With the lion’s share of NA seats, Punjab is the key to winning power in Pakistan, and the key to winning Punjab lies not so much in the larger cities, but in the chaks and villages of the rural hinterland.
And in the heart of rural Punjab, you can’t win elections based on slogans and pretty manifestos. When it comes to constituency politics in these areas, it’s all about who can better negotiate the local thana and katcheri (local court) and provide people jobs. Party policies, if they matter at all, are not a priority and the ability of local notables to get the job done is what’s of importance. That’s why these local ‘fixers’, be they the Chaudhrys or the Maliks, become so important for political parties that when time comes to awarding tickets, they are given preference over life-long party workers.
“The existence of the thana-katcheri culture simply reflects the overall weakness of the system,” says PPP Senator Raza Rabbani. “The state has failed to deliver justice,” he says, adding that the common man does not have the ability to solve his problems on his own and thus has to approach the influential persons of his area.
“The political class is not the only beneficiary of this culture, but there is one particular segment which is portraying politicians as responsible for every evil,” he added.
Asked about a solution, he said: “Civil service reforms, police and judicial reforms are the answer to the problem.”
“Law enforcement is almost extinct [in these areas],” a former police official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.
“The so-called long arm of the law is not strong enough and state institutions have almost become helpless as they lack power,” he added. Nature abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of the state, it’s the local power-brokers who reap the political benefits.
PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan lays the blame for this state of affairs at the doorstep of dictators.
Responding to a question about the cause of this culture, he said that democracy was in a fragile state thanks to several military interventions, due to which public institutions had been weakened.
While talking about his party’s future plans, he said “we will address these issues as several past initiatives, including increase in police salaries, did not yield desired results. We will pay special attention to the lower courts.’
But the PTI’s Senior Vice President Asad Umer seems to blame the political system itself for this failing.
“This culture is at the heart of our politics,” says Umer. “Power is grabbed and used against those who are not supporting you.”
He says only those who are willing to devolve power to the grassroots level will manage to eliminate this culture.
While referring to the PTI manifesto, he says the party has paid special attention to the revival of local government system and has pledged to depoliticise the state machinery.
“The same theme runs through every single policy of the PTI,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2013.