WITH an unprecedented letter from six judges, Pakistan is entering trench politics where battle lines are fixed except for PTI.
The party has rejected the inquiry commission and announced protests for NRO to free their leader.
It is a continuation of an out-of-the-box presidential system, populist political sleaze strategy of loyalty to an individual instead of the constitution in the country’s parliamentary system by using courts to avoid accountability on May 9, Al-Qadir Trust, isolating Pakistan, taking the economy hostage, and derailing democracy.
Here is how Pakistan can avoid trench politics for saving democracy from dictatorship with loyalty to the constitution instead of an individual.
PTI is using the public mandate to hold the economy hostage for having an NRO on May 9.
Biden has proposed a $6 trillion tax increase plan, but Trump is using the economy for immunity on Jan 6.
The US debt ($34.
4T) is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days (1 March 2024, CNBC).
Pakistan’s tax collection gap stands at a whopping Rs5.
8tr with Rs2.
9T annual tax evasion in sales tax (25 March 2024, the News).
There should be accountability because an NRO will bring dictatorship at the cost of the state and its democratic institutions.
Imran mishandled cipher, which undermined Pakistan’s foreign policy while FM remained loyal to an individual instead of the Constitution.
Trump’s statements on abandoning NATO have prompted fears of America’s isolation on the global stage.
The intelligence community warned that he could be more radical in a second term (The prospect of a second Trump presidency has the intelligence community on edge 26 Feb 2024, Politico).
On relations with America, Australia’s ex-PM issued a warning on Trump’s approach to global affairs (27 Feb 2024, Newsweek).
Europe is also on the edge concerning Trump.
In Pakistan, common sense is a better way of keeping a professional working relationship between the state and its democratic institutions without compromising the rule of law.
The prediction of the fall of the government in the next six months is part of local Project 2025 to return to power.
PTI merits accountability for no democracy in the party as per SC judgment (There should be democracy in both party and its governments, 12 Jan 2024, the Dawn).
Malafide reference against SC justice.
Dissolution of the national and two provincial assemblies for power.
De-notification of Punjab local government with 58,000 members.
Failure to attend parliaments (PTI stole 2024 general elections?
).
Party funding cases (India’s SC has ruled electoral bonds unconstitutional including dirty money) and mega-corruption (Pakistan’s Transparency ranking worse off under PTI, 26 Jan 2022, the Dawn).
In America, Republicans are promising to replace civil servants with cronies at levers of power who are loyal to an individual not constitution.
After the failure of Jan 6, Republicans have a clear plan to deconstruct the state including US Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Education, Commerce, and FBI (Project 2025).
Trump targeted top military leadership after Gen Milley pledged loyalty to the constitution instead of a wannabe dictator (US media including Politico, WP, WSJ, and MSNBC).
The absence of civil servant check and balance has increased 40% cost of living (What is going on with sky-high food prices, the Fifth Estate), national debt, and privatization.
Former UK PM Liz Truss blames the establishment for her government’s failure, advocating for a 10-year term despite significant economic losses.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit manoeuvre aimed to empower parliament but was suspended unlawfully following a UK Supreme Court ruling.
Across Europe, leaders consolidate power under populist guise, betraying democratic principles and neglecting grassroots interests.
The US Supreme Court has hijacked American democracy (11 July 2023, the Guardian).
It is pushing US democracy into dictatorship.
Trump is using Christian nationalism to win elections.
The House Speaker’s worldview is the Bible.
Johnson calls the separation of church and state ‘a misnomer’.
America is facing a threat of biblical proportion: The rise of Christian nationalism (15 Mar 2024, the Hill).
It is impacting diversity, letting people from all backgrounds to coexist, keep the country united and secure social mobility or American dream.
Imran is likely to get more close to right-wing parties like Trump and other Western leaders to win power.
There should be no place for politics in the judiciary.
A new documentary McConnell, the GOP, and the Court traced how Senator McConnell dramatically reshaped the Supreme Court with a conservative majority and its decisions helped usher in an era of deep polarization in both the US and the Republican Party (6 Mar 2024, PBS).
Liz Cheney has urged the US Supreme Court to stop aiding Trump’s delaying tactics on Jan 6 and bring him to book which America witnessed (28 Mar 2024, MSNBC).
There should be accountability for May 9 and events surrounding because it was also seen by the entire country (Reading the Constitution, why choose pragmatism over textualism by Stephen Breyer).
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
Email: sadcat44@hotmail.
com
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