Another deja vu coming?
Shamshad Ahmad
IN politics, as in every other aspect of life, what people know and
understand largely depends on what they see, hear and feel, and how they
think and act. In looking at the unfolding events in our country, and at
the acts of our current rulers, both visible and invisible, real and
surreal, we see what is not, and see not what is, because all of us are
prisoners of a system that takes the people for granted and denies them
any right to know the reality and a role in determining their own
destiny. We have a civilian democratic set-up in the country brought to
power by the people with overwhelming enthusiasm and by a majority vote,
and a clear mandate for change. But there is no sign of any noticeable
change yet on the national horizon. Elected governments have now been in
place at the centre and in provinces for several weeks, but none has yet
made its presence felt in our day-to-day life.
The only time we felt their presence was when some of them were wearing
black ribbons at the time of their oath-taking ceremony. Beyond this
gesture of ‘helplessness’ on their part, our civilian democratic
leadership has not shown even a semblance of any authority or control.
Everyday, we are witnessing a new drama, a new crisis and a new tragedy
with little clue or knowledge about its source or sponsor. It seems that
the hidden hand is constantly at work. Bluff politics is the game of the
day. Amazing things are happening in our country. No one knows who is
playing this cruel joke upon our people. Our scene today pathetically
bears resemblance to Thomas Hobbes’ concept of primitive anarchy marked
by a ‘war of one against all’ and to Rousseau’s idealisation of the
‘noble savage’. Indeed, it is the war of one against all that continues
to rage in our ill-fated country. The same ghosts and the same
wizardries continue to haunt our system.
The key faces as well as the fall guys of the outgoing regime remain
untouched. We are living with the same persons, the same problems and
the same policies. Decisions are still being made by the same powers
even though invisibly. Harry Potter’s Lord Voldemort is still out there,
calling the shots. He may have been weakened physically but his spirits
remain energised. His legal wizards are well-entrenched in Islamabad’s
smoky heights of political witchcraft and remain as skilful as ever in
their constitutional manipulations and legal interpretations. There are
no signs of the new government anywhere. To be or not to be is indeed
its dilemma. It is helpless against the rule of ‘tooth and claw’. The
country remains possessed by the same invisible power that was
responsible for its dismemberment, destroyed its constitutional
structure and ruined its institutional integrity. The new parliament is
neither free nor sovereign.
The situation could not be more pathetic for the newly-elected
leadership. But who is to blame? Not the people. What is it that keeps
the elected leadership from fulfilling its mandate? Why is it hesitant
to move ahead? The people are getting disillusioned with the government
which appears to be incapable of fixing the fundamentals or even
addressing the food and fuel crisis.
Our politicians are complicating the deposed judges’ issue beyond
repair. They must realise that time is running out for them. Someone is
surely engineering their problems with sophistry and acumen. Unless they
pre-empt it, another deja vu might be imminent in parliament. It is time
for a wake-up call to themselves. They seem to have become hostage to
their past weaknesses. They have not recovered from the technical
knockout they received last year in the form of the notorious NRO. Not
too long ago, General Musharraf in his book In the Line of Fire had
devoted several pages to the ‘serious downside’ of democracy, and had
brazenly derided what he described as the ‘illiterate, feudal, tribal
and parochial’ character of our democrats. He also described the
parliamentarians and ministers as an example of ‘inefficiency, loot and
plunder’.
To prove his point, he engineered a politically-motivated deal last year
with the help of his supporters in Washington providing amnesty to all
corruption charges during a specific period in the name of national
reconciliation and political harmony. He killed two birds with one
stone. He besmeared the image of Pakistan’s politicians as he did in his
book In the Line of Fire, and also neutralised the country’s largest
political party during and after the process of his controversial
re-election. His akhri mukka as he likes to call the NRO has left the
Opposition reeling flat on the ground, disgraced, demoralised and
discredited in the eyes of the people. This is exactly what Musharraf
wanted at this crucial stage for his survival. This is also the face of
Pakistan’s politics of ‘loot and plunder’ that he had been trying to
show the people all along since he came to power in defence of military
take-overs in the country.
No amount of explanation can undo the damage that has been done to the
country’s politicians and their politics. They have been punched below
the belt and forced to take a full step back and cease fighting. It will
be an uphill task for them now to recover from this blow. No wonder,
only a PPP insider could mastermind the mysterious postponement of the
by-election and then get away from the fiasco. He almost torpedoed the
ruling coalition. It only shows how closely past shadows will continue
to hang around. The sole beneficiary of this national reconciliation has
to be someone who was good in following the Machiavellian concept of
elimination of political opponents through force or deceit, and sans
ethics or morality. His tactical manoeuvres are indeed the key
ingredient of his recipe for all political challenges to his authority.
For now at least, this tactical ‘mother deal’ has secured General
Musharraf against any challenge to his presidency in parliament. |
