“If I can’t play I will burn the house down” cried the petulant child and I marveled at the roaring crowds celebrating his “victory” and then I realized that they had all been spawned under the dark shadow of the gun where rules meant little and democracy, non existent.
What we have today is the result of the cultivation of abject disregard for rule of law thanks to decades of military and judicial interference – for some the constitution is “just a piece of paper” and this fellow (Imran khan) ain’t any different.
4th of April, 2022 marked a shameful day in our constitutional history. This wasn’t about politics. It was about utter disregard for the rule of law. Too many people who consider themselves good rejoice at the Constitution being trampled over. That’s been the key tragedy since 1954.
The constitution never mattered to the ruling elite then, and it doesn’t matter even now. Imran Khan’s disregard for Parliament was never a secret: Boycotted elections in 2008, attacked the parliament while MNA in 2014, attended only 11% of Parliamentary sessions in this Assembly as PM, passed 68+ ordinances bypassing the Parliament. Hence, undermining vote of no-confidence is no surprise.
Imran, just 3.5 years back was seen as the best hope for Pakistan – best hope, but 44 months of Imran Khan as prime minister of Pakistan have been a period of relentless assault on that hope – to the point that the hope has turned into dread.
Khan’s failure was largely brought on by his hubris. It appears that once his grand plan to become PM was achieved, he really did not know how to deliver on virtually any front, be it governance, national security or the economy.
The dread that the man who was once swooned over by the youth of Pakistan left the nation a much worse country than it was when he took over as its prime minister.
The bad-mouthed, uncouth, narcissistic, megalomaniac Imran was never fit to be the leader of the house who has to work with peers with different views.
Resultantly, what the country witnessed on 4th of April, was not a struggle for democracy, as the combined opposition claims. We saw a circus of free play of political opportunists, fortune seekers and self-important hangers-on. It is a vicious power struggle, and for lack of alternatives we are all victims of it.
