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News & Comment
Interest Based Politics In Pakistan
News:
A multi-party conference (MPC) called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections on Friday rejected the results of the poll, demanding a "transparent" re-election.
Attended by leaders of various parties, the MPC was chaired by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman. It was held at the Islamabad residence of MMA leader Mian Aslam.
"The All Parties Conference has completely rejected the July 25, 2018 elections with consensus," announced Rehman while addressing the media after the PML-N-hosted conference concluded.
He said a movement will be started, and protests will be held to demand a re-election, the schedule of which would be decided by a committee within a day or two. The MPC will also approach other parties who have concerns over the elections but could not attend today's meeting, he announced. (Source: Dawn Newspaper)
Comment:
PTI was favored by many voters as its leader, Imran Khan is not tainted by corruption and has worked in building a cancer hospital and a university, so is seen as a good servant of the ordinary man. However, prior to the General Election on 25th July 2018, the winning party, PTI was strongly criticized by its own party leaders and workers, for awarding tickets to the so-called ‘electables’, especially those who just joined PTI during the last couple of months.
The choice of electables as a necessity did not sit well with many as these politicians are known to lack integrity and are in many cases part of the corrupt elite. They are simply political opportunists who change their loyalties at any time and they can count on blind loyalty from their constituents. Since the failure in the 2013 elections, PTI started to look desperately towards electable candidates, despite PTI initially presenting itself as a merit based party that wanted to keep away from corrupt politicians. In the process they lost some party workers who could not forgo their principles or reconcile what they believed to be the party ideology with the Chairman, Imran Khan’s actions.
PTI proved that the only way to win in elections in a Democracy is by putting interests before principles. The same goes for the Party’s that lost in the elections. With many differing opinions, they are all now united on a call for the elections to be declared null and void.
Both the case of the selection of electables, which no doubt assisted in the PTI win, and now the MPC alliance of the opposition shows that the political system inherited by Pakistan is an interest based system, it was never and will never be a system of principles or ethics. Hence it will not produce the much needed change that Pakistan needs.
Both the government, which will be a coalition and the opposition, which are colluding, shows us that the leaders in Pakistan are only basing their actions on interests for themselves and not for the interests of the Ummah. To secure their positions, even if they are seen as sincere, they will compromise their so-called principles and philosophies because in Capitalist, democratic dirty politics that is the name of the game.
The true Islamic Khilafah system is based on the method of RasulAllah (saw). In every situation of a potential compromise or of securing a benefit that was not in line with Islam, RasulAllah (saw) refused as the Islamic system is based on the Aqeedah of Islam, which makes politics (siyaasah) part of the worship of Allah (swt) and not an arena of deceit, corruption and self-interest.
The Ummah is in desperate need of political awareness and political actions according to this model and no other. Democracy is a system that is far from being correct and lacks the remotest possibility of producing any actual change so must be rejected and those who call for its application have themselves exposed its fallacy and inability to bring a vision for real change.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Nazia Rehman