Ordinary mortals and their 'extraordinary leaders'

LAHORE, June 16: Elected representatives belonging to the ruling party as well as opposition regard themselves super-creatures compared to their constituents, the ordinary mortals.

They seek for themselves privileges and concessions not available to the common man. What the people have to face in their daily lives in the name of the law breaches the privilege of our (mis)leaders.

They are persistent in their struggle to get a better treatment even if they are involved in criminal cases, leaving their voters at the mercy of the circumstances.

On Wednesday, deputy opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Rana Sanaullah Khan raised the issue of the arrest of PML-N MPA Dr Nazir Mithu, demanding that a committee of the house should listen to his point of view on the nature of cases against him.

He pointed out that all accused of the dacoity-cum-murder case, on the basis of which the leader from Burewala had been apprehended, had been identified and Dr Mithu was not among them.

Making it clear that he was "not" seeking production orders for the legislator, Rana said he only wanted his colleague's point of view heard by a house committee. However, many faces fell as Law Minister Raja Basharat revealed that more than 40 cases were pending against the legislator whose details were available with him.

Still, the minister said, he was ready to meet opposition lawmakers in the chamber of the speaker on Sunday to discuss the matter. The question is why at all Dr Mithu should be produced before a house committee to present his point of view.

Why the lawmaker doesn't let the law take its own course? Why he doesn't seek justice through a network of courts or the police whose culture, it is said, has been changed by the chief minister after much hard work?

In fact, the superiority complex of the legislators is one of the most serious problems of our society. They don't come down to the level of the common man, as a result of which they are always unaware of their hardships. They are also unable to set priorities to solve the problems of the people.

It is for this reason that the basic problems of the people remain unsolved, no matter which party is in power and how much money is spent for various sectors. If Dr Mithu has been wronged, as his colleague feel, they should strive to bring an end to what they call victimization.

They should work for the collective good of the people instead of wasting their energies only on Dr Mithu's case. They should force the government to reform its policies. It hardly matters whether or not the speaker was informed about the arrest in time.

Not long ago, when a PML chief minister was ruling Punjab with the backing of the PPP, MPA Inamullah Khan Niazi was arrested from the premises of the assembly. His then colleague Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had done his best - even offered his Mercedez to Niazi to enable him to escape.

But the police did not spare him. Niazi had locked himself in the four wheeler, but a policeman forcibly took over the steering. He was driven to a police station, where he was 'properly entertained in a drawing room', to borrow the police terminology.

Victimization will go on unabated unless serious efforts are made to bring an end to it. During the Question-Hour on Wednesday it transpired that provincial adviser Jehangir Tareen owed over Rs 22 million in sugar cess.

Food Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, who has been in various cabinets since 1985, had to face some embarrassing moments while defending the adviser. He told the house that he would request the adviser to clear his dues according to the arrangement already agreed upon.

Some opposition leaders picked up the word 'request' and complained that it was used for the mighty ones while the weaker ones had to face high-handedness. They pointed out that Mr Tareen was a defaulter and thus not fit to hold a public office. The minister denied the assertion.

Many ministers in the provincial cabinet fear that they may lose their jobs because their boss is not satisfied with their performance. Those who have tasted power for the first time feel more insecure.

Ironically, the chief minister is not prepared to clarify reports that over a dozen ministers may be asked to quit. He parried a question on the subject even at a news conference on Tuesday.

Members of the ruling party defended the ministers at a meeting of their parliamentary party on Wednesday. They told the chief minister that ministers were very polite with them and they always received them well in their offices.

However, the MPs complained that whenever they sought their help for the solution to any problem, the ministers expressed their helplessness. Privately, some ministers say that all powers are with the chief minister and they can't order the transfer of even a junior employee.

This situation has created unrest and some ministers predict that President Musharraf may have to hold fresh elections by the end of the year. They argue that Gen Musharraf cannot afford to hold the local elections under the supervision of the present setup as by doing so he would be surrendering NWFP and Balochistan to the MMA.

They think that by holding general elections before the local polls, Gen Musharraf may get results of his choice, get the constitution amended and wriggle out of the obligation to take off his uniform. But this is all gossip.