These days, if someone is to ask a layman in the streets of the provincial metropolis or elsewhere in the country as to what is happening in Pakistan , the answer to this pertinent question will generally as well invariably will be that the game of allegations and counter-allegations is being played by the political parties and their leaders, federal and provincial ministers, irrespective of their treading the corridors or powers or occupying the opposition benches in the national and provincial legislatures.

Negative more than positive politics continue to dominate the national scene in a quite unfortunate and regretful manner. While all this is going on, the newspapers both in Urdu and English languages are almost full of all sorts of political statements in the form of hurling of accusations at each other thus polluting the minds of common man in quite unnecessary and avoidable manner.

Before going any further, it is pertinent to mention here that as a result of free, fair, orderly and peaceful general elections held on July25, 2018, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) had formed the government along with the support of allies at the centre and in the Punjab province for the first time and in the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah for the second time thus ousting the PML(N) from the corridors of powers in Islamabad and Lahore.

The former ruling parties PML(N) and PPP somehow have not accepted the verdict of the electorate and the cases against their leadership in the NAB and in the superior courts of the country continue to fan oil to the fire thus persistently create a political confrontation like situation though everyone claiming to be working for strengthening democracy.

As I sat on writing this little piece, I scanned through English and Urdu newspapers for last couple of days of English and Urdu dailies and noted regrettably that their front and back pages invariably were full of accusations and allegation by the leadership of PPP and PML (N) as well as their supporters.

In all fairness, this heated political confrontation like situation has been caused and being persisted by the federal and provincial governments themselves through unwarranted and avoidable utterances of their ministers more than the opposition parties and their leaders.

The outbursts of the opposition parties’ leaders apparently are mostly in response to the statements being made by the federal and provincial ministers

The Federal Information Minister and the Provincial Information Ministers of the Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah are only making uncalled for statements against the opposition parties leadership thus provoking strong rebuttals and aggravating the prevailing political atmosphere.

From their unwarranted statements, one gets the impression as if the federal and provincial governments do not have anything positive to put before the people as what is being done for their well-being and welfare and for pulling the country out of prevailing crisis particularly improving the national economy.

One wonders as what the Federal Information Minister or for that matter Information Ministers of the Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah have to do with the political careers of Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif and the PPP’s Sindh government?

They are making off and on comments on the proceedings of the cases in the Superior Courts against the opposition parties’ leaders which are least appreciable and commendable to say the least.

Why the Federal Information Minister should go to Karachi ad saying that the Provincial Government can be toppled any moment as it is a balloon of gas which can burst by a pin and in the haste of making unwarranted statements, he had also forgotten that Pakistan Muslim League (Q) is an ally of the PTI as he was reported to have said that PML(Q) should be grateful to them for not creating a forward bloc in it. Why not pause, ponder and think a lot before saying anything which one may have to regret and apologise afterwards.

All that is said by the federal and provincial information ministers is in bad taste, counter-productive and providing the opposition parties and leaders opportunities to lash out at the PTI’s federal government.

PTI’s federal government had on completion of its 100 days had launched its performance report giving details of what has been and was being done about 100 days agenda. But the facts and figures highlighted in the report have hardly been highlighted by the federal and provincial information ministers afterwards in weeks together till now.

They should better leave the inquiries and cases against PML(N) and PPP leaders pending against them in the superior courts and NAB aside and better concentrate on setting their own houses at the federal and provincial levels in order which is their basic function and duty to highlight the achievements of the PTI’s federal and provincial governments. People are the better judges and they know better as to what PPP and PML(N) have been doing during their tenure. They should let the people know as to what good the PTI federal and provincial governments are doing for their well-being and pulling the country out of the persisting prevailing crisis of the sorts.

The ruling party as well as the opposition parties leadership should do positive politics and not negative and hostile politics what they are indulging in for quite some time, avoid political confrontation and let the peaceful atmosphere prevail and democracy gaining strength with every passing day in the larger interests of the country and the nation. By hurling allegations and counter-allegations against each other through the electronic and print media, they are doing no service at all and rather confusing the minds of the people more than anything else.

 

The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and Retired Deputy Controller (News) Radio Pakistan, Islamabad.

 zahidriffat@gmail.com