Random thoughts on domestic infirmity

Asif Haroon Raja

It is exactly two years and three months that the current PPP led regime took over the reigns of power amidst high hopes of change. Thus far, the rulers have made things more chaotic. Political situation is messy, law and order disorderly, economy in doldrums, military situation tense and moral turpitude sunk to lowest ebb. People are groaning under back breaking prices of daily commodities, load shedding, unemployment and lack of security. 

Despite having had the unique privilege of getting vote of confidence without a single dissenting vote, PM Gilani has remained dumb and submissive and a puppet in the hands of Zardari who shifted all powers to presidency and reduced the parliament to a rubber stamp. Gilani has been routinely seeking blessing of Zardari on each policy matter and also bringing to his notice even trivial matters. So far, Gilani has on no occasion tried to assert his authority to uphold the supremacy of parliament.

Passage of 18^th Constitutional Amendment has been celebrated as a historic event since it changed the power equation. Logically, balance of power should have shifted from presidency to the chief executive, making the parliament supreme in real sense and reducing Zardari to a ceremonial figurehead.  It has come under severe criticism of some analysts. In their view, instead of removing the lacunas of 17^th Amendment introduced by Gen Musharraf; it has given birth to new deformities. Power continues to remain in the hands of President Zardari since he is also co-chairperson of ruling PPP and has the authority to appoint PM of his choice. He will thus be in a position to keep Gilani under his thumb. 

Another anomaly is about giving excessive powers to each party head. They will have the authority to appoint PM of their choice; it will thus legalize hereditary leadership and power remaining within the stranglehold of few dynasties who will forever rule the country. Yet another fault is that irrespective of the criminal background of an elected member, he cannot be ousted. However, a legislator with honest and upright track record can be shown the door if the boss of the party doesn’t like his face or his habit of showing the mirror and calling a spade a spade.   

By virtue of being the boss of ruling party and the central executive party reposing complete confidence in him, and his cronies holding all key appointments, it is still to be seen how Gilani steers the ship of the state with enhanced powers. Gilani is a decent person but he is caught up in the vicious circle of corrupt and dishonest PPP leaders. If he really wants to change his image of a dummy PM, he will first have to get rid of thoroughly corrupt and inefficient friends of Zardari playing hell into the functioning of state institutions and indulging in massive corruption, and replace them with honest, upright and proficient officers. With the help of fresh inductions, he will have to bring about radical improvement in governance which is in shambles. He will have to enforce rule of law and put an end to anti-judiciary intrigues and strive to make it independent. The curse of corruption eating into the vitals of the county will have to be battled with full force and a viable system of accountability put in place and independent election commission appointed.

Presently the cronies of Zardari led by Law Minister Babar Awan are burning all their energies to save Zardari from getting convicted in Swiss cases which the Supreme Court want them to be reopened. Accountability laws are being doctored in a manner to keep the rulers above the hand of law.  Instead of showing defiance to the US and India, bent upon harming Pakistan’s interests, the rulers are putting up stubborn defiance against the judiciary. They display victory signs whenever they manage to get a short reprieve. Misusing his authority the president promptly issues pardon orders for his colleagues convicted by courts. Grant of pardon to Sheikh Riaz and Rehman Malik are two recent examples. It is the traditional policy of PPP to keep refuting charges levied against higher leadership and to keep obstructing process of law ensuring that no case gets through. Legal wizards of the party have been receiving hefty amounts for successfully thwarting efforts of law courts to wrap up multiple cases of money laundering and corruption for eleven years and are continuing to do so.   

The honorable few like Shaukat Tareen and some others have resigned. Their departure was not mourned by the ruling class but celebrated since honest and upright people are seen as misfits among the gang of felons and law breakers. Opposition is hand-in-glove with ruling regime; its random salvos against the conduct of government are mere gimmicks and political jugglery to befool the people. Neither the PML-N has the political will or has any intention to prevent the rulers from wrongdoings since they want them to complete their five-year tenure irrespective of performance and then takeover the baton for next full tenure.

The last democratic era in the 1990s was bad for the two mainstream parties because of their self destructive policies. None could rule beyond two to three years. Fear of another takeover by the Army also keeps lurking in the mind of Nawaz who had been victimized by Gen Musharraf. He has adopted the policy of least resistance and believes in live and let live.    

PPP, MQM, and ANP are liberal parties and coalition partners, but midstream relations of the three have become estranged. The trio is at loggerheads mainly because of disturbed security situation in Karachi, Sindh chief minister’s lackluster performance and MQM’s high handedness.

ANP has traditionally remained pro-India and has always vied for creation of Pashtunistan. It has finally succeeded in renaming NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) well knowing that Pakhtuns do not enjoy even simple majority in the province and that other ethnic communities residing in the province are averse to name change affiliated with Pakhtuns only. It took advantage of its political strength it had mustered for the first time in home province, Sindh, and in the centre and lumped its demand of renaming NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa with the 18^th Amendment essentially meant to address constitutional distortions made by Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf in 1973 Constitution. KP was eventually selected and passed by the two Houses but triggered massive protests in Hazara Division. People of Hazara are in high temper and are pressing to make Hazara Division a separate province. KP has been judged as the most corrupt province.

The JUI F, which had remained a coalition partner of previous regime and is now a coalition partner of current regime has suddenly adopted a tough stance against America, terming it the biggest threat to integrity of Pakistan. Fazlur Rehman, responsible for betraying MMA for his selfish pursuits is now eager to put the fallen house of MMA together. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Tehrik-e-Insaf have become vicious in their anti-government and anti-America stance and are ridiculing the government and Army for following dictates of US.

UN Commission mandated to probe the culprits of Benazir murder didn’t come out with any worthwhile findings. Instead of interrogating chief suspects, it made a premeditated effort to smear the image of army and ISI. It is widely believed that UN was roped in by top leadership of PPP to put the case in cold freezer. There is noticeable simmering within lower ranks of PPP and some leaders close to Benazir who have been sidelined. 

Lava of foreign sponsored militancy in FATA, parts of KP and Balochistan is festering despite strong military actions. Spate of target killings in Balochistan and in Karachi is continuing. High spate of suicide bombings in cities has been controlled to quite an extent but random attacks are still occurring. North Waziristan has become the target of drone attacks where maximum strikes have taken place in 2010. Punjabi Taliban (PT) is a new phenomenon that has surfaced and linkage of Tehrik-e-Taliban-Pakistan with militants belonging to certain banned outfits in Punjab has come to light. Attack on Ahmadis worship places on 28 May and on Jinnah hospital on the following day in Lahore were reportedly committed by PT. A new battleground has finally been prepared and domestic pressure has begun to build to mount an operation in Punjab. Ethnic color is being given to terrorists.             

More and more youngsters are getting pulled towards religious extremism because of grinding poverty, lack of education, unemployment, price spiral, lack of justice, rampant corruption (Rs 223 billion in 2010), morally bankrupt and politically weak leaders insensitive towards have-nots and subservient to USA, lack of governance, non-resolution of Kashmir dispute, illegal occupation of Afghanistan, drone attacks and American meddlesome role giving rise to anti-Americanism, deliberate hurting of sentiments of Muslims by the west through discriminatory policies and publication of blasphemous caricatures. Rulers whose tails are in the hands of Washington are in no mood to address the anomalies and to allay the sufferings of the deprived class or to get rid of perverse influence of USA.