The National Assembly officially rejected “Resolution 901” on Friday, two days after the US House of Representatives vehemently endorsed popular concerns about the validity of our most recent general election. They described it as “interference” in Pakistan’s internal affairs and a “attempt to undermine the state.”
However, the Pakistani counter-resolution to HR901 did not receive the same resounding approval as the latter. While 98 percent of US Congress members voted in favor of a “full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in the election on February 8, just a simple majority of MPs supported the repudiative motion in our parliament.
The PTI said it was not consulted, thus it declined to vote in favor. Rather, it appeared to be celebrating the world’s self-appointed “democracy police” criticizing the Pakistani government, which, let’s face it, needs to stop pretending everything is fine when it obviously isn’t. Even if it was inevitable given the poisonous political atmosphere, it was unsettling to see our politicians fail to unite in the face of criticism from abroad. Things have gotten to the point where our officials don’t give a damn if Pakistan is seen as a divided country by the outside world. This impression would have been reinforced if the Treasury benches had publicly denounced those who abstained from voting in favour.
The critics were labeled as “terrorists,” “traitors,” and “enemies of the state” right once, with one especially arrogant MNA saying that they had “no right to call themselves Pakistanis.” It is understandable that our legislators are struggling to find common ground, even on issues of national sovereignty, given their tendency to spew hate speech at political opponents.
Remember that in its resolution, the US Congress also denounced “any attempt to impede the Pakistani people from participating in their democracy, including through threats, harassment, and violence, as well as arbitrary detention, limitations on internet and telecommunications access, and any other violation of their civil, political, or human rights.” While it is true that the Pakistani people must deal with these realities, it is not the place of a foreign parliament to prescribe how we should govern our nation. Similarly, our publication has called for an open investigation of the most recent national election, but it feels that no one else can make that call save the citizens of this nation.
The US has a troubled history of undermining democratic regimes and supporting autocrats all across the world. We must solve our own difficulties. The nation needs to learn how to function as a sovereign state because it has suffered greatly from international meddling. It cannot, however, conduct badly and hope that no one notices.