Friday, August 29, 2008 By by Ayaz Amir
In a land which has always excelled at all kinds of ironies—none more striking than the constant gap between rhetoric and reality—the ultimate irony has to be Asif Ali Zardari as president of the Islamic Republic. Someone more vilified and demonised over the years than even that other target of righteous anger, Gen Yahya Khan, chosen by the flow of events to preside over the breakup of Pakistan.
Who would have thought it? If anyone had predicted six or seven months ago that Mr Zardari was a potential presidential candidate, he would have invited ridicule or been denounced as a fool. Yet, this is what is coming to pass. If this be not the hand of destiny, what is?
From Governor General Ghulam Muhammad (in his last days in power a certified madman) to President Pervez Musharraf—whom we have just got rid of, perhaps only to realise that we may be about to take a jump from the frying pan into the fire—we’ve had quite a collection of heroes as our presidents. Set to join this pantheon is Asif Zardari.
Not the least of the ironies surrounding this imminent development is the circumstance that, although Zardari owes his rise to political prominence to his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, the question of his being considered for president would simply not have arisen had she been alive. The conventional wisdom prevailing in Pakistan People’s Party circles prior to Ms Bhutto’s tragic death was that her interests and those of her party were best served if Mr Zardari was kept away from the spotlight.
But into the spotlight he was thrust when untimely death removed her from the scene, making him the focal point around which the party rallied. He always had his detractors, within the party influential Sindhi politicos who found it hard to stomach the idea of being led by a Zardari (Zardaris not exactly being very high in the hierarchy of Sindhi politics), and outside it others who were in turns appalled and fascinated by his reputation for corruption.
But had he not seized the reins firmly the PPP would have been in trouble. It wasn’t easy filling Benazir Bhutto’s shoes but, on the whole, he managed the transition after her death pretty smoothly and, unlike the PML-N leadership which was torn between the merits of participation and a boycott, was very clear in his mind that the key to moving beyond the Musharraf era lay in election participation. As we can now see, this was the only correct strategy, as Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Mahmood Achakzai, et al, who took the boycott route to political irrelevance, have opportunity enough to contemplate.
The coalition was a good thing and the PPP and the PML-N were not playing false with each other when they entered into it. It was the strength of the coalition which made government-formation so easy at the centre and in Punjab and the other three provinces. And it was the same factor, amongst others, no doubt, which strengthened Zardaris’s hands, enabling him to pour cold water so easily over Amin Fahim’s overripe ambitions.
The judges’ issue was the rock on which the fragile barque of the coalition has finally split. Zardari has few excuses to make regarding this issue. He shouldn’t have made promises and entered into solemn commitments meant only to be broken. He had his reservations about Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry right from the start. But he should have been more open about them in his discussions with Nawaz Sharif, instead of following a course of action inviting charges of betrayal and even of treachery, and leading to the first signs of bad blood between the PPP and the PML-N since the elections.
People at large also feel betrayed because it was not for this that they delivered such a kick to the Musharraf order on Feb 18. Any opinion poll would tell us that there was overwhelming support in favour of the coalition surviving and getting a grip on the many problems facing the country. While those problems remain unaddressed conditions are being created for the PPP and the PML-N to go back to the bickering and conflict which was the hallmark of their politics in the 1990s.
Stability, above all, is what Pakistan needs at this juncture. The key to getting rid of Musharraf was the unity of the coalition. The need for this unity has not disappeared. The Americans are breathing down our necks, asking us to “do more” in FATA. We follow this advice blindly and keep chanting the mantra that America’s war is our war, and we risk getting sucked further into a spiral of conflict over which we will have little control. But we can resist this pressure and think priorities out for ourselves only if the two big political parties stay together, at least until the next elections, whenever they come.
Anyway, in the shape of a Zardari presidency the improbable is about to happen, My Lord Saeeduzaman Siddiqui’s candidacy, and friend Mushahid Hussain’s posturing—Mushahid a candidate of Musharraf’s party, the Q League—notwithstanding. For better or worse we will have to live with the consequences of this development. When Ronald Reagan became US president in 1980 there was no shortage of people tending to dismiss him as a B-grade actor. He went on to become one of the most influential presidents of recent times. It won’t do to dismiss Zardari as someone of no consequence, because everything about him should tell us that as president he won’t be a pushover. So it is best to size him up more realistically.
He won Benazir Bhutto’s hand in his own right, which was no mean undertaking. (Someone else trying to woo Ms Bhutto was the Customs officer, Shuja Shah, who, as legend has it, made the fatal mistake of writing to Gen Zia to seek permission to propose to Benazir Bhutto. This he did on the advice of Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi, Sindhi politician and columnist, who reportedly said that a job in Customs was not worth sacrificing even for a daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. One can only wonder what his thoughts on the subject would be now.)
Living in his wife’s shadow while retaining his own identity—even if that meant nurturing a reputation for cutting sleazy deals and promoting a culture of cronyism—was also not a small achievement. Look also at the way all the charges of corruption against him, most of them reputedly well-grounded, have fallen by the wayside. Even money-laundering charges in Swiss courts, potentially a danger point, have been dropped.
At one time a congressional sub-committee in Washington investigated Zardari’s foreign accounts, Shaukat “Shortcut” Aziz, then in Citibank, also being called upon to testify. All this is documented but the trail has gone cold or has been allowed to get cold. The Americans know all about it. Let’s just hope they don’t have any kind of hold on President-to-be Zardari, because if they do it only further complicates our security situation. A president open to blackmail…takes us into the realm of the unthinkable.
A bad sign about the future is the flourishing of cronyism in Islamabad these days. All those considered the usual suspects in previous PPP dispensations are back in position or are waiting in the wings to make a comeback. What about the reputation for sleaze and corruption? When Chaudry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi rose to power under Musharraf I thought this was one family that had no need to make more money. I was proved wrong. Are we about to see another edition of Mr Ten Percent or a break with the past? The jury has to be out on this one.
In the domain of national security we face another danger, and that comes from the American apologists holding key positions in the present government. They range from Hussain Haqqani in Washington to Maj Gen Mahmud Durrani and my friend Interior Adviser Rehman Malik in Islamabad. If they continue to influence decision-making we are in for some more hard times.
Email: chakwal@comsats.net.pk
Saturday 30 August 2008
Community: alien concept for Pakistan?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Dr Amin A Gadit
In recent times, it has been observed that community mindedness is fast disappearing in our nation. Historically, when Pakistan became independent in 1947, there was visible cohesion among people who are bound by emotions, national spirit and brotherhood. This was somewhat similar to the Ansar and Mohajireens in the Holy Prophet's era. There was a declaration that Pakistan was built for Muslims all over the world where they can practice their religion in its true spirit and philosophy. Though people belonged to different cultures, spoke different languages but they all were united under one banner and made numerous sacrifices for their independent homeland. There have been a number of jolts in the political arena of Pakistan since its earlier days.
Then, after the demise of the father of the nation, people were unable to focus their attention on any leader because of the type of governance and policies they supported. At this crucial time, conspiracies started to weaken the foundation of the country. It has always been said that there were 'hidden hands' but no one has ever known anything clear about this. People in those years were emotionally fragile and hence were manipulated. The concept of one nation started getting blurred by slogans for five different nations, Bengalis, Punjabis, Pakhtoons, Baluchis, Sindhis and this error was introduced by people who had a 'hidden agenda' and were never sincere to Pakistan.
The feudal system and focal kingdoms added momentum to this thought process. The national spirit was eroded by design and the perpetrators were successful in doing so by poisoning the thoughts to the extent that each nation within the country started identifying themselves as individual communities with nothing in common with the other communities. The worst example was witnessed in separation of the east wing of the country. The major compounding factor was the very low literacy level which, to date, has not reached appropriate proportion comparing in comparison with neighbouring states. Education in Pakistan by virtue of low priority was instrumental in blocking polished thought processes and arrested the development of psychological insight in terms of mutual care and understanding.
It appears that at different stages of development, various subtle psychological processes were operational, which gradually found a place in people's mindsets. In time, every nation started working for its own interest and each province of Pakistan started acquiring the sense of deprivation, discrimination and community prejudice. Later, another group was established which believed that their rights were sabotaged and were not accorded due recognition by any government. This group was distinct in the way that it did not fall into any particular category as they originally migrated from India and were called 'refugees'. Soon, there was another recognised community in Sindh known as 'Mohajirs'.
Further cracks came in when other provinces started to feel that the successive governments were failing in giving due provincial autonomy and rights. Gross unemployment and rising poverty further weakened the social fabric. But this malady was deeply coloured by massive corruption at all levels. Still Pakistan ranks very high when we talk about 'poverty line'; an enormous number of the population is deprived of basic needs of life. In a mega city such as Karachi there is dearth of electricity, water and gas. Economic progress has been made by an elite group in Pakistan; they get every luxury under the sun while a contrasting picture is that of people in majority living under abject poverty.
There is a money race as a result of which the sophisticated 'middle class' is fast disappearing. This leaves two distinct classes: the very rich and the very poor. This economic disparity has caused a huge psychological damage and promoted unhealthy behaviour among both the rich and poor. Corruption is so deep rooted in today's Pakistan that one cannot get anything, even rightly deserved, without bribery. The dream of a welfare state was never realised in our country which was perhaps on the agenda at the time of independence. The rulers had no time to look after the condition of the people who they ruled; instead, they were busier looking after their own welfare. Hence, the common people had no role models to follow. Faulty learning comes from high ups and it has rightfully transpired to the people.
Further bifurcation came when our religious leaders failed to inculcate the spirit of brotherhood which is the essence of religion. Earlier, the history had witnessed frictions among different sects which were perpetrated by a number of groups claiming superior understanding of religion over each other. This has created distances among people who are further alienated from each other. Constant suppression, insecurity, fears and frustration has caused a marked psychological fragility among the people. There is an atmosphere of distrust and mistrust among people which has ripened over the years and culminated to the point that the national spirit, mutual respect and care for each other is fast disappearing. People generally avoid helping and caring for each other for the fear of negative repercussions on one hand and microscopic hatred on the other hand based on all the aforementioned factors.
The people of Pakistan have undergone a severe emotional turmoil over the years that has resulted in emotional numbing, carelessness, self-centeredness, aggression, frustration and anxiety. This scenario has washed away the tender emotions of care and love. Also, in the wake of worldly gains, cohesion with religion has also weakened to the extent that even the basic principle of religion "huqooq-ul-ibad" (rights of people) are totally forgotten and are disregarded. Ironically, none of our leaders after Mr Jinnah endeavoured to inculcate this spirit; no role models emerged from religious or community groups. Countries that have progressed are because of the national spirit and community-mindedness. It is high time; we should do something to revive that spirit before it is too late.
The scenario may not be that bleak as there are good people somewhere around us who can take this initiative and emerge as 'role models'. We may get success in re-awakening the community spirit as the nation has temporarily shown unity and cohesion on at least two occasions: during the 1965 war and the recent earthquake. Media can play an effective and definitive role. Let's think deeply and listen to the inner voice. Hope to see a better tomorrow.
The writer is a psychiatrist based in Canada. Email: amin.muhammad@ med.mun.ca
Dr Amin A Gadit
In recent times, it has been observed that community mindedness is fast disappearing in our nation. Historically, when Pakistan became independent in 1947, there was visible cohesion among people who are bound by emotions, national spirit and brotherhood. This was somewhat similar to the Ansar and Mohajireens in the Holy Prophet's era. There was a declaration that Pakistan was built for Muslims all over the world where they can practice their religion in its true spirit and philosophy. Though people belonged to different cultures, spoke different languages but they all were united under one banner and made numerous sacrifices for their independent homeland. There have been a number of jolts in the political arena of Pakistan since its earlier days.
Then, after the demise of the father of the nation, people were unable to focus their attention on any leader because of the type of governance and policies they supported. At this crucial time, conspiracies started to weaken the foundation of the country. It has always been said that there were 'hidden hands' but no one has ever known anything clear about this. People in those years were emotionally fragile and hence were manipulated. The concept of one nation started getting blurred by slogans for five different nations, Bengalis, Punjabis, Pakhtoons, Baluchis, Sindhis and this error was introduced by people who had a 'hidden agenda' and were never sincere to Pakistan.
The feudal system and focal kingdoms added momentum to this thought process. The national spirit was eroded by design and the perpetrators were successful in doing so by poisoning the thoughts to the extent that each nation within the country started identifying themselves as individual communities with nothing in common with the other communities. The worst example was witnessed in separation of the east wing of the country. The major compounding factor was the very low literacy level which, to date, has not reached appropriate proportion comparing in comparison with neighbouring states. Education in Pakistan by virtue of low priority was instrumental in blocking polished thought processes and arrested the development of psychological insight in terms of mutual care and understanding.
It appears that at different stages of development, various subtle psychological processes were operational, which gradually found a place in people's mindsets. In time, every nation started working for its own interest and each province of Pakistan started acquiring the sense of deprivation, discrimination and community prejudice. Later, another group was established which believed that their rights were sabotaged and were not accorded due recognition by any government. This group was distinct in the way that it did not fall into any particular category as they originally migrated from India and were called 'refugees'. Soon, there was another recognised community in Sindh known as 'Mohajirs'.
Further cracks came in when other provinces started to feel that the successive governments were failing in giving due provincial autonomy and rights. Gross unemployment and rising poverty further weakened the social fabric. But this malady was deeply coloured by massive corruption at all levels. Still Pakistan ranks very high when we talk about 'poverty line'; an enormous number of the population is deprived of basic needs of life. In a mega city such as Karachi there is dearth of electricity, water and gas. Economic progress has been made by an elite group in Pakistan; they get every luxury under the sun while a contrasting picture is that of people in majority living under abject poverty.
There is a money race as a result of which the sophisticated 'middle class' is fast disappearing. This leaves two distinct classes: the very rich and the very poor. This economic disparity has caused a huge psychological damage and promoted unhealthy behaviour among both the rich and poor. Corruption is so deep rooted in today's Pakistan that one cannot get anything, even rightly deserved, without bribery. The dream of a welfare state was never realised in our country which was perhaps on the agenda at the time of independence. The rulers had no time to look after the condition of the people who they ruled; instead, they were busier looking after their own welfare. Hence, the common people had no role models to follow. Faulty learning comes from high ups and it has rightfully transpired to the people.
Further bifurcation came when our religious leaders failed to inculcate the spirit of brotherhood which is the essence of religion. Earlier, the history had witnessed frictions among different sects which were perpetrated by a number of groups claiming superior understanding of religion over each other. This has created distances among people who are further alienated from each other. Constant suppression, insecurity, fears and frustration has caused a marked psychological fragility among the people. There is an atmosphere of distrust and mistrust among people which has ripened over the years and culminated to the point that the national spirit, mutual respect and care for each other is fast disappearing. People generally avoid helping and caring for each other for the fear of negative repercussions on one hand and microscopic hatred on the other hand based on all the aforementioned factors.
The people of Pakistan have undergone a severe emotional turmoil over the years that has resulted in emotional numbing, carelessness, self-centeredness, aggression, frustration and anxiety. This scenario has washed away the tender emotions of care and love. Also, in the wake of worldly gains, cohesion with religion has also weakened to the extent that even the basic principle of religion "huqooq-ul-ibad" (rights of people) are totally forgotten and are disregarded. Ironically, none of our leaders after Mr Jinnah endeavoured to inculcate this spirit; no role models emerged from religious or community groups. Countries that have progressed are because of the national spirit and community-mindedness. It is high time; we should do something to revive that spirit before it is too late.
The scenario may not be that bleak as there are good people somewhere around us who can take this initiative and emerge as 'role models'. We may get success in re-awakening the community spirit as the nation has temporarily shown unity and cohesion on at least two occasions: during the 1965 war and the recent earthquake. Media can play an effective and definitive role. Let's think deeply and listen to the inner voice. Hope to see a better tomorrow.
The writer is a psychiatrist based in Canada. Email: amin.muhammad@ med.mun.ca
Expecting miracles from jackasses
Friday, May 30, 2008
Ayaz Amir
A strange nation we are, expecting wisdom from morons, radicalism from born opportunists, and virtue from knaves whose principal claim to fame is daylight national robbery.
What do we take the national scene to be, the result of a Nepalese revolution or a Chinese long march? Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after a deal brokered by the Yanks in whose prowess she had invested all her hopes. Nawaz Sharif's return to the country came about as a result of Saudi royal intervention. Hard to detect the glimmers of any Che Guevarism in either of these Roman triumphs.
Musharraf took off his uniform not because a million men and women, torches in hand, had besieged Army House but because the Yanks were twisting his elbow and support for him within the army command was waning. The lawyers' movement played a vital part in weakening him but lawyers take on too much upon themselves when they portray themselves as the heralds of the changes that have swept Pakistan.
All the leaders of the movement – from Aitzaz Ahsan to Munir A Malik to Ali Ahmed Kurd – are my friends. They are possessed of admirable qualities but modesty or humility, alas, is not the most conspicuous among them. They expect the world to change but themselves refuse to change, still stuck in the heady feelings generated by their movement last year. If the tide flows it also ebbs. Critical points come and pass. Their movement has lost its momentum and something more than Aitzaz's driving skills – his uncanny ability to arrive at every destination at least ten hours late – is needed to regain it.
The people made their views known on Feb 18 but only because they were given an opportunity to do so. If they had not been given that opportunity does anyone think that they would have taken to the streets and stormed the citadels of power? In which make-believe world do we live? Our capacity for being pushed around is virtually inexhaustible and our political class, far from honing the tools of political resistance, has arrived at the last stages of moral and intellectual bankruptcy.
If the Feb elections had been shelved, Pakistan would have dug a deeper hole for itself but the masses would not have stirred. A nation that could endure Ayub Khan for eleven years, that knight of darkness – Ziaul Haq – for another eleven, and a certified mediocre like Musharraf, a disaster in both war and peace, for eight and a half years, can put up with anything. Still the fact remains that whether the Yanks played around with the props on our political stage or the Saudi Royals had a hand in altering some of the background tapestry, elections were held, Musharraf and his pack of political jackals were roundly humiliated, and political parties reviled and abused, and kept out in the cold all these years, swept to a dramatic victory.
So the people were not remiss in expecting great things to happen. What they have received instead is another extended lesson in the workings of political bankruptcy, the political parties in whom the people had reposed their trust proving epic failures at political management. Instead of dealing with real issues and trying to figure out how to get the country out of the hole in which it is stuck they are chasing shadows, evening out old scores and charging at toothless dragons that have lost the power to spout any fire from their raging nostrils.
Zardari, to his credit, is being the man that he always was: interested in power and money. Courtesy of the deal struck with Musharraf (through the Yanks) he has just won himself the biggest reprieve in Pakistani history, all cases against him – and it was not easy counting them – having been wound up. The people of Pakistan may yet be awaiting their miracle but he has received his.
My Lord Dogar, presently adorning the highest chair in the Supreme Court, is the agent of this miracle. And the people of Pakistan, chumps as ever, expect Zardari to put Dogar in the doghouse while My Lord Iftikhar Chaudhry, symbol and hero of the lawyer-cum-judicial movement, sweeps into the Supreme Court. This won't happen in the real world as long as Zardari is around. So what he is doing is smiling all the time and spouting some of the worst clichés about institution-building that the people of Pakistan have had to put up with for a long time.
The people of Pakistan – ordinary people, that is, because some have had a ball – have had to put up with much all these years. But having to endure lectures on politics from Mr Zardari takes the prize. Those in the charmed circle of the PPP elect – that is, in Zardari's good graces and therefore enjoying office or importance – go about with trained smiles on their faces. Sherry, I said, was becoming a competent minister. She is also turning into a sophisticated version of the dreaded Mohammad Ali Durrani.
But imagine the plight of those not in this charmed circle. They have to take in all that they are subjected to without wincing or saying anything in return. Our political parties, all of them, produce no rebels. They turn out courtiers instinctively aware that discretion is the better part of valour.
So the nation is being fed a series of fibs as extended as the thousand and one tales of the Arabian Nights: all about constitutional packaging, etc. Zardari misses not a step when reciting this litany. Farooq Naek, the law minister, as he goes through the same paces looks a deeply unhappy man. Things are whirling out of control and the economy is sinking and the rupee taking a further dip every day but the political charade being played out in Islamabad goes on, each day bringing a fresh twist to it.
And what is that other great party of the people, the PML-N, doing? Heaping fresh imprecations on Musharraf's head when Musharraf is no longer the problem. Far from being a den of conspiracy, the erstwhile Army House where he is still holed up has now a house of sorrow, another lesson in what happens when the pomp and glory of power have fled. Yet the PML-N keeps harping on Musharraf as if with him gone or better still impeached, the bright morning Pakistan has long awaited will have finally arrived.
It is a sign of the state the PML-N is in that without giving the matter a second thought it overreacts to the appointment of a political nonentity like my old friend Salmaan Taseer (never mind if he is a smart finance man) as Punjab governor, turning Salmaan at least for 48 hours into a looming presence on the political landscape. Beware the time when Musharraf is finally no more because the time for excuses then will have run out. Whom them to blame for the nation's shortcomings or the ineptitude of the political class?
The PML-N also runs the risk of being perceived as a single-issue party. It has boxed itself so much into a corner over the judges' issue that it has drastically curtailed its room for manoeuvre. We will restore the judges, the party and its leaders thunder at every opportunity, when it lies not in their power to do so. The key to the restoration of the judges is in Zardari's pocket and he has other games to play and other accounts to settle.
The PML-N consoles itself with the thought that its graph is rising while the PPP's is plunging. That may be so but of what use a rising graph when it is hard to predict what is going to happen in the next five months, let alone the next five years. How long will the present pantomime last? Suppose it doesn't, will we head into an election or another night of the…I need not spell out the word. Zardari may be playing a negative game of his own but the PML-N's interest lies in seeing to it that the present experiment, centred on Pakistan's first attempt at coalition-building, lasts.
But for that it will have to break free from the shackles of the judges' issue. Perhaps it would if it got some help from the legal fraternity or even My Lord Chaudhry. But the legal community has run out of ideas while My Lord Chaudhry no longer seems capable of thinking outside the box. He has proved himself a great man in many respects but the gift that marks a Mandela from an ordinary mortal seems not to lie in his grasp. Someone with true greatness in his soul would have said by now 'all right I am ready to step aside provided Musharraf goes too, Dogar also goes, and the Nov 2 judiciary is restored' thus sacrificing self for a higher cause.
Iqbal, awakener of our souls, where has thy memory fled, where all thy songs exhorting us to emulate the flight of the eagle? At stake is the country's future, calling for vision and some measure of greatness. What we are getting is a dance by dummies and men of straw.
Email: chakwal@comsats.net.pk
Ayaz Amir
A strange nation we are, expecting wisdom from morons, radicalism from born opportunists, and virtue from knaves whose principal claim to fame is daylight national robbery.
What do we take the national scene to be, the result of a Nepalese revolution or a Chinese long march? Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after a deal brokered by the Yanks in whose prowess she had invested all her hopes. Nawaz Sharif's return to the country came about as a result of Saudi royal intervention. Hard to detect the glimmers of any Che Guevarism in either of these Roman triumphs.
Musharraf took off his uniform not because a million men and women, torches in hand, had besieged Army House but because the Yanks were twisting his elbow and support for him within the army command was waning. The lawyers' movement played a vital part in weakening him but lawyers take on too much upon themselves when they portray themselves as the heralds of the changes that have swept Pakistan.
All the leaders of the movement – from Aitzaz Ahsan to Munir A Malik to Ali Ahmed Kurd – are my friends. They are possessed of admirable qualities but modesty or humility, alas, is not the most conspicuous among them. They expect the world to change but themselves refuse to change, still stuck in the heady feelings generated by their movement last year. If the tide flows it also ebbs. Critical points come and pass. Their movement has lost its momentum and something more than Aitzaz's driving skills – his uncanny ability to arrive at every destination at least ten hours late – is needed to regain it.
The people made their views known on Feb 18 but only because they were given an opportunity to do so. If they had not been given that opportunity does anyone think that they would have taken to the streets and stormed the citadels of power? In which make-believe world do we live? Our capacity for being pushed around is virtually inexhaustible and our political class, far from honing the tools of political resistance, has arrived at the last stages of moral and intellectual bankruptcy.
If the Feb elections had been shelved, Pakistan would have dug a deeper hole for itself but the masses would not have stirred. A nation that could endure Ayub Khan for eleven years, that knight of darkness – Ziaul Haq – for another eleven, and a certified mediocre like Musharraf, a disaster in both war and peace, for eight and a half years, can put up with anything. Still the fact remains that whether the Yanks played around with the props on our political stage or the Saudi Royals had a hand in altering some of the background tapestry, elections were held, Musharraf and his pack of political jackals were roundly humiliated, and political parties reviled and abused, and kept out in the cold all these years, swept to a dramatic victory.
So the people were not remiss in expecting great things to happen. What they have received instead is another extended lesson in the workings of political bankruptcy, the political parties in whom the people had reposed their trust proving epic failures at political management. Instead of dealing with real issues and trying to figure out how to get the country out of the hole in which it is stuck they are chasing shadows, evening out old scores and charging at toothless dragons that have lost the power to spout any fire from their raging nostrils.
Zardari, to his credit, is being the man that he always was: interested in power and money. Courtesy of the deal struck with Musharraf (through the Yanks) he has just won himself the biggest reprieve in Pakistani history, all cases against him – and it was not easy counting them – having been wound up. The people of Pakistan may yet be awaiting their miracle but he has received his.
My Lord Dogar, presently adorning the highest chair in the Supreme Court, is the agent of this miracle. And the people of Pakistan, chumps as ever, expect Zardari to put Dogar in the doghouse while My Lord Iftikhar Chaudhry, symbol and hero of the lawyer-cum-judicial movement, sweeps into the Supreme Court. This won't happen in the real world as long as Zardari is around. So what he is doing is smiling all the time and spouting some of the worst clichés about institution-building that the people of Pakistan have had to put up with for a long time.
The people of Pakistan – ordinary people, that is, because some have had a ball – have had to put up with much all these years. But having to endure lectures on politics from Mr Zardari takes the prize. Those in the charmed circle of the PPP elect – that is, in Zardari's good graces and therefore enjoying office or importance – go about with trained smiles on their faces. Sherry, I said, was becoming a competent minister. She is also turning into a sophisticated version of the dreaded Mohammad Ali Durrani.
But imagine the plight of those not in this charmed circle. They have to take in all that they are subjected to without wincing or saying anything in return. Our political parties, all of them, produce no rebels. They turn out courtiers instinctively aware that discretion is the better part of valour.
So the nation is being fed a series of fibs as extended as the thousand and one tales of the Arabian Nights: all about constitutional packaging, etc. Zardari misses not a step when reciting this litany. Farooq Naek, the law minister, as he goes through the same paces looks a deeply unhappy man. Things are whirling out of control and the economy is sinking and the rupee taking a further dip every day but the political charade being played out in Islamabad goes on, each day bringing a fresh twist to it.
And what is that other great party of the people, the PML-N, doing? Heaping fresh imprecations on Musharraf's head when Musharraf is no longer the problem. Far from being a den of conspiracy, the erstwhile Army House where he is still holed up has now a house of sorrow, another lesson in what happens when the pomp and glory of power have fled. Yet the PML-N keeps harping on Musharraf as if with him gone or better still impeached, the bright morning Pakistan has long awaited will have finally arrived.
It is a sign of the state the PML-N is in that without giving the matter a second thought it overreacts to the appointment of a political nonentity like my old friend Salmaan Taseer (never mind if he is a smart finance man) as Punjab governor, turning Salmaan at least for 48 hours into a looming presence on the political landscape. Beware the time when Musharraf is finally no more because the time for excuses then will have run out. Whom them to blame for the nation's shortcomings or the ineptitude of the political class?
The PML-N also runs the risk of being perceived as a single-issue party. It has boxed itself so much into a corner over the judges' issue that it has drastically curtailed its room for manoeuvre. We will restore the judges, the party and its leaders thunder at every opportunity, when it lies not in their power to do so. The key to the restoration of the judges is in Zardari's pocket and he has other games to play and other accounts to settle.
The PML-N consoles itself with the thought that its graph is rising while the PPP's is plunging. That may be so but of what use a rising graph when it is hard to predict what is going to happen in the next five months, let alone the next five years. How long will the present pantomime last? Suppose it doesn't, will we head into an election or another night of the…I need not spell out the word. Zardari may be playing a negative game of his own but the PML-N's interest lies in seeing to it that the present experiment, centred on Pakistan's first attempt at coalition-building, lasts.
But for that it will have to break free from the shackles of the judges' issue. Perhaps it would if it got some help from the legal fraternity or even My Lord Chaudhry. But the legal community has run out of ideas while My Lord Chaudhry no longer seems capable of thinking outside the box. He has proved himself a great man in many respects but the gift that marks a Mandela from an ordinary mortal seems not to lie in his grasp. Someone with true greatness in his soul would have said by now 'all right I am ready to step aside provided Musharraf goes too, Dogar also goes, and the Nov 2 judiciary is restored' thus sacrificing self for a higher cause.
Iqbal, awakener of our souls, where has thy memory fled, where all thy songs exhorting us to emulate the flight of the eagle? At stake is the country's future, calling for vision and some measure of greatness. What we are getting is a dance by dummies and men of straw.
Email: chakwal@comsats.net.pk
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