Islamabad, Aug 24 — Citizens of Pakistan appeared indifferent to the August 14 Independence Day celebrations this year amid economic hardships, rampant corruption, elite capture of state institutions, soaring prices and rising taxes in the country, a report has stated.
The worsening internal security situation and the continued imprisonment of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have further deepened public frustration, with many feeling that the country’s ruling elites are enjoying their lives, while ordinary citizens are leading their lives in “misery and squalor”, a report in the 'International Centre for Peace Studies' detailed.
“Pakistan recently celebrated its 79th Independence Day. It is time to reflect on what Pakistan has achieved since it was partitioned from India in 1947. Today, Pakistan appears to be standing at the same crossroads where it was in 1947 — in fact, in a much worse condition. While a civilian government is officially in charge, the military establishment has taken real control behind the scenes and is effectively running the country,” the report mentioned.
“Pakistan’s people, although they achieved a separate country, are still not truly free. When Pakistan was created, the political and intellectual vision associated with its leading figures — including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, Liaquat Ali Khan, Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, and A.K. Fazlul Huq — was very different,” it added.
The report noted that Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz were among the prominent figures who attended the 79th Independence Day celebrations on August 14 in Islamabad, all representing Punjab. Despite Pakistan having four provinces, it said, leaders from the other three provinces were not invited, with the event being “visibly hijacked by the military”.
“More importantly, when Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, addressed the event, he was only buttering and flattering Field Marshal Asim Munir, publicly indulging in ‘ego-massaging’ the army chief. Similarly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also flattering Asim Munir, and it seemed that the president and the prime minister were competing with each other as to who would win the contest of cosying up to the army chief,” the report mentioned.
“The political leadership had nothing to offer in terms of vision or roadmap for the country. Unable to bring peace at home, the leadership is seeking to make peace abroad and be a global peacemaker, forcing the media to offer exaggerated space and coverage to it,” it added.
Calling the presidential address "shameful", the report said the President of Pakistan holds the country’s highest constitutional office, making it deeply embarrassing to see Zardari “ stoop so low” by publicly flattering a military chief. It said the episode starkly demonstrated the extent to which Pakistan’s civilian leadership has been subordinated to the military establishment.
The report noted that the event “exposes the opportunism of the civilian leadership, which appears more concerned with remaining in the military’s good books to secure its political survival rather than upholding the dignity and independence of the constitutional office it occupies.”
Similarly, it said, Sharif risks setting a troubling precedent in Pakistan’s political history by becoming perhaps the first prime minister to complete his five-year term in office by effectively surrendering his authority completely to the army chief.
“He has taken hybridity to its logical conclusion — a de facto military-controlled state apparatus turning democracy to a joke,” the report stated.