The Parliament is supreme

If a Parliamentarian abuses and curses the Parliament, from where he takes his salary and allowances for five years before trying his or her luck for another term, he is actually abusing and cursing himself. What our elected leaders need to understand is the difference between the rulers and the rule, between the individual and the institution, and between the government and pillars of the state.

If this Parliament had done anything wrong, you have the right to come into power and change that rule or law. But by giving ‘laanat’ to the institution, you are also accusing your own party legislators as well as members of both treasury and opposition benches.

General Zia ul Haq called the Constitution of Pakistan a piece of paper, which he could tear into pieces anytime and he did that. Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended and held the Constitution in abeyance, not once but twice.

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, who abused the Parliament, had remained a member of this very institution at least seven times. He has the experience of serving both military dictators and their cronies during his political career.

Once can criticise the Parliament and its decisions, but abusing the institution, whether it is the judiciary, Parliament, or army, only weakens the pillars of the state.

You do not need a public poll: you can go with the same narrative in the elections and see whether people vote for you or for some other perception about the Parliament.

This is what happened in Lahore on Wednesday during a joint opposition show, which looked quite disjointed from the start and ended without further line of action. While Dr Tahir ul Qadri's attempt was to unite them but, in the end, it was 'divided they stand, united they fall'. Frustration was quite visible from the emotional speech of veteran politician Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, who once again abused the Parliament and, sadly, Imran Khan followed him.

All this happened only days after Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar termed 'Parliament as a supreme body' and said he is trying to bridge the gap between the two important institutions, judiciary and the parliament. But here are our Parliamentarians, cursing the institution which became their identity.

If someone like Sheikh Rasheed abuses or curses the Parliament after having been in the National Assembly almost seven times including the era of military dictators, I have no problem because he is a one-man army. But if a popular leader, who can be the prime minister tomorrow, abuses and curses the very institution which can make him leader of the lower house and chief executive of the country, it is most regrettable.

They both used similar language against the Parliament in 2014 and also resigned, but then returned to and accepted its supremacy of the same Parliament they had abused. Now, with hardly six months left for the general elections, Sheikh Rasheed has resigned again, but I am sure he will contest again with an aim to return to the same Parliament.

Imran and veteran leaders like Sheikh must know that it is the Institutions that are important and not the individuals. You can curse the rulers and the government of the day, but not the institution, not the Constitution, and not the system as you yourself are the product of this very system. It has made you Pakistan's leading politician from a leading cricketer.

Dr Tahirul Qadri, who can't even contest elections because of his alleged Canadian nationality, had used similar language against Parliament in 2012 and again in 2014. on Wednesday, even he did not use such harsh words against the Constitution, democracy or Parliament. On the contrary, he declared that whatever he would do would be in the parameters of the Constitution.

With only a few months left for elections, it is better if both the opposition and the ruling party concentrate on selection of candidates for the polls, focus on the electoral reforms that need to be implemented, and start looking for good candidates for the caretaker government.

Sheikh Rasheed is like Iftikhar Arif's 12th man (his famous poem) and lives in his own world. He is a popular speaker and a most-sought-after TV guest. Once a close aide of Nawaz Sharif, he never had any problems in serving military dictators from Zia to Musharraf. If Imran starts following Rasheed, one wonders where the PTI would finally land.

Imran has been Pakistan's most successful cricketer, one of the most successful captains, and the hero of World Cup 1992. He enjoyed a reputation of a clean politician and, in the last 20 years of his political career, brought his party to a position where it can win the next elections and can become the prime minister to fulfill his 'final dream'.

The road to the PM House goes through Parliament, which he is abusing today. If his party wins the next election, they would first have to take oath in this very House, followed by the election of the Leader of the House.

What happened in Lahore on Wednesday clearly reflects the failure of the opposition to muster enough support for a good cause, i.e. justice for Model Town martyrs and seven-year-old Zainab. But what one witnessed on the 'grand opposition stage' was a divided house.

'Divided they stand, united they fall'. What we saw was more of a big convention, in which key speakers were divided into two sessions, rather a grand public meeting.

However, setbacks are part of politics and PML-N or the government would be naive if they think that Imran Khan's popularity graph has come down. It could be the strong dissent of PTI workers and supporters against Imran's decision of sharing the stage with PPP co-chairperson and former President Asif Ali Zardari.

Similarly, the absence of a large number PPP supporters and workers is also a second wake-up call for the PPP leadership that the party co-chairperson is still not acceptable for the electorate in Punjab. He should once again listen to the advice given to him by senior colleagues, during a marathon three-day meeting in Dubai in 2015, to 'quit'.

The independence of Pakistan was the result of a democratic struggle led by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and not by any dictator. The first attack on the Constitutional rule and Parliament came soon after his death in 1948. Since then, majority rule always faced problems with those who believed in extra-constitutional rule.

Had we accepted the majority rule in this country and accepted the supremacy of the Constitution and the Parliament, we would not have produced G.M. Syed or Sheikh Mujeeb ur Rehman. Pakistan would not have faced the tragedy of 1971. All this happened because the 'minority' was not ready to accept the majority.

It is our dilemma that we could not produce good leaders or rulers because democracy was never allowed to take root. But if dictators imposed leaders and their self-styled rule on this country for over 34 years, and the judiciary provided them legitimacy, why blame, abuse, and curse the Parliament?

Imran, you are a hope for millions. From someone like you, one expects respect for the institutions as you yourself believe in institution building.

The writer is the senior columnist and analyst of GEO, The News and Jang

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO

Originally published in The News