ISLAMABAD: Terming Shehbaz Sharif’s government ‘hybrid 2.0’, former Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has said he still thinks the current establishment is not neutral.
‘Hybrid system did not deliver’
In an exclusive interview with Wenews, the former PPP leader said Pakistan has spent the last 75 years as a security state.
“This is the reason democracy did not flourish in Pakistan. Personalities and faces have been changing in Pakistan for 75 years. During the tenure of Gen Ayub Khan, the sister of the founder of Pakistan and the mother of the national Fatima Jinnah was declared a traitor. They were different faces (then). When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, they were other faces,” he said, adding that even in the recent past, a hybrid system did not deliver, and those who brought the hybrid system sent it packing.
‘Establishment will to confine to constitutional role’
Khokhar said that politicians and the establishment will have to confine (themselves) to their constitutional role. “Now, everyone will have to sit together and decide how democracy can be promoted in the country. We have to do away with our identity as a security state. If we are not recognised as a democratic dispensation (in the world), no one will invest in Pakistan. There is no rule of law in our country. No international investor could earn anything by investing money in Pakistan. Examples of Reko Diq and Karkey rental power projects are in front of us,” he said.
Political parties should always be ready for elections
Answering a question, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that “I am sad that parties in the current government used to talk about the constitution, democracy and human rights in the presence of a hybrid system in the past, and today they are talking about postponing elections in contravene to the spirit of the constitution. The ruling coalition also has parties whose founders have signatures on the basic documents of the constitution. But today, they say that if elections are not held in 90 days, and the constitution is not implemented, then it does not matter. Political parties always remain ready for elections.”
‘We have to change Pakistan’
Khokhar said that many Pakistanis have started leaving Pakistan due to economic problems.
“We have to change Pakistan. I (Mustafa Nawaz Khokar), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Miftah Ismail are working on (the idea) of “Re-Imagining Pakistan”. We want an end to the establishment’s political role now. Democracy should flourish. We want the natural talent in Pakistan to come to the fore. We are not thinking of forming a political party right now, and unless our voice reaches the powers that be, how can we start a movement?”
‘Will contest upcoming elections as independent candidate’
Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that all parties have strengths and weaknesses. “But I will contest the next election as an independent candidate. One person can defeat everyone by contesting elections alone based on ideology. In the past, Zulfikar Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and others fought alone and succeeded.”
