Boots and the theatre of Pakistan’s politics
https://arab.news/2r4r2
Shoes have been flung at former US president George Bush, at Indian Congress Minister Chidambaram and at Pakistan’s military ruler, General Musharraf. They were lobbed as protest, meant to cause embarrassment.
But last week in Pakistan, a boot took centre stage as a political symbol. Boots in this country represent not shame but power-- they are a quotidian reference to the army.
In a context where the army’s political presence is euphemistically called ‘the establishment’ and only indirectly alluded to, the theatrics of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s key minister Faisal Vawda plonking a heavy black boot on the table in a political talkshow on live TV caused a storm in the public sphere.
The gesture was intended to target opposition parties, to jeer at their double talk on civilian supremacy when at the end, they toed the government’s line on the issue of ensuring the extended tenure of the current army chief.
Mr. Vawda said he held up the boot to expose the ‘real faces’ of opposition politicians. “You should have given it (the boot) respect earlier-- like we have been doing,” he said.
The stunt has energised debates on the military’s influence in politics-- given that half of the country’s history has passed under the army’s rule. The spectacle took place in the backdrop of a law recently passed by the parliament, allowing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to continue in his position beyond the age of retirement.
Khan, meanwhile, is walking on a tight-rope but he is known for his fighting spirit. He knows that ultimately, his shield will be not only the support of the establishment but also his own performance.
Owais Tohid
While few parliamentarians of small political parties voted against the law, the two main opposition parties - Sharifs’ Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Bhuttos’ Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) voted in favour of the government. And this in spite of the narrative that their mandate was stolen to bring in Imran Khan’s government-- calling him ‘selected not elected,’ in an allusion to the establishment’s powers of selection.
The ruling party’s leaders accuse main opposition parties of simultaneously juggling narratives of resistance and reconciliation to deflect from their corruption. In PML-N, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz wear the ideological hats, while Shahbaz Sharif follows a conciliatory approach. Similarly in PPP, Bilawal Bhutto takes the ideological highground, while Zardari is positioned for political wheeling and dealing.
According to the ruling party, the opposition parties keep a window open for negotiations with the establishment despite their ideological rhetoric.
Khan’s PTI government fears the realignment of the opposition and the establishment. The suspicion comes from a series of recent relief measures aiding key political rivals. Nawaz Sharif has been allowed to go abroad for his treatment in London, his daughter Maryam, ex president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur have all been released on bail on varying corruption charges.
Khan, on the other hand, had campaigned on and avowed exemplary punishment for Sharif and Zardari, whom he often refers to as ‘looters and plunderers.’
Khan has enjoyed what he calls an ‘unprecedented understanding,’ with the army, and it seems him and the army chief both share each other’s vision. Gen. Bajwa respects Khan’s commitment to uproot corruption and Khan shares the general’s understanding that economic stability and security stability are interlinked, and his vision to deal with external threats.
But the government is staggering under economic challenges with rising inflation, escalating costs of living, and investments in disarray.
The timing of the two main opposition parties trying to neutralise their sour relationship with the establishment is making the government nervous. Sharifs’ and Bhuttos’ party men are pushing for curtains on Khan’s government. It’s worrisome for Khan because his political allies are also flexing their muscles with demands for power sharing.
If he fulfils their demands, he will be cast in the mould of a conventional compromised politician, and it will be a refutation of his promise of ‘tabdeeli’ i.e., of bringing about change. And if he doesn’t, then his power is threatened, in both the central government and in the biggest province of Punjab where his government is dependant on coalition partners.
Amid all this, spectacles such as the emphatic boot add momentum to debates on the army’s perceived political interventions, which are seen by many to be against the image of the army.
Khan, meanwhile, is walking on a tight-rope but he is known for his fighting spirit. He knows that ultimately, his shield will be not only the support of the establishment but also his own performance.
– Owais Tohid is a leading Pakistani journalist/writer. His email address is [email protected].
He tweets @OwaisTohid.
