Neeraj Sharma
06 August 2019, Pakistan’s Prime Minister addressed the Joint Session of Parliament in view of abrogation of Article 370. He spoke about religion, secularism, two nation theory, and greatness of Qaid-e-Azam etc. The speech was crafted dexterously by his speech writers to shield him from the impending onslaught of the opposition. The blitzkrieg came and the Leader of the Opposition ‘skinned him bare’ in khalis Urdu.
Pak's Opposition leader's main accusation was that the Government was slumbering while India took the initiative of removing Article 370. He also accused the Prime Minister of ‘selling the future of Kashmir’.
He pointed out that Pakistan was standing isolated in the world due to failure of its foreign policy. The opposition was not satisfied with the rhetoric; they wanted a concrete ‘action plan’ though well knowing in their hearts that rhetoric was the only thing they could now onwards resort to. Most people present in the Parliament also knew in their hearts that they had ‘lost’ Kashmir forever but a façade had to be created for public consumption. They called for self introspection. …but they all knew that the bombs had left the muzzle. This was a watershed moment for Pakistan…this was the start of its nosedive into an abyss.
After this, in another joint Parliamentary session called to discuss abrogation of Article 370, an opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator and a Federal Minister abused each other, turning the session into a brawl. Kashmir took a back seat and the underlying dirty politics overshadowed the proceedings. This was an indication that ‘Kashmir toh gaya, ab asli mudde par baat karo’.
In September 2020, in another major mortification for the government, Pakistan Parliament broke ‘again’ into a major scuffle. Ministers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government and opposition leaders broke into a fight, when Pak President was speaking at the joint session. The visuals show a dramatic fight breaking out between the ministers of both the parties amid Pakistan President's address. As per Pakistani media, opposition members raised slogans and started protesting as soon as the President congratulated the lower house of the parliament on successful completion of its first year. Chants and slogans were heard inside the Parliament raised by the ministers of opposition parties and utter chaos ensued.
On a number of occasions, embarrassing brawls take place in Pakistan’s parliament, the latest being only a few days back. No khalis Urdu, no adb-o-adab but expletives, fist fighting, hurling shoes, hooting and exhibition of street level politics. While, parliaments around the world often have unruly scenes, however, in case of Pakistan, these repeated brawls are indicators of a deeper problem… a deeper sense of frustration…frustration about the pathetic situation their country is in. These recurring brawls are indicative of the growing dissatisfaction of the peoples’ representatives regarding the pitiable state of affairs of their country. Creditably, the politicians have now started to raise voices about these real issues, though not in a friendly manner. They openly talk about the loss of dignity wherein their Government is running from pillar to post for alms. Derisive terms like ‘Bheekh ka katora’ etc are being used by the critics of the Government. In a way it is good because the first step to mend things is to accept existence of a problem.
Pakistan requires Billions of dollars to run its affairs. If they are not able to manage it, they may have to announce a financial emergency. While the diplomats may sugar coat the situation but an average Pakistani citizen feels high and dry. Type ‘Pakistan media on India’ on YouTube and you will find dapper looking TV anchors lavishly praising India for advancement in diplomacy, international standing, economy, technology, medical, education, sports, industries, films, quality of life etc vis-à-vis Pakistan’s poor international standing, corruption, failure of CPEC, Chinese debt trap, FATF! hanging sword, inflation and a host of other problems.
Saner voices on media also point out that their country could not save East Pakistan and Balochistan is slipping from their hands but they still claim ‘Kashmir banega Pakistan’. Such sensible voices should be encouraged in Pakistan otherwise the nosedive will continue. Pakistan must understand that the main reason of their misery is only one and that is - chasing at allusive dream of Kashmir........their dim-witted resolve that they are ready to ‘eat grass’ but will try to cut India with a thousand cuts. In the process, it now has thousands of bruises on its own body and days are not far when the proverbial grass will become their actual food. They must understand that successive leadership of their country has created a Frankenstein monster of terrorism and false jingoism which now haunts them.
So, while these parliamentary brawls are embarrassing, they may lead to better sense. Pakistani politicians should not get into blame game but introspect and learn from India.
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