Theatre of the absurd

Imagine Altaf Hussain proclaiming that the real reason behind the threat to dissolve the provincial assembly is the growing popularity of his party in Punjab. Or Nawaz Sharif rushing repeatedly to Sindh when Punjab, his political bastion, grossly afflicted with widespread corruption and ill-governance, is literally ‘drowning’ in the dengue epidemic. Or the Chaudhrys of PML(Q) clamouring innocence and discounting the widely-held perception that they joined the government to save their tottering political dynasty. Or President Zardari’s cronies claiming that he hasn’t done a wrong and his government has implemented the Supreme Court resolutions, even written to the Swiss courts to reopen the corruption cases. Pakistan is perpetually afflicted by the tortuous performances of its political jokers who, making for a classic theatre of the absurd, believe that people would walk to the polling booths at the call of duty and vote them in once again to continue the never-abating looting spree.

The onset of the bitter slinging bout between the leadership of PML(N) on the one side and the conglomerate of corrupt political outfits of the government on the other is only the beginning of the vicious drive to the presidency and the prime minister’s house during the next elections and, before that, for attaining ascendency in the senate polls. PML(N) has finally thrown down the gauntlet by declaring the MQM to be a terrorist organisation which is corroborated by the recent judgement of the Supreme Court that accused most of the political parties operating in Karachi of having armed wings.

But, while PML(N) is quite liberal in holding others accountable for their acts of commission and omission, it conveniently forgets its original act of terrorism when its hoodlums assaulted and ransacked the Supreme Court of Chief Justice (Retired) Sajjad Ali Shah. That’s what leads me to believe that even when there may be no rational need for any of this to happen, it is the dictatorial mindset of the traditional political mafias that holds them ransom to indulge in these despotic and demeaning acts. Unfortunately, instead of addressing this gnawing problem that has jeopardised the induction of genuine democracy in the country, this tendency to hold only others accountable for all degenerative trends has only increased, expanded and accentuated with the passage of time.

Mr Zardari’s conduct has been like an open book. Ever since his incumbency of the presidency, he has lived by the ways of the street encompassing rubbishing the injunctions of the SC, appointing his lackeys to positions of authority, patronising a loot spree, demonising all state institutions, forging political alliances with parties accused of terror, extortion and murder, bartering national sovereignty and self-respect for dollars, initiating dubious moves to sow disaffection towards the military and the intelligence establishments, and generally cultivating an environment that raises question marks about national priorities and survival. As he continues to indulge his favourite pastimes, his prime minister and ministers have earned notoriety for abdicating governance and unleashing a spree of wide-spread loot that has brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy and its institutions pushed towards collapse. The lesser cronies are scripting their own harrowing stories of plunder of the national exchequer.

Punjab has its own set of actors. The team is ably and expertly led by that most consummate of performers – the self-proclaimed ‘Khadim-e-Punjab’. The stories of corruption under his command and control are rampant as he alone sits on sixteen ministries of the province. This either speaks of an utter lack of faith in his party’s legislators, or his appetite for proclaiming the dictatorship of the self is insatiable. This is amply demonstrated by the commissioning of the one-man brigade that rules the province. His word is law onto itself which often erases the law enacted just a day, even an hour earlier. He expects that his physical agility and dramatic movements would compensate for the obvious lack of intellectual ability and management skills as his flagship initiatives including the Sasti Roti, Ashiana, Yellow Cab and Daanish School Schemes fail miserably when measured against the yardsticks of sustainability.

The MQM, having hibernated profitably with every dictatorship and ‘democracy’ alike, has lately started living the dream that it is graduating to becoming a national party of sorts. While multifarious crimes committed under its banner including murder, extortion and inflicting torture defy description, it can also claim undisputed credit for having introduced the culture of fear extremism and intolerance in national politics. Having sworn allegiance to a foreign country, its leader unashamedly sits abroad guiding his brainchild through well-orchestrated telephone addresses and performances. To my mind, the party operates in inherent denial of the cardinal requisites of legitimacy and propriety which renders it untenable to continue using the umbrella of a ‘political party’.

The country, notwithstanding a spate of solemn vows including the Joint Parliamentary Resolution and the All Parties Conference Declaration, continues to suffer incarceration at the hands of a band of bandits and day-light robbers internally who have, individually and collectively, contributed to compromising national sovereignty and security considerations before their external masters who crafted their induction into power.

Unfortunate is a nation that suffers the humiliation of existence by wearing the cloak of slavery in preference to striving for the cherished ideals of freedom and self-respect. If such circumstances persist, even a vague pretence of independence is usually washed away by the marauding onslaught of the forces of captivity whose worst form remains enslavement of the spirit and the soul.

Pakistan has been turned into a theatre of the absurd where every political proponent is busy enacting a bizarre show for his personal advancement while a confused, malnourished and gruesomely deprived audience sits wondering if it deserved any better!

The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at [email protected]