ON Friday, two days after a stinging endorsement from the US House of Representatives of widespread concerns regarding the legitimacy of our recent general election, the National Assembly formally dismissed ‘Resolution 901’ as “interference” in Pakistan’s internal affairs and an “attempt to undermine the state”.
The Pakistani counter-resolution against HR901 did not pass with the same overwhelming support accorded to the latter, however. Our parliament was only able to get a simple majority of lawmakers to endorse the repudiative resolution, while the US Congress had seen 85pc of its membership voting 98pc in favour of a “full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in the Feb 8 election.
The PTI refused to vote in favour, saying it was not consulted. Instead, it seemed to be revelling in the world’s self-appointed ‘democracy police’ rebuking the Pakistani government, which, it must be said, should drop the pretence that all is well when it clearly is not.
Our lawmakers’ failure to stand united in the face of foreign criticism may not have been unexpected, given the vitiated political climate, but it was still disturbing to witness. Matters are now at a point where our representatives do not care if the world perceives Pakistan as a house divided. The treasury benches’ condemnation of those who refused to vote in favour would only have solidified this perception.
The nay-sayers were immediately branded ‘terrorists’, ‘traitors’, and ‘enemies of the state’ who had, in the words of one particularly self-righteous MNA, “no right to call themselves Pakistanis”. With such a propensity to spew venom against political opponents, it is no wonder that our parliamentarians are having trouble finding common grounds, even where questions of national sovereignty are concerned.
It may be recalled that the US Congress’s resolution had also condemned “attempts to suppress the people of Pakistan’s participation in their democracy, including through harassment, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, restrictions on access to the internet and telecommunications or any violation of their human, civil, or political rights”.
But while it is a fact that these are all realities for the Pakistani people, it is not up to a foreign parliament to dictate how we should be running our country. Likewise, this publication has demanded a transparent inquiry into the last general election, but it does not believe anyone except the people of this country can make that demand.
The US has its own messy legacy to consider of sabotaging democratic governments and propping up dictators around the world. Our problems are our own to resolve. The country has suffered much from foreign interference and must learn to act as a sovereign state. At the same time, it cannot expect to act poorly and not get noticed.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2024
