Real answers remain elusive
Being abroad at this important juncture is an eye-opener, being privy to the general thoughts prevailing concerning developments in Pakistan. And of course the genuine concern of foreign and Pakistani friends overseas who care. And they all have multiple, significant queries – some with no real answers. As I prepare to return, the hour draws nearer to D-Day. But the real answers still remain elusive.
In less than two weeks the ballot box will be the focus of the Nation. I am seriously worried about the focus on that day, the days preceding and the days after, of our crazy and lost compatriots who believe the best way to control Pakistan’s population is to bomb and terrorize it out of existence. And they do it with aplomb, without let or hindrance, without the slightest fear of being challenged. Because that is what it is. No authority is prepared to confront them, at least in our cities.
The change I seek, and I believe the majority of the 180 million does too, is that the first step of any new government should be to restore sanity to the civil environment. If that is not the priority everything else will be insignificant. Water, power or whatever comes second to security and safety of life and of the children of the Motherland. So good as roads, trains and electronic entertainment maybe, they do not deliver today’s basic need. Will May 11 change that? I am searching my soul in vain.
A friend sent a message saying, “Thank God you are away. There is a bomb every hour here”. Sad to say the very least. Every time when I met someone they came in saying, “I just saw on the news there were a few blasts in your country!” The very first question is, “Who is doing this?” The next one, “Will the elections lead to a stoppage?” Honestly, I don’t have an answer. This is my greatest worry.
It is not the opposition doing it, at least not a significant opposition that will benefit by elections in the near future. If this were so, in most cases it would answer the second question too. So let us answer the second question first. It is unlikely that a change in government as a result of the May 11 election will lead to a stop in the bombings and terror attacks in vogue.
Going back to question one reveals that sufficient knowledge as to the perpetrators and inspirational evil behind those brainwashed into committing these attacks is available to the relevant authorities. For some godforsaken reason action is stalled. The intentions are a mystery, if one is to ignore the continued ‘action’ on the Eastern border. I do so because no one but Pakistan is being battered. Is civil war feared? Are we to believe that there are a significant number of guerrillas undetected that could wreak havoc? Are there sufficient arms and weapons freely roaming the country to create this fear? Do we go by an earlier statement of the army chief that this army is not equipped for guerilla warfare? If so, how and why has this situation been allowed to develop into a monster? These questions will ever elude us. So deep is the plot.
A ‘wise’ man I spoke with is drawn to feel this is a planned and organized movement of the extreme right that is slowly engulfing the country with a treacherous strategy. That this band is moving in waves concentrating on the weaker centers, “hearts” he called them. For the present the stronger, more prosperous majority province, Punjab, is excluded from the radar. He observes the extremists are unable, for the moment, to muster the support or find cause. And perhaps also because the majority of the armed forces belong to this area and resistance could be exhausting. Therefore, the concentration on Karachi, Balochistan and KP. Those with allegedly weak ‘hearts’.
This ‘wise’ man also believes the instigators of this movement are the jihadists trained by our forces to play the guerilla role in our scheme of things but who have now trained their guns on their masters. And play only to the tune of former captains turned rebel. This makes them more dangerous and perhaps even invincible. Hence the reluctance to engage. This is scary indeed.
Within this context the eagerness of some political parties to tag the extreme right to run with them or cooperate with them in the upcoming election is alarming. Dining with the devil means giving him a seat at the table. What happens after is anyone’s guess. Just know one thing for sure if the devil lets loose a militant revolution with the ranks of a political party no leadership is equipped to fight against it. This is not about just winning an election or power – this is about the country winning.
Playing populist footsie with the devil is not an option. When there is talk of an “Islamic Welfare State”, declaring the Taliban a welcome part of society and forging electoral alliances it makes the world look aghast. People look at us as having gone bananas. This requires tacit clarity from the party making such statements, in terms of meaning and confirmation of Pakistan engaging itself as a responsible member of the comity of nations.
The crux of my search is circular unfortunately, a never ending merry go round. No party is offering any solutions; they are hell bent on castigating each other and winning the vote. This deals with absolutely nothing. Their manifestos are simply pieces of paper and modalities of achieving goals are left to ‘dekhlangay’ (we’ll see when it comes).
Predicted is an unprecedented turnout and I, for one, hope that is true. The major parties will get voter turnout regardless of the environment. Nawaz, PPP, MQM and Jamaat about the others one can conjecture. I’ll tell you why. The bombs scare the living daylights out of the upper crust and young that must turn out in large numbers to impact victory in the big cities. A number of these will be votes for PTI thereby putting the party’s candidates in jeopardy. This is why it is being whispered that it’s the major parties themselves driving the fear element and at the same time earning sympathy by being ‘targets’.
We can safely assume that even while, perhaps, the mantle will change hands that there will be jiggery-pokery that will allow the major players another round of playing with Pakistan’s future. With the Punjab going to Nawaz, Sindh to the PPP, Baluchistan and KP to a mixture, the MQM will be safely ensconced in governments in Sindh and the Federation. As is likely, if an N government is formed at the Center there is a strong likelihood Sindh gets an MQM chief minister. That is unless, as a mole suggests, N and Z play the ultimate card and join hands. Zardari holds the cards of the majority in the Senate and the most probably the largest party in Sindh plus a significant number in the Punjab. It may therefore be the ideal coalition adding the smaller parties and keep a hurtling Imran out in the wilderness.
It is also safe to assume that little will change. Maybe the would-be leaders will seriously consider addressing critical issues before they embark on their journey. A trainload of costly ministers and massively corrupt companions will only add to the national misery. A strong, good doze of colon cleansing is highly recommended. It’s the only way to the desperately needed cleaner national soul.
The writer can be contacted at: [email protected]
