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Live and Let Live
Napoleon was once asked how he was able to defeat the Bourbons. “In their exile, they had learned nothing and forgot nothing,” was his reply.
The convening of the newly elected National Assembly and election of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Leader of the House - all of it personally witnessed - was a demonstration of Napoleon’s dictum. Elected parliamentarians raised catcalls - in full view of the visitors’ gallery and approximately 50 ambassadors and other invited guests - and on the floor of the House created a raucous atmosphere punctuated with yells of “rigging”, “shame”, and so on.
A similar display was shown before the speaker’s podium. Several members screamed at the top of their lungs at the same time despite pleadings from the Speaker to cease and desist. No Bonapartist in the top hierarchy of the military could have made a more succinct argument for the immediate dissolution of the House. But then this is in the disorderly nature of democracy where public representatives vent steam and the parliament becomes a safety valve for ventilating public frustrations.
While the label of democracy may be apparent - the fostering of democratic attitude will take some doing.
In the newly elected 342-member National Assembly there are youngsters aplenty. Yes, there are new faces… but many are legacies of old faces. Nephews, nieces, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, daughters, sisters, brothers, sons, ex-wives, et al. There are also mothers, and aunts (maasi and chachis). According to one seasoned observer, Javed Elahi: “These kids, instead of being gifted with fancy cars, houses and gadgets are now being given parliamentary seats as a new toy to play around with.” Old wine in a new bottle. Whom they know is far more important than what they know. Recommendation, said the late Syed Sadaqat
Ali Shah, is the sole qualification in Pakistan. The culture of means and genes continues to thrive. At the same time, the hope is that the young ones eventually may find their own way.
More than democracy, the issue in Pakistan is one of decency - learning to tolerate the other’s point of view and practicing the concept of live and let live.
The challenge before the new house is to foster a culture and precedent of mutual tolerance when the drama and dilemma of Pakistan politics in the past has been the opposite. Successive governments have taken turns undermining the system and squandering energies to victimize political rivals under an avalanche of state-prosecuted cases while public problems remain unattended.
There is only so much strain the body politic of the nation can take. The post-9/11 world has given ample indicators of a world slowly imploding and spiraling out of control … beyond the worldly range of even a so-called sole superpower.
It means that the half-a-cup of democracy presently available in Pakistan can permanently run dry if not properly partaken and shared under the spirit of live and let live.
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