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Democracy’s revenge
S Khalid Husain
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Democracy takes its “best revenge” from the people of Karachi, every day of the week, every hour of the day, with the democrats in their monstrous 4WDs sideswiping all traffic riding, party and other flags fluttering on both fenders, with police mobiles in front and back, and thuggish looking private guards in separate vehicles keeping an eye on the policemen in the mobiles.
Such scenes were standard in 1950s movies on drug smugglers in South America, who moved in heavily escorted convoys, much as our politicians do now. No one could envision that, sixty years on, Karachiites would see the scenes live on their city’s streets. It is a measure of the quality of governance, and of the quality of those who are governing, that the 4WD vehicles being escorted by the law enforcers, or police mobiles, are most often in violation of the law. They follow no traffic law, carry no license plates, or have plates with just “MNA,” “MPA,” “Minister,” or the names of their respective tribes or clans on them.
Clearly, these are unregistered vehicles, and no road tax has been paid, which means most are also smuggled, and no import duty has been paid. It is unlikely the drug smugglers in the movies travelled in unregistered, smuggled vehicles, with flags flying, and under police escort. This makes our rulers one up on the drug barons.
Democracy’s best revenge is when the police escort of a 4WD behemoth, carrying a fake “AFR 2010” license plate and with an ample political body ensconced inside, is informed of the violation. The ample political body within, rolls down the window, and lets fly out a volley of choicest, most colourful words of abuse, which would put a drunken truck driver in Bhatinda district to shame.
Democracy’s best revenge is Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza imposing himself like an unsightly pimple in DHA, with embarrassed police and Rangers apologising to motorists for the inconvenience, and the minister’s thuggish private guards brandishing weapons at them. It is also Bilawal House, which has made thousands of area residents fervently pray that its owner, in a moment of piety, will donate it to Eidhi Foundation and earn Divine blessings, and the gratitude of the thousands of beleaguered and stressed citizens living within a radius of two miles of the edifice. It will also bring forth a huge sigh of relief from hundreds of security personnel manning the bunkers and barricades around the structure, which are probably not unlike those at the country’s nuclear installations.
Democracy’s best revenge is collection of “protection money” from businesses and shops, and from doctors, by the “democratic” goons of democratic political parties, whose elected parliamentarians sit in assemblies as people’s representatives. It is also banning of pillion riding on motorbikes, to benefit transporters, whenever that is demanded by the transport mafia, and it is to keep the water tanker mafia contented and in high spirits, by denying direct supply of water to the voters, the mainstay of democracy.
Democracy’s best revenge is eviction of students from Jinnah Hostel, and its conversion to the Rangers Headquarters. The students need no hostel, for the process of education is down and out for the count. Minister of Education Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali personally, as well as his ministry, is too busy dragooning the ECP, the HEC and others to keep their hands off fake-degree holders, to have any time for the long-suffering learning process lying inert on the floor. Declaring holidays is a function which takes a fair amount of his ministry’s time, and there are so many to declare in a democracy.
Democracy’s best revenge is to pit Karachiites against one another. It is visiting the MQM hideaway one day to be received like a bridegroom, and firing a broadside the next day through a minister assigned the role of field gun of the party. It is to mollycoddle the MQM, and also to instigate the ANP against it. It is to make monkeys of all political players in Karachi, without even playing the Sindh card. Let the “monkeys” unite to make Karachi what it is, the largest city of Pakistan.
The best revenge of democracy is the swift presidential pardon of Interior Minister Rahman Malik, after he was convicted by the Supreme Court. It is the peaking of corruption, the floodgates of which were opened by the first PPP government under its founder and first chairman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, when banks, industries and businesses, and anything that had anything to do with money and finance, were nationalised, and party faithful were appointed to “manage” these.
Finally, the best revenge of democracy, are the inheritors of the party, albeit of a different lineage than Bhutto’s, but riding on the Bhutto name and shoulders. It is the new, hitherto unattained, heights to which the successors have taken corruption. NASA must be shaking its head in wonderment.
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