The PTI now plans to go to international forums to amend what it describes as a “stolen electoral verdict”. One thought the rigging controversy would be over after the NA-122 by-election. But the PTI is certainly not willing to give up.

Refusing to accept the result, the party now wants to take the battle to the international arena.

Former governor Chaudhry Mohammed Sarwar, who has emerged as the second-most powerful person in the PTI hierarchy, says he will raise the issue of “new rigging techniques of the PML-N” with the United Nations and the European Union. Surely, there is no limit to this absurdity. One wonders what this “new rigging technique” is all about and why it requires international attention.

What does the PTI expect these multilateral agencies to do? Fix the polls for next time? One cannot expect such a ridiculous stance from a serious political party. This mindless agitation and histrionics cannot take the party anywhere. The move to raise the issue of alleged electoral rigging at international forums exposes the party’s irrational political behaviour.

Calling for foreign intervention in our domestic affairs has become a part of our political culture.

In its obsession, the PTI seems to have forgotten that multilateral organisations like the UN or the European Union do not have a mandate to intervene in the internal political matters of other countries. Who better than Chaudhry Sarwar, a former British member of parliament, would know this? Such moves only make a mockery of the party itself.

For sure, it is not the first and only instance of a political party approaching foreign powers for support even on minor political issues. It is almost normal practice for our political leaders to knock on the doors of Western diplomatic missions in any internal political conflict. But the PTI’s move crosses all limits.

There are fewer examples of sovereign countries where political parties are eager to obtain external help and blessings, showing little faith in the people and the institutions at home. For sure, there is always some justification for this approach: usually a long period of authoritarian rule, suppression of democratic rights and political victimisation.

With many of the leaders being forced into exile over the years there is a new culture of remote-control politics. While Altaf Hussain fled the country in 1992, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif also led their parties from outside reinforcing the culture of foreign support. This is certainly not the case in Pakistan today. With all its flaws and weaknesses, democracy has taken root in this country.

Interestingly, the PTI was in the forefront of castigating the MQM when Altaf Hussain called for UN intervention to stop what he described as the persecution and extrajudicial killings of his party’s members. How come the MQM was wrong and the PTI is right in seeking UN support?

It is particularly shocking as the PTI claims to be fighting to bring about a change in the political culture of the country. It will not be surprising if the PTI next demands the holding of general elections under UN supervision. There is certainly no shortage of indiscretion when it comes to power politics in this country where national self-respect is in short supply.

Unfortunately, calling for foreign intervention in our domestic affairs has become a part of our political culture. Not only do the opposition parties seek international help to redress their grievances, ruling parties too often involve foreign powers to mediate in internal political conflicts.

It was perhaps most shocking when the Zardari government invited a UN investigation team to probe the murder of Benazir Bhutto. It was an unprecedented move by a government in power to rely on foreign investigators, a clear show of no-confidence in the domestic security agencies. Inevitably, the UN commission report only made things more complicated and added to the mystery surrounding the killing of the country’s former prime minister. The report was ultimately shelved, but the damage had been done.

Former foreign secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan lost his job for advising against involving the UN in the murder investigation. It was purely a political move that reinforced the perception of a failing state unable even to conduct an impartial investigation into the killing of the country’s most powerful leader with her own party in the saddle.

One of the biggest examples of how deeply the foreign powers have been involved in our internal politics was the US-sponsored reconciliation negotiations between Gen Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto in 2007. The major objective of the reconciliation was to secure Musharraf’s power and bring democratic legacy to his rule through an alliance with the PPP. The deal, however, never worked with Mushharaf losing control after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Musharraf had no choice but to step down when he lost Washington’s support too.

Besides the United States, the other country that has also been deeply involved in Pakistani politics is Saudi Arabia. It was in 1977 during the PNA movement that the Saudi ambassador got directly involved in the negotiations between the opposition alliance and the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government. But efforts failed and the Bhutto government was ousted in a military coup. The United States has been accused of playing a critical role in Bhutto’s ouster.

Then in 2000 the Saudi government again got directly involved in getting Nawaz Sharif out of prison and hosted him for more than seven years. Saudi financial support for some of the parties has also been widely reported.

Any kind of external involvement in domestic politics is a major impediment in the development of a democratic culture and polity in the country. Democracy is a process and cannot be imposed from outside. So what is the rationale of inviting external intervention in the local elections in a democratic system? Is the PTI or other political parties not, wittingly or unwittingly, weakening the democratic political process by calling for external intervention?

The writer is an author and journalist.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2015

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