Wednesday, September 9, 2009
March 16, 2009
Dear Mr. President,
This is a citizen, a voter of Pakistan People’s Party since she reached the voting age. I find it very hard to believe that my (along with hundreds and thousands of PPP voters’) story is a story of betrayal – a naked betrayal. May I take you to the little journey we’ve been through and ask you few questions?
Being grown up during Zia-ul-Haq’s black era, our generation was pushed to the political oblivion. Students Unions were banned till we reached the college-going age. We heard the story of the judicial murder of Z.A. Bhutto and courageous political cruise of his able daughter Benazir Bhutto. She came and went twice at the hands of the protégés of Zia. We confess, we could never give PPP full mandate. Our fellow citizens did that for PML (now “N”) who went berserk with power’s intoxication. In their folly of being “all powerful”, they challenged those who had brought them. Not surprisingly, soon they had to be thrown out. We suffered almost a decade of darkness once again.
But we didn’t lose heart. We continued raising our voice for the reinstating of democracy. Amidst the news of PPP negotiating with Musharraf, we did never stumble in our support for PPP. It is PPP’s right to get back to politics in Pakistan, we argued. And if the cases are based on mala fide, the only way to get rid of them would be through negotiating with the dictator. Were we wrong? And then NRO happened. We were shocked, still we did not stagger. PPP must have this as the only option to get back to politics, we again argued. Were we wrong? PPP opened negotiation window with public face of rightist forces in Pakistan, PML-N. BB must be visioning a reconciliatory politics in coming years, so she is trying to draw her lessons from the politics of 1990s. PPP must have developed respect for people’s mandate which Nawaz League enjoys, we once again argued. Were we wrong? The Charter of Democracy happens. We were happy. The Charter depicted the political maturity of both the parties who have been playing musical chairs all through last decade, we thought. Were we wrong?
The dictator gives us a blow by deposing Chief Justice of Supreme Court. We were all out for the CJ, before thinking too much about his own credibility. We stood for the institution. We were exposed to brutal police violence for doing that. It only energized us against the dictator. And finally we got the good news of CJ’s reinstating by Supreme Court. We danced in the streets and bazaars of Islamabad for the whole night on July 22, 2007. Paan wahlaas, chhaabri wahlaas, shop keepers, students, even the women from ordinary household danced with us that night. Smiles came back to Pakistan after long nights of pitch dark. Little did we know that this smile was short-lived. In September of the same year, we expected a fair judgement from now “free judiciary” on Musharraf’s re-election in uniform issue. We thought that we’ve been able to get the judiciary burry the doctrine of necessity for ever. How naive! The judiciary once again let us down. They gave a short judgement to allow Musharraf contest election while in uniform with election results kept secret till next judgement. And there we felt ourselves on ground zero! But we let the show go on. We still had hopes on judiciary.
We were enraged when the dictator imposed Emergency in the country holding the constitution in abeyance. We stood firm. We were baton charged, we were tear-gassed, we got shells on our foreheads, we were assaulted by security agencies, we were put behind the bars, and so on. But the resolve could not be defeated. Despite the NRO discussions, PPP appeared to be a panacea to us. We were all for a free and transparent elections. We were excited on seeing the elections in the offing. And our smiles were once again snatched, only to be replaced with tears when they killed BB. Our BB was taken away, it was like all hell had been let loose. And then you came. We forgave you for the past. We wanted to move ahead. You carried it with grace in the beginning. But where did it go?
Mr. Co-Chairperson sir,
Let me assure you, we always stood by you whatever you had been saying / doing since February 2008. We were there to defend you on every public forum or little drawing room discussions. You rolled back BB’s decision on premiership of the country. Despite a bad taste, we accepted it. You isolated BB’s confidantes; we took it as party leader’s democratic freedom to build her/his own team. In that bid, you accommodated new faces while compromising on the older party stalwarts. We didn’t raise an eyebrow and took it in democratic spirit. You went on broad based “consensus” and “reconciliation” while making the government at federal level and in three provinces. With a little hesitation we took it. As PPP voters, we claim to be country’s most senior and most penalized group of people who have stood for social democracy with a secular vision. This vision was disturbing us when you were going ahead with removing all opposition by hook or crook. It itched us when you handpicked people, single handed, for all important public offices. Democratic spirit was shrieking. We tolerated it in the name of democracy itself that needed a breathing space here.
We kept watching when you appointed a controversial figure as federation’s representative in one of country’s thickly populated federating unit. We silently watched that figure disturbing balance of power in that part of our beloved country. With great pain, we were still watching when worst kind of manipulation was being done in supreme democratic institutions. With all the understanding that all this was not one sided on your part, and that the other part was also fully responsible for it, we still hold you responsible for we have greater expectations from our own party.
You kept on dominating the party through your handpicked office holders and short sighted advisors who could not give you an understanding of a dangerous trust deficit you have with PPP workers and voters. You continued to batter us with a shock every day. As innate democrats, we were traumatized when people’s mandate in Punjab was put down the drains. Before that, you had already breached Charter of Democracy, your own agreement signed with PML-N on March 9, 2008, your repeated promises with the nation on reinstating the Chief Justice, your promise to do away with 17th amendment and 58-2(b), your running party office alongside running the presidency, and the list is swelling. To add fuel to the fire, you tried to join hands with those political faces who have been directly or indirectly responsible for BB’s assassination. We understood why PML-N was not pressing upon impeachment of Musharraf. But towing this line from you as PPP’s Co-Chair, never made to our head. You, Mr. Co-Chairperson, have greatly disappointed us on every count.
We are now making a mockery of ourselves by siding with you Mr. Co-Chairperson. We have a serious feeling that our BB’s party has been hijacked by those who have no commitment to the people, to the democracy and to the socialist ideals. People have been arguing with us on your credentials to lead biggest national party of the country. They have been arguing on internal democratic structure and practices that our party lacked. They have been arguing your inability to ensure separation of powers. They have been arguing your mala fide intent in handling Punjab. Why have we put to this position Mr. President? We were still not out of BB’s grief, and you happened to us. The historian will be witness of our open heart towards you, but we’d not let the historian write in annals of Pakistan’s democratic history, that we sided with you even when you were brutally murdering spirit of democracy in this fateful country. We never voted you sir. We voted for BB’s party. We voted for democracy. We voted for political maturity BB showed in signing Charter of Democracy.
So Mr. President / Co-Chair of BB’s and workers’ party, you have reached a pinnacle of political power whence all ways lead downwards. We don’t approve of this option for our party. We did not come this far to allow outsiders usurp workers’ rights and assault spirit of democracy. We demand as voters of PPP to immediately take following steps to restore party’s image;one: reinstate Ch. Iftikhar with executive order; Two: enter review petition from PPP for disqualification case of Nawaz and Shahbaz Shareef; Three:immediately call Punjab Assembly’s session and let PML-N form the government; Four: Kindly freeze all efforts to manipulate number game in Punjab; Five: Call back Mr. Taseer and appoint a mutually agreeable figure as governor; Six: immediately repeal parts of 17th amendment that compromise the democratic spirit of 1973 Constitution; Seven: lay off 58-2(b) right away;Eight: free all political arrestees and remove any cases registered upon them;Nine: start reforms process, structural and political both, in order to deliver for the people of Pakistan; and Ten: chose one office; President of Pakistan or Co-Chairperson of PPP.
We hope you’ll pay heed to what PPP’s voters say. Thanks.
Best wishes,
Marvi Sirmed
A Common Citizen
Marvi Sirmed
A Common Citizen
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