Dreams dashed

Those of democracy’s detractors

The circumstances have changed in a matter of few days; it’s as if somebody has turned off a switch suddenly or as if marionettes have had their strings abruptly snapped and they now lie lifeless centre-stage. The memo scandal, which some ignoramuses in their excitement branded Memogate, is about to reach its conclusion. Behind the recipe for Memogate is the same pernicious attitude which has been behind the many plans to oust Mr Zardari from the presidency.

The ‘-gate’ actually comes from the Watergate scandal. Watergate is actually the name of a complex of five buildings where the head-office for the Democratic National Committee. It was here the tapes that implicated President Nixon were recorded. When these tapes first surfaced, President Nixon denied any knowledge of these recordings but investigative reporting proved that not only did President Nixon know about the recording but had actually heard a portion of them as well. After his fabrication was caught, his impeachment became an inevitability. To save face, the president instead chose to resign and this was the drop scene of the Watergate scandal. After reading this brief background, you, dear reader, must be able to gauge that by attaching the -gate suffix to memo (which did not exist), it was attempted to implicate President Zardari of involvement in the entire saga and to hope for a similar outcome for him as that befell President Nixon. While Watergate was a scandal that actually caught the president red-handed, this so-called ‘Memogate’ was based on a fictitious scrap of paper.

Other than the memo case, the point of President Zardari’s health was also sensationalised. This time the inventive fiction was that the president had left the country being afraid of the fallout from the memo case. Aijaz-ul-Haq even claimed with certainty that the president would directly go to London from Dubai and not come back. But the hopes of his detractors were dashed when he came back after a routine check-up. When I look at those days, I am amazed how such fabrications can be created and then disseminated in this age of communication where verification is one call or email away. More importantly, why are such fabrications created and spread? Did the progenitors of these lies forget that they will be called out in a matter of days when the president returned? Similarly, when the memo case reaches its conclusion, the many analysts who have held forth on it at length, how will they save face?

It was also said (or hoped against hope) by many of these writers and analysts that the Senate elections would not take place. Taking the air out of these political Bocrateses, I said that the Senate elections had nothing to do with the government’s survival and thus why were these naysayers constructing the edifices of their hopes and dreams around the Senate elections? The elections have come and pass and nothing much has changed, as it was said that it won’t.

But the Senate elections have afforded the PPP an opportunity to bring forward its loyalists. Chairman Nayyar Bukhari is a PPP veteran and extremely loyal to the party. He has been there for the party through thick and thin. The deputy chairman Sabir Baloch’s identity is also inextricably linked with his party. He has also been with the party through all kinds of times and has never been desirous of any influential posts especially while the party is in power. I have known him for 25 years and am pretty sure that he must not have even expressed the desire for this post, let alone lobby for it. Actually, the PPP has put its best foot forward in the Senate elections by the selecting the best possible roster.
Everybody was a little shocked and saddened by Aslam Gul’s defeat. But the party worker’s reaction at his defeat was admirable. Instead of complaining, he thanked his party for the ticket and did not utter a bad word about those who abandoned him for the elections. The party, though, did not abandon him and made him minister of state and an advisor to the PM.

On the other hand, Farooq Naek’s exit was an almost done deal. Many reports had surfaced about him that he had used his authority as Chairman Senate carelessly. But the real reason for his departure was a moment of weakness when he thought that he might get the chance to be president if President Zardari was ousted. President Zardari had trusted him to the hilt and nobody would’ve thought that he could even entertain this thought. But he was not able to honour this relationship of trust.

In my opinion, the selection of candidates for the Senate elections has strengthened the PPP and bolstered the confidence of the workers in the leadership. It has shown that President Zardari doesn’t operate on the basis of nepotism and favouritism. With the Senate elections out of the way, it seems he will have some smooth sailing ahead. His opponents have no gameplan to speak of. By taking the Chaudhry brothers on board, President Zardari has virtually checkmated his opponents as this is a ploy for which they have no answer. The experience and contacts of the Chaudhry brothers proved to be an asset for the president. The PPP has no access to the political lobby that they are privy to. This has given the PPP an assured votebank in areas where it previously had none. The effect of this alliance will be apparent come next elections.

On the contrary, the tsunami seems to be running out of steam. Its generator is now out of order and there seems to be no power replacement (in a manner of speaking). And the few people who jumped on to the bandwagon due to hopes attached with a certain quarter have been sorely disappointed as the centre of their hopes is no more. A few days ago, they dreamt happy dreams of extensions and tried to count the minutes to when said extension would be granted. But that ship has now sailed. Now they’re in all kinds of flurries.

It seems this democratic dispensation will complete five years and anti-people elements are not happy about the fact that it seems like the next five years will also be that of democracy. Hopefully indeed!

The writer is one of Pakistan’s most widely read columnists.