Pakistan’s Tahrir Square is Waiting For its Occupants

Famous American scholar, Samuel P. Huntington, writes in his famous celebrated book Clash of Civilizations that whenever there is a youth bulge in a country, it experiences political turmoil or instability. The recent Arab Spring is a manifestation of the energy of youth channelised for constructive change. It was a spectacular event in the Arab history and even radicals like Bin Laden were very much excited about its prospects, as has been mentioned in the Letters of Osama Bin Laden released by US government Among them, the most important change with far-reaching strategic consequences has been brought in Egypt which is among one of the most important countries of the Middle East. The locus of change in Egypt was Tahrir square which has now become a symbol of change all over the world, even the famous ‘Occupy Wall Street Movement’ was inspired by the mass demonstrations at Tahrir square. It is now a symbol of liberation against the dictatorship of military junta, against brutal use of force by military against its own citizens, their political power and against freedom from oppression ‘a symbol of hope, justice and of meaningful change in the country. Amongst all other things which characterised Arab spring including the new use of social media, leaderless demonstrations, and the most important phenomenon was the high participation level of youth which shows their importance in bringing change in any country.

Pakistan had a similar problem of military rule as the Egyptians but with a different history. Pakistanis are now having a democratically elected government but its performance is pathetically poor. The government is plagued by corruption and mismanagement, economic indicators are at a historic low and are showing no signs of improvement. The country is facing acute electricity shortage while the violence has not stopped for a single day in Karachi and is again on the rise in Balochistan, FATA  and other parts of the country. In the given context change is inevitable but how that change can come ‘through demonstrations, sit-ins or what is the appropriate way to rid Pakistan of these ailments. Where is the Pakistan’s Tahrir square and its occupants?

Tahrir square is a symbol of struggle against military rule and its injustice. Compared to Egyptians, we have already built three Tahrir squares in our history against dictators: against Ayub, Yahya and Gen. Musharraf while Gen. Zia became a victim of his own ill fate. We are a more vibrant and resilient nation as we could not tolerate a dictator for more than almost a decade and threw him out of his  throne while Egyptians had tolerated Hosni Mubarak for thirty years before they stood up against him. Lahore, which is rightly termed as the political capital of Pakistan (administrative capital is Islamabad) has been the hotspot for the initiation of any movement against the dictators and in Lahore mass gatherings at The Mall proved to be the last nail in the coffins of the despot’s throne. The most recent struggle we have witnessed through our eyes is against Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf in which Lahore particularly demonstrations at GPO Chowk The Mall, played a critical role. During emergency when no one dared to conduct a political meeting, lawyers dared to gather in front of GPO Chowk and turned the fate of Pakistan by challenging the autocracy of the despot Pervaiz Musharraf. So The Mall of Lahore can be compared to the Tahrir square of the Cairo.

We are quite capable to topple regimes be they democratic ones or the autocratic ones but what we have been unable to do is to ‘construct ‘a post destruction imperative for a revolution to be successful. We have toppled regimes frequently but we have been unable to bring a meaningful structural change after toppling them. That has been the fundamental flaw in our political movements and that is why our Tahrir squares have leaded us to nowhere. Now, since we have made a successful transition to a democratic system and in a democracy change never comes through a revolution but through elections. Only success in elections means one can bring a meaningful structural change in the country and take the country out of the darkness of disillusionment, despair, and take it towards the new horizons of freedom, development and justice. So, in the current scenario, Pakistan’s Tahrir square, i.e. the symbol of change is  the ‘polling booths’ of each and every constituency of the country for which the youth should mobilise themselves and fill them with votes for the party which deserves them. The ballot boxes are waiting for its occupants to be filled with a huge number of votes for the right candidate. Youth have the capacity to do this as Pakistan’s major chunk of population consists of youth and in the upcoming general elections they have to play the decisive factor. It is not just rhetoric but figure and facts support this argument. First of all, thirty-five million unverified votes have been eliminated from the electoral rolls and forty million new voters have been added in the lists among them the majority of which is the youth who have been recently added to electoral lists. Secondly, youth is more conducive and adapted to the use of modern communication technologies e.g. text message, social media etc. which are the new and lethal weapons of propaganda. Also, the government authorities like the Election Commission is using these technologies e.g. text message service for vote verification which goes to the benefit of youth. Thirdly, major chunk of voters in every constituency will consist of youth. Fourthly, Imran Khan and electronic media have made in general urban middle class and particularly youth, highly politicised due to which they will definitely vote in the upcoming general elections and their participation can turn the tables. And lastly, every major political party, particularly in Punjab, is trying to engage youth through their policies which represents their importance as a constituency. Also, the drastic economic situation of the country has brought the youth on the verge of either leaving the country and or to change the status quo by using their power of vote.

So, the youth have to understand and recognise their importance and have to participate with full zeal in the upcoming general elections. By turning every polling booth into a Tahrir square lined up by long queues for voting; by taking the voter turnout at the highest possible level, and by choosing the right party and candidate, the people of Pakistan particularly youth can bring change in their country. This is the only multipronged strategy through which they can not only bring meaningful structural change in the country but also provide assurance of the continuity of the democratic system as a clean and efficient government would have moral legitimacy from the masses and would be more secure from the threat of being toppled down by the military junta. Had the Egyptians not elected the right candidate in their presidential elections, all their efforts would have gone futile.