Changing the trend: Geo’s Jirga programme aims at finding solutions to country’s problems

Pakistani politics nowadays comprises mostly of one politician attacking the other with slanderous allegations. This gives rise to personal enmity and leaves the country’s real issues — faced by the common man— unattended. In order to solve this conundrum. To find a solution to the problem, Geo News anchor Saleem Safi invited a panel comprising seasoned politicians — the PPP’s Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, the PML-N’s Musadiq Malik, the PTI’s Nadeem Afzal Chan and analyst Shahzad Chaudhry — to his show Jirga.

When asked to identify a genuine issue faced by our society, Musadiq said Pakistani society was not clear on the principles it was supposed to stand by.

“If you speak out against freedoms in American society, people will rise up against you. If you speak out against social justice in the Nordic region, people there will be against you,” he said. “As a society and a nation, we are not clear about the principles we should uphold. There is no discussion in Pakistan on genuine issues because there is nothing here that works apart from people accusing each other.”

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said Pakistan had been dragged into certain events “that were out of its control” owing to which serious problems plagued the country. He said that it was important for the country to realise that it need not act as a “facilitator” in anyone else’s war or conflict. The PPP senator said it was ultimately up to politicians and intellectuals of the country to refine the thinking process of the nation so that more light could be should on the problems of the common man.

Air Vice Marshall (retd) Shahzad Chaudhry said the only reason why the problems of the common man were not being discussed on a national level was that politicians did not perform for the masses.

“If you don’t do your job, someone other institution tends to try to contribute for the country’s good,” he said. “Then the other institution thinks interference is taking place and all.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan said that the main reason why problems of the common person were being ignored was that political parties had become “dysfunctional”.

“There is a process through which the common man elects councilors, MPAs and MNAs,” he said. “So that his voice can travel to the prime minister. That process is not being followed and our political parties are not functional as they should be.”

Countering Shahzad Chaudhry’s statement, Musadik Malik said politicians were not able to perform in the country because they thought that they had not reached the corridors of power by popular vote.

“If a politician knows he was not elected by the masses, why would he even bother addressing their issues?” he asked.

Shahzad Chaudhry said one of the main problems facing the country was that the elite had cut off its links with the masses. He said not many people realised that Pakistani society currently was in a state of anarchy. He said it was important for the three main institutions — the prime minister, the cabinet and the parliament — to perform their duties diligently.

He said that some sections of the government were afraid of the bureaucracy, which was alarming.

"If you are afraid of the bureaucracy, then the army comes at a very later stage. Politicians must look inwards to find out why the bureaucracy are not obeying them?" he wondered.  

Malik said that there was the need for a platform where politicians, judges and the armed forces personnel could gather together to form a consensus on national issues. 

Chan concluded the discussion by saying that the armed forces and civil government had presented a united front on various issues such as the Salala checkpost attack, the Osama bin Laden assassination and other crisis. 

"Hence, we know that there is a space that we can utilise," he said. "However, we need to figure out how to utilise that space."

Throughout the show, the panelists praised the theme of the show — to highlight the genuine issues and problems being faced by Pakistanis — instead of focusing on political personalities. 

The guests on the show agreed that much needed to be done and more discussions on real problems faced by the masses needed to be held to improve the situation. 

The episode was a breath of fresh air as it shed light on problems faced by the entire nation at large and provided a platform to elected representatives of the people and a seasoned analyst to determine its solution.