) is a stigma on the face of the nation and has become an instrument of political exploitation and wasteful use of national resources. NAB should be abolished, even if a constitutional amendment is required, and a white-collar crime cell of the federal investigation agency (FIA) should be given the powers and resources to investigate and prosecute these crimes. Most democracies have a parliamentary ethics committee that penalises parliamentarians who have breached the law or abused powers, separately from law enforcement that prosecutes for the crime.
The US, UK and Canada have immigrants from countries around the world, but the Pakistani community is the only one that has international chapters of their political parties. These chapters not only show the cleavages of our society to the whole world but also make our Pakistani identity subservient to ethnicities. These party offices operate like embassies engaging in lobbying with policy makers, securing funds and making appointments for their leaders during their foreign visits. Now the situation has gotten so out of hand that even mediation between political parties is organised by these offices, usually under the patronage of foreign patrons. This practice becomes an avenue for foreign interests to create their sympathisers in political parties, which, in most cases, creates a conflict of interest. Political parties should be required to make full disclosure of their foreign offices, their activities, office bearers and their financial accounts.
An office bearer of a registered political party is a custodian of sovereign interests. He is required to preserve and maintain the interests of the state. It has become a routine practice that Pakistani politicians meet with foreign delegations and policy makers outside the country without the presence of a note taker. Rules must be amended to ensure that all meetings of party office bearers with foreign delegations are recorded, reported and archived with the ministry of foreign affairs and the EC as they have a direct impact on the relationships between nations and their strategic interests.
The failure of local institutions to hold free and fair elections has invited foreign observers to monitor our elections, which is a mild form of foreign intervention. It is unwise to think that a foreigner is more sincere in helping our country than ourselves. No respectable society will allow a foreigner to tell them they have been dishonest to each other.
The individualistic and dynastic politics of Pakistan have given rise to another form of foreign intervention where other nations dictate who they prefer to be in power to provide aid, economic incentives or provide market access for our products. This situation will be fixed when political parties are organized on democratic principles and state institutions are staffed with people of merit.
Our sovereignty is only as strong as our desire for self-respect and dignity. If we do not respect ourselves no one will.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\06\story_6-9-2011_pg3_5
The writer is a US based PTI member
