Theatrics without substance are just that: theatrics
If Pakistan were not real, it would have certainly come alive in a masterly work of fiction. The requisite, pathos invoking, elements are abundantly there. And after all, which story is ever complete without conflict, as any writer of fiction would know. Well, that too is generously on offer in the story of Pakistan. How could it not considering the rich array of Darth Vaders running the country.
No ordinary tale of tragedy, this. To describe it in two words: hostage crisis. 180 million subjects held hostage by alternating monarchies feigning democracy. Take the ruling party PLM-N under Mr Sharif — a man elected twice into power in the 1990s. Today he is back in his throne after a slightly bumpy interlude, lasting a little over 15 years, featuring a few years in exile following temporary incarceration which may well have subsumed his entire life had the Saudi royals — Sharif”s inseparable allies — not intervened. And this is precisely what makes Pakistan, as Anatol Lieven called it, a “hard country”. Because nothing is more harmful than an insidious, protean, shape-shifting ruling elite.
Even a dictatorship is less inimical, because at least with dictators, for instance Mubarak and Gaddafi, the face of the oppressor is both fixed and bare. Masses know who to oppose. There is also less legitimacy for dictators; something that can always, as history shows, backfire. Not so much with rich industrialists or feudal overlords who keep returning to power through enslaved constituencies. Also, unlike dictatorships, these alternating political powers/dynasties are more likely to loot and plunder. Because that”s what any competent plunderer and pillager does when his term at the helm is limited and brief. After all, a few years of exile can be an exacting business; it”s nice to have a few billions in savings till enough time has elapsed before peoples” ugly memories have been wiped clean by uglier and more recent ones — an ideal time for the returning scavenger to have another go at the all-you-can-devour political buffet.
Capitalism and “trickle down” economics work in capitalist societies only when corporations pay taxes, are transparent and adequately regulated
And this sadly is the political reality of Pakistan. A tennis game where the masses are volleyed about all over the court, without any net or boundary lines, no rules, no fouls, and no referee to blow the whistle to call an invalid shot; just a few players taking turns in playing an entire nation till as long as they can. Today it’s the Sharifs again, with the younger Sharifs — Hussain and Hamza — priming for the next round. Just like in the previous term it was Zardari, with young Bilawal getting ready for the much dreaded yet equally inevitable sequel.
But one would imagine though, that amassing incalculable amounts of wealth would jade even the most ambitious and adventurous of looters. And that at some point, beyond a certain limit however inconceivably great, when their coffers are full at the expense of a nation whose soul they have taken and when all its resources have been sucked dry like a beaten ravaged carcass, perhaps then that most subdued of voices — the voice of conscience — would beg them to stop.
Not so. The dead don”t talk.
And so it is that, unsurprisingly, the Sharifs are at it again. With no significant departure from the past. Same policies. Same habits. And same faces. No structural reforms. No commitment to the plight of the common man. The same “metro” this and “high speed” that fetish. Granted development is a key task of governance. It employs many, and animates the economy. But speedy development without talk of reform is a little conspicuous — appearing grossly expeditious and opportunistic — benefiting only the recipients — the usual suspects — of healthy kickbacks that such projects typically offer.
Furthermore, Sharif may be big on privatisation, but it means little when it comes accompanied with cronyism. Capitalism and “trickle down” economics work in capitalist societies only when corporations pay taxes, are transparent and adequately regulated, so that they may benefit all, and not just a chosen and kindred few. In this Sharif is notorious — a consistent trend with his previous stints in government. And this is not just limited to private enterprises. Even the bureaucratic order has been deeply infected with this menace; close family members appointed to the highest executive levels. And while the economy seems to be doing relatively better under the incumbent, with employment rate and foreign investments picking up, there still aren”t enough welfare initiatives to earn the confidence of the common man. And this may make all the difference in the next elections. Gone are the days when there were only two major players in the arena — PML and PPP. And when people were happy to resign to the status quo. Not so much anymore, with PTI gaining rapid ascendancy. Because PTI is unique in that it offers: 1. Hope, 2. Change, and 3. a clean slate.
Another handicap for Sharif”s party is its perceived vacillation on the security situation. Recent events like the APS massacre have exposed the unforgivable lapse of governmental discretion in terms of a proactive security policy. Initially, upon coming to power, Sharif was decidedly soft on militant/Taliban issue, preferring settlement and negotiation when aggressive confrontation was best online casino required. Now the prime minster wants military courts and active confrontation with militant elements, when more than 130 of our children have fallen to merciless animals? This after a year and a half of complacency, with the classrooms and corridors of APS changed forever, and so too the lives of those who survived the tragedy?
The issue is that Sharif is weak. This is not the Sharif of the 90s — the undoer of an army chief. The man who sacked the chief justice. Who even had the president resign from office
The issue is that Sharif is weak. This is not the Sharif of the 90s — the undoer of an army chief. The man who sacked the chief justice. Who even had the president resign from office. The man who once tried to impose Shari’a to become the Amirul Momineen. The once lion of Punjab, however ravenous, looks more an emaciated alley cat now. With a disenchanted public, sagging sentiments, Imran Khan”s growing popularity, and the army”s control of an encompassing defence policy that rides over all security and foreign policy considerations, Sharif has been consigned to the margins of power, limited to his metro projects the way kids are left with their little toys.
But there is saving grace for PML-N in PPP, the only other major party that appears to have surpassed it in a downward spiral. After five years of a less than flattering performance in governance, the party was understandably destroyed in Punjab in the 2013 elections. This is a party which as competent in its politics as it is incompetent in governance. This may be time for PPP to engage in honest introspection conducing to some kind of organisational reform within the party. Anything to rekindle, in earnestness, some of the shining principles the party once stood for. And to break from politics of dynasty, poor governance, and even uglier indictments that have stained the party”s recent history.
And while Imran Khan has rightfully taken on Altaf Hussain on the Baldia Factory fire issue, calling the exiled leader of MQM a “psychopath”, an observation probably shared by many, he should learn to distinguish between constructive and destructive opposition. Theatrics without substance are just that: theatrics. What Khan as an opposition leader should do is to demand structural and civil reforms from the incumbent, so there is forward movement on policies and issues that have fossilised over time. Calls for vigilantism and civil disobedience are counter-productive and corrosive to Khan”s credibility as a stable leader.
Khan is, however, right on the money about Altaf Hussain — a man who is begging to not be taken seriously with his often slurred and cooing melodramatics during televised rants sometimes erupting into unsolicited song performances calling into question his slippery hold on reality. MQM may be well advised to unhinge itself from the unhinged.
Pakistan, as it stands today, is on a cusp. Widely viewed as a global Pariah the only respite may well lie in hope, change and a clean slate.