Chaos and Collapse by Mumtaz Ali Bhutto
Chaos and Collapse
by Mumtaz Ali Bhutto
Mind boggling bungling, among other more heinous faults, has come to
be the identifying characteristic of the Zardari government. From the
inept way administrative matters are handled to the fact that Zardari
can not open his mouth without something startling pouring out of it,
one gets an overwhelming sense of incompetence all around. Not only
the task of governance, but even that of running a party like the
Peoples' Party has proved to be far beyond the capabilities of the
accidental Co-Chairman, who sneaked into power not on his own merits
or public acclaim but on a tidal wave of emotions and subservience of
those who were salivating at the prospect of memberships of
assemblies, ministerships and all the other joys associated with
winning an election in the current dispensation. All too soon, the
whole set up has exploded and, as pointed out at the start, the lack
of calibre and qualification of those who have occupied high offices
has become starkly evident. It must be remembered that it was more or
less this lot which twice before formed governments but were unable to
run them even though Shaheed Benazir held the reins. They have landed
the country in serious trouble internally and externally, such as
bringing it to the brink of war with India by grossly mishandling the
Bombay tragedy and reducing the much trumpeted reconciliation to a
joke by violating all commitments. This government basically came
into being through a deal with Musharaf and under protection of the
cursed NRO. In return, the government does not only maintain him in
presidential style, but also follows in his footsteps. The greatest
letdown, however, has been in keeping the promise of roti, kapra makan
to the people and freeing them from the curse of corruption,
lawlessness, high cost of essential commodities and lack of basic
amenities. The lure of jobs and handouts under the Benazir Income
Support Scheme has proved to be a pipe dream and gone sour. The net
result is that within a short period of nine months the government and
the Peoples' Party are not only in a chaotic state of disarray and
collapse, but also the object of public discontent, which has manifest
itself in a recent poll by placing Zardari's popularity at nineteen
percent. So much so that ministers and party office holders are
unable to venture even into gatherings of party workers without
risking harm and their leader can not step out despite the security
provided by thousands of protectors at very high cost to the people.
On Benazir's first death anniversary, it was announced that there
would be a public meeting at Garhi Khuda Buksh Bhutto, addressed by
Zardari. Later, this was cancelled due to security concerns. Then it
was on again and Zardari was to address it by telephone from Naodero,
a mile away. But on the morning of the anniversary, it was once again
announced that the public meeting was off for the same security
reasons, much to the anger of those who had been herded from across
the country to be there. It is shocking that a man who professes to
be a democrat and a leader of the masses, guarded by 9,000 policemen,
7,000 rangers and hundreds of commandos on this occasion, did not feel
safe among the people in, of all places, Garhi Khuda Buksh Bhutto, the
geographic epicenter of the Peoples' Party's.
While lack of any progress in apprehending and punishing Benazir's
assassins, indeed the failure to file an FIR even a year after the
murder, falls like a yoke on the government's neck, in his address to
a small gathering of party office holders in Naodero, Zardari
confessed that he knew the identity of the killers. This being so,
the inexplicable twelve month delay in action against them is
unpardonable and the façade of approaching the United Nations, at the
potential cost of hundreds of millions of dollars for just an inquiry,
nothing more than an escape. Knowing the identity of the killers yet
allowing them to go free not only casts doubt on Zardari's motives but
also implicates him under section 216 of the Penal Code, thereby
bringing Benazir's murder at par with that of Mir Murtaza Bhutto.
This government's failure has even greater and deeper effects than
this: The world regards Pakistan as the factory of global terrorism.
The Bush administration expressed apprehensions that any further
terrorist attacks upon American soil or citizens are likely to
originate from Pakistan. In the wake of any terrorist incident
anywhere in the world, the tracks invariably lead back to Pakistan.
Hence the finger pointing by India in the aftermath of the Mumbai
tragedy. One fears that the time is not far off when, due to this
government's mishandling of the situation, foreign powers might find
it unavoidable to intervene and directly attend to a situation that is
a constant threat to their own security. Air space violation by India
has already taken place and the only reaction from this panic stricken
government is to cover it up by labeling it a mere 'technical
violation'. American troops have already made forays into Pakistani
territory and their
drone attacks are now a common occurrence. Only
three days after President Barak Obama took oath of office, American
drone attacks killed twenty people in Waziristan. The government's
token protests against these have become a bore. Obama has already
been reported to have said that for the purpose of anti-terrorist
action, Northwest Pakistan will be treated as a part of Afghanistan.
It has become routine for American Deputy or Assistant Secretaries and
Ambassadors to barge into Aiwan-e-Sadar with objectionable frequency,
obviously not just for a pleasant chat, while in India they are
received at the secretary level. They even collect high awards from
the Pakistani President while the Islamic world and freedom and
justice loving people of the world condemn their war against Muslims
and killing millions of innocent people.
The bottom line is that the people of Pakistan have to wake up before
it is too late. The exercise of effective genuine democracy requires
the participation of the people, not just at the polls but at all
times as a correcting force. The main reasons why democracy has
failed in Pakistan is because the people have abdicated their power of
scrutiny, as a direct consequence of which forces antithetical to not
only democracy but also effective, good governance have been
unleashed. This government has broken every commitment but there is
no one to hold it accountable. People are too busy flocking to
ministers with applications in hand to worry about such a betrayal of
mandate. Protests in small groups on limited demands and pursuit of
individual gain has obviated the requirement of ideology, principles
and programs in politics. This practice has dragged the country to
the brink of economic collapse, backwardness and failed statehood in
which unqualified and unworthy persons are directing the destiny of a
hundred and seventy million people, a fate most alarming. It is no
matter that young people, seeing no future, are driven to suicide
while mothers are compelled to sell infants in bazaars to buy flour.
Such will be the epithet of the Zardari era.