- Past, present, and future
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that his competition is now khalai makhlooq, or aliens in English. Is Mian Sahib the first politician who has had to face these khalai makhlooq? No, a number of other politicians have also previously faced such situations. Sadly, today’s youth, especially those who are associated with political parties that advocate change and breaking out of the status quo, are generally unaware of the historical facts. In this respect, the media and previous generations are also to be blamed for not creating awareness among the youth. The media can, however, still play a vital role in the future direction of the country. To understand the struggle of politicians against these “aliens,” we must look back at the political history of Pakistan.
Mother of the nation, ‘Madar-e-Millat’ Fatima Jinnah, is the second least controversial personality in the country after Quaid-e-Azam. Fatima Jinnah played an instrumental role in bringing into existence the country in which we now live freely. Due to her struggle and her unabated care for the ailing founder of Pakistan, she never married. Sadly, many are not aware of the fact that Fatima Jinnah was also defeated in an election. A military dictator defeated her by rigging the election. On one side was a dictatorship, on the other was democracy. It was not Fatima Jinnah herself, but democracy in Pakistan, that lost. The nation did not revolt in the face of the mother of their nation’s humiliation. The heartbroken Fatima Jinnah quietly spent last days of her life out of politics. A person who gave everything to support Quaid-e-Azam and form a democratic country saw her nation being turned over into the hands of dictators and democracy murdered. What would have she felt after witnessing all of this? It is hard to imagine her agony.
During that era, there was another young politician who supported the dictator in this act of injustice against Fatima Jinnah. He is remembered as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. After Quaid-e-Azam, if any person was truly popular among the masses, it was him. Zulifqar Ali Bhuto, an immensely charismatic politician, sadly, also had a dictator as his political mentor. As time passed, Bhutto became a person of commanding stature. His political struggle separated him from Ayub Khan and Bhutto found popularity among the people. The time came when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who had once been close to the dictator, became unbearable to the predominant forces of Pakistan. In the end, the voice of Bhutto was silenced forever.
The media has turned its back and law enforcement tightening its grip. The facts show that similar things are happening with Mian Sahib as have happened to most of the popular democratic leaders in the country
After Bhutto, an attempt was made to fill the political void with Muhammad Khan Junejo. But Junejo, once again, was no puppet and soon those pulling the strings discovered he had a spine of his own. After the Soviet-Afghan War, he signed the Geneva Accord which did not recognise the non-state elements that were supported by the Pakistani establishment. In this document it was agreed that Pakistan would not intervene in Afghanistan, would not become a party in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, nor would it support militant wings. As a consequence, the dictator Zia-ul-Haq dismissed Junejo’s government.
The person recruited by the establishment after Junejo was Nawaz Sharif. Mian Sahib was as close to Zia-ul-Haq as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was close to Ayub Khan. The same story repeated itself. The invisible forces extended their full support to Mian Sahib. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was marginalised. State resources were used against the PPP in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). As time passed, Mian Sahib gained political strength, and, as his predecessors had done before, started to develop a conscious. Perhaps it was then that he realised that until the political role of the “aliens” was eliminated, Pakistan’s future could not be secured. But he forgot that the hands that make you can also break you. Mian Sahib today accuses those aliens of employing the same tactics that were used against the PPP in the 1990s. At that time, however, it is interesting to note that he was on the side of with the aliens. Mian Sahib now claims that he and his party is on the receiving end of these tactics.
Mian Sahib’s dilemma is indeed a question of karma. His allegation does carry considerable resemblance to the allegations faced by PPP leadership in the past: corruption and, most recently, treason. This brings back recollections of the time when Benazir Bhutto was labeled a “security risk.” Mian Sahib would never have predicted that one day he would be portrayed in the same light as the late Benazir Bhutto.
The media has turned its back and law enforcement tightening its grip. The facts show that similar things are happening with Mian Sahib as have happened to most of the popular democratic leaders in the country over the past seventy years: the allegations of corruption, the national accountability cases, and the media trials, all followed by allegations of treason. Mian Sahib could, in theory, suffer the same ultimate fate as the late Zulifqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter. As the story repeats itself, the plot is dangerously moving in the same direction.
The saddest aspect of this entire episode is that, as was the case with the youth of 1990s, a large section today’s youth is unaware of the historical facts and are blinded in their pursuit of a false hope. They are under the illusion that the party they support will bring about change. Apparently the “khalai makhlooq” has yet again successfully managed — through media and educational institutes — to get the new generation to believe in the same old slogans of accountability and change: a saviour politician that will save the nation from both corrupt and security risks. In reality, however, they are serving the same old wine in a new bottle. It will not be surprising in the future to see today’s politicians who are enjoying “alien” support asking the same question as Mian Sahib in the near future: mujhe kyun nikala?
