LAHORE-Following victory in the ‘most historic’ elections of the country, it is that time of season for which candidates wait for so anxiously. Entering the glittering House(s), donned in Sherwanis and top designers outfits, accompanied by VIPs, families, friends and fans, and surrounded by a heavy contingents of media men, it’s time for the moment of a meaningless ritual   ‘the oath taking’.

Being a vital ingredient, oath of office is supposed to be the backbone of what makes public ‘servants’ accountable to ‘whom’ they serve. But like bridal dresses, the lavish ‘oath-taking’ is danced about for a day or two and then left to gather dust in the closet of morality   forgotten and forgiven.

Public servants elected, directly or indirectly, to head mega institutions are sworn to use power with the best of their intentions and abilities for the county. This swearing takes place in front of witnesses, both friends and foes, and is considered to be a historic moment. On face of it, watching the newly-elected swearing it seems like all the problems of the country have been diagnosed and de-bugged and put to task, all at once.

But the oath taking has lost its true sense, as the ceremony now is merely a point marking the entry into the alley of power.

The words uttered by power-touched men and women and the promises made therein – in public and broadcasted around the world – has seen slight changes since the inception of this country but the crux remains the same. Almost all the oaths, old and new, of high offices in this land of the pure comprise of belief in basic articles of Islam, bearing allegiance to the state and its constitution and discharging the duties involved honestly and to the best of the abilities in the inertest of the sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of the state and well-being and prosperity of the people inhabiting it.

In discharging of their duties the oath-takers undertake to rise above personal and sectional interests, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. And almost all the oaths end with a well wishing prayer like ‘May the Almighty help and guide me (A'meen).’

Going through these oaths, it seems like the person elected is either already the most upright and pious person ever seen by this land or he/she would transform into Mother Teresa right after the one minute oath.

Personally, I don’t think the level of uprightness involved in the spiritual deal was ever achieved by any public office holder since the making ofPakistan– imagine dictators taking oaths. Yahya Khan and the like being the most ‘glittering’ examples of oath violators in our brief history.

In recent past, Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf dishonoured the oath he took as an army man by desecrating the constitution and he disgraced the oath of his presidential office too, not once.

Our current president, Asif Ali Zardari, happily took oath from Musharraf, despite his being declared the ‘killer’ of his wife – PPP ex-chief Benazir Bhutto –and an enemy of ‘democracy’, which has always been so ‘dear’ to the PPP. The former General-President was also seen-off with all state honours.

And now PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has taken oath from President Zardari, who was repeatedly declared by Punjab chief minister and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, as a ‘corruption mafia don’. With the swearing in of Dr Abdul Malik as Balochistan chief minister on Sunday, the process of power transition stands complete.

Now it is on the oath-takers to show at least a fair degree of respect to their oaths and deliver, because thanks to the media, men on the streets are well-aware now and are desperately looking for other options. If these refurbished ‘democratic’ leaders do not honour words uttered by themselves, they might be forced to taste what PPP and ANP just tasted.