Eroding democratic gains,pak

The events that have unfolded in Pakistan over the last two weeks have all but wiped out the country’s small democratic gains of the last six years. A few thousand protestors under the leadership of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and a rabble-rousing cleric, Tahir ul Qadri, a Canadian of Pakistani origin, have effectively held the nation hostage, refusing to call off their agitation until the elected government of Nawaz Sharif resigned. In most democracies, such demands are settled in Parliament. Where the opposition has sufficient numbers, it may even succeed in unseating the government. Where it does not, it focusses on winning the next election. The Pakistan Army denies it but there has been much speculation about its role in the protests from the start, fuelled in recent days by the allegations of a top PTI leader who broke ranks with Mr. Khan. In any case, the Army’s eagerness to use the situation to tilt the civilian-military balance decisively in its favour has been all too apparent. The moment that the Army chief, Raheel Sharif, spoke to Mr. Khan and Mr. Qadri in an effort to end the stand-off will be remembered as the point at which the military gained an upper hand over the government. Since then, the Army has been urging talks between the government and the protestors and criticising the use of the police force to disperse mobs. A Corps Commanders’ conference to “discuss” the political situation cemented its position further.

The crisis itself might not have come about if Mr. Sharif had a better grip on governance. Mr. Khan’s campaign grew from a small complaint of election-rigging in a few constituencies. A simple way out would have been to address those complaints but the government let the matter drift. Despite his huge mandate, Mr. Sharif’s 15 months in power have been marked by all-around drift. He may survive this crisis for now as Mr. Khan stands politically isolated, save for support from Mr. Qadri and his following. Tuesday’s Parliament session, at which all other political parties — opponents and allies alike — made impassioned speeches urging Mr. Sharif to stand firm against the efforts to remove him, will perhaps go down as one of the most stirring in Pakistan’s chequered history of tentative democracies. But it is already clear that continue though he might, it will only be as a much weakened Prime Minister. How much ground the military has wrested from him, especially on policies on India and Afghanistan, will become apparent only in the days to come. New Delhi called off talks last month, and Pakistan’s changed scenario may only make it more difficult for the two sides to get back to the table.