Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab is in the headlines these a days following the oath of PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister and the situation has become even more concerning after the letter from Governor Punjab Omar Sarfraz Cheema to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and President Arif Alvi for intervention into the province.
The federation’s top man in Punjab, a civil supremo as per the constitution, has sought the intervention of the army chief to address a political discord. This is quite unbecoming of civilian rule and exhibits the berserk point in the negation of accommodation. Cheema who rejected the resignation of Usman Buzdar by terming it as against the law thinks that oath of Hamza Shahbaz is unconstitutional and the Governor House was hijacked by the goons of PML-N for the ceremony.
Cheema is expected to meet COAS and President Arif Alvi in near future to discuss the constitutional steps and the situation being faced by Punjab.
Governor Punjab believes that the Army should look into the ongoing crisis in the province, and play its “due” role. Let’s leave its interpretation at the discretion of the masses at large! This letter and the humble submission go on to point out how intolerant public representatives have become, and how soon they give up the mantle of threadbare negotiations and opt for extra-institutional support to address their woes.
This is, indeed, a blow to democracy and such incidents go on to set a precedent for military involvement in civilian affairs. No doubt, politics these days is a hard nut to crack in Punjab, and surely constitutional norms and laid-down procedures have not been followed, per se. This is why the judiciary has been proactive in guiding the civilian marshals. This is not a good omen.
The point is that the armed forces want to stay away from politics. They have exhibited their considerate stance during the vote of no-confidence at the Centre recently, and have taken a backseat from their erstwhile role in politics. Let this good convention prevail, and the civilian leadership should muster the courage, confidence and compassion to settle their issues, and that too within the ambit of the constitution.
Though the Armed forces are of Pakistan, inviting them to intervention in the democratic system of the country is not a good omen for domestic politics.
