PAKISTAN POLITICAL STANDING

Khurshidalam44@ hotmail.com London 17/3/12.

Pakistan fledgling civilian governments is on shaky ground. There are multiple factors. Few are external but the majority are internal. The most important one is an intrinsic phobia from military establishment and it's mighty intelligence agency that is not unfounded.

Left to the centre parties are always considered as anti establishment parties. They are viewed as security risk and foreign agents. In fact their loyalty is always doubted in military circles.

Pakistan people's party and it's main ally Awami national party have not yet been able to allay the fear of establishment and assured them of their patriotism. Now we have decided not to ask for a certificate. It is better to have no certificate than a fake certificate. There is always cold war between establishment and these parties, occasionally flare up to shoot out.

Traditionally any party whose power base is in one of the smaller provinces they are not trusted to know the secrets of the state. Either army or the rightest parties have this unchallengeable trust to be the custodians of the state secrets and integrity of the country. In this insanity they have lost more than half of the country. Now Baloch have been asked to show their back and they are looking to find an exit for great escape.

Politics, economics, military might and civilian aristocracy all belong to one constituency. They share many values. They are from one clan. Their mind set, thinking process are almost identical. They share the same past and aspire for the same future.

Come what may be but the nucleus of power and the citadel of authority should not change hand. It must be in responsible, dependable and trust worthy hands. For international political convenience if decided to give the government to some one hailing from less dependable constituencies,the chair is given but authority is retained till the international image is improved.

The present government is far from an ideal. So is the shadow government. None of them are the product of a process but the byproduct of historical blunders. But PPP is comparatively having better record and lately has contributed in blood and sweat. It does not make sense to change bad for worse.

The present opposition is not capable and too delicate like "touch me not plant". They are softies of Pakistan. Cannot stand the harsh weather in the prison. The maximum they can be expected to sacrifice, is to have an imperial exile as the guest of khademain sharifain. It is a historical co incidence that our apposition statesmen are also sharifain.

PPP was voted to power. Their first priority was to protect their chairs, secondly to give a run to a civilian rule. No one knows for sure that the second point was its policy or political compulsion. Whatever may be the reason behind but it was a step in right direction and they succeeded in their mission. Zardari proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he has no match in political wrangling and wrestling. He outclassed all others. He proved his manipulative skill.

On the other hand he put the military at bay. The tricks he used are irrelevant but when there is no fair play any trick is permissible. Mortality has no place in such abnormal circumstances. The military did show its teeth on certain occasion but he calmed down the situation. He kept a safe distance from both, the sea and the devil.

He deserves the credit to keep a powerless civilian rule running in the country without providing an excuse to the establishment to remove them from power. On the other hand he stopped those who wanted to jump the queue without turn.. He thwarted all the attempts of the united front comprising of establishment, politicised free Judiciary and gentle brothers.

We the students of historical politics appreciate the skill and acumen of Mr Zardari to keep a civilian government in power in such odd and unfavourable circumstances. We neither expected economical growth, nor a fair delivery system to the common man.

Neither they were capable to do it nor the international recession could allow them to do so. Dishonesty, corruption and nepotism were not some thing new that was introduced by Mr. Zardari but he could not check the souring devaluation of the values of the society and the Pakistani currency. There was tremendous inflation on both fronts. None of these commodities were there any way.

But one must remember that, to apply internationally established rule in an abnormal circumstances is equal to the introduction of confrontation of two systems or mind sets in a tight box. The end result will be an explosion.

It was neither practical nor easy, to be in troubled water and have animosity with sharks . After all Mr Zardari is not there in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland but international scenario is not known to the public. But he had the courage to accept the things as such with a determination to save the civilian rule. He was least bothered about its deliverance to the common man.

He really played well to keep the khaki out of the game and to stop Jinnah cap from breaking the queue.

I honestly think it is of paramount importance to let the civilian soupy stream run for a while. It will deliver democracy in long run. Let us break up this chain of dictatorial whims.

We should not be dishonest to the people and be frank to tell them that it is not an accountable democratic system. But the civilian rule must run in this most unacceptable form till the masses realise the importance of their vote and understand the might of ballot. This run will give birth to politicians instead of wrestlers and heavy weights,who are committed to democracy and fair play.

There is no short cut nor there is a JIM, to quick fix it in three months. The public must know that JIM is a TV character and has nothing todo with reality. This swim and sink technique is the only way to a viable and democratic Pakistan. Any adventurism by Jinnah cap will result in khaki take over permanently.

The present foul play may not deliver any thing to the masses but will provide them training how to use their vote and use it as a sickle to root out the corruption and nepotism. The rulers will never do it as it is not in their interest but the be- ruled have to liberate themselves. It is their need and only they can do it. I am sure, if given opportunity they cannot be fooled more than twice.

We cannot afford either Sonami or earth quake. They are synonymous to destruction we need gradual change called evolution not revolution like the one sweeping the Arab world. We do need Tahreer square to Tahreer a new history but without bloodshed and foreign interference.

The other most important factor is the involvement of US in south west Asia and we must realise that they have invested a lot in the region, particularly in Pak army. They should be helped to have an respectable exit. By impulsive decisions we are prolonging their physical presence in the area.

On the other hand American is the sole super power and should share the major responsibility in this region. Any adventurism by US will radicalise the society more and strengthen the alliance of the fundamentalist, particularly in Pakistan and the area at large. To down a drone will be insignificant but the repercussions will be enormous. As the Chinese proverb goes that patience for a moment can thwart universal havoc.