Pakistan:  Where Criminals become Leaders

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD

Historically and presently, the infant US Empire and the former European empires have divided people against each other, blamed the resulting conflict on the people themselves, and thus justified their control over both the people, and the region they occupy…. This is the strategy at work to destabilize and break-up Pakistan.

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Andrew Gavin Marshall (“Imperial Eye on Pakistan”, Global Research May 28, 2011),

analyzed the changing views of the American strategic community – particularly the military and intelligence circles – towards Pakistan. “In particular, there is a general acknowledgement that Pakistan will very likely continue to be destabilized and ultimately collapse. What is not mentioned in these assessments, however, is the role of the military and intelligence communities in making this a reality; a veritable self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The common Pakistanis are outraged at the continuous killing of the innocent people by the US drone attacks in the tribal belts of Waziristan and the Pak-Afghan border region. Even the UN Chief Human Rights Commissioner has voiced concern over these dreadful acts of killings in Pakistan. Panetta (US Defense Secretary) asserts, it is needed for the US security. But he does not publicly state the aim of the US policy is to destroy Pakistan. Most Pakistanis do not know the undeniable facts that these drone aircraft operate with the formal concurrence of the Pakistani military-political leadership.  But don’t be ignorant, who supplies the minute-by minute information to the US intelligence about the people and their movements on the ground? Again, these are the agents of influence - the paid informants of the political governance who are bought and bribed by the US intelligence apparatus to work for them. The network operation is regulated by the people of power across Pakistan. This is the business; this is the trade that helps many Pakistani traitors to stay in power.  They are loyal and all work for the Master.  But the Master sees them as weightless beggars who live and survive at its will. Do Pakistani Generals or Zardari carry any political or moral-intellectual value to the American politicians and military decision makers? George Bush needed General Musharaf at a critical time and he used him to rupture the lifelines of the Pakistani people. America has made it known that “Pakistani Generals” were paid to do the job. It will be irrational if anyone in Pakistan pretends that they have friendship with the US. Are there any ruling politicians or a military General who is not rich?  The related question may be asked - who is not corrupt in the Pakistani governance?

The egomaniac military Generals (more so 11 years under General Musharaf and his friends), the nation lost precious time and opportunities for change and futuremaking.  Zardari - a well known family of thugs and criminals glued to Bhutto family was the lost blow to Pakistan’s search for a new life. Had the people of Pakistan realized this fact a decade earlier, its present and future could have taken a different shape and political outcome. Asking the Supreme Court to decide on the issue of perpetuated corruption and institutionalized dishonesty of the few ruling elite - is a mockery of rationality as if there were no intelligent people left in the body of that nation to perceive change through political activism and continuous movement for change and reformation of the corrupt establishments. Is it a stage drama of sensationalism or drudgery to ignore the facts of human affairs? The BBC reporter made it known that the Generals are using the Supreme Court to oust the corrupt political leaders. Perhaps, an alleged face-saving act to continue coming-in of the US aid dollars to the pockets of the few official horse traders and political traitors.  The issues of institutionalized corruption against the Zardari regime, money laundering case in a Swiss court of law, stolen wealth from the national treasury, killings of innocent civilians in collaboration with the MQM in Karachi, and dishonesty to the interests of the people of Pakistan, just to mention few. The Supreme Court has delivered the guilty verdict but what difference it made in the public domains? People must rise to remove the indicted criminals.  It is fine to have a just legal judgment but it is another route to change the cross-cultural corruption and crime riddled politics. There are thousands and thousands of well educated and intellectually credible and enriched with excellent leadership traits and capable Pakistanis living overseas who feel tormenting pain for the crippled nation and its socio-economic, political and moral downfalls. Pakistan faces a serious brain-drain problem and the overseas Pakistanis are the best suited wealth of the nation to help take it out of the muddy waters into a sustainable future. But now the politics is a game of deaths and destruction of the national resources. Enlightened and responsible Pakistanis returning from overseas will find it hard to readjust to prevalent culture of corruption and political exploitation or to make any tangible contributions. Pakistan faces multiple unsolvable crises. The nation must be rebuild with new generational visions, enthusiasm, knowledge-based political imagination for ANEW Pakistan. The people of Pakistan are at the heart of issues to THINK ANEW Pakistan and pursue it as a practical aim. Any indifference to this rationale would be an act of wickedness and political treachery to the sustainability of a viable Pakistan.

The Zardari regime and the accomplice Generals (now appearing to be at odds with the sadistic gangsters) were floating in a self-generated bubble of illusion and deceitful policies and practices to willingly join the US sponsored bogus War on Terrorism and assume that it will safeguard the interest of the people of Pakistan and enrich their individual pockets with generous cash payments of paper dollars. In May-July, 2007, the New York Times ran headlines that “Pakistani Generals are paid to do the job.” Of course, that was the era of Pakistan under individualistic absolutism of the General Musharaf - the renegade Pakistani General who dismantled the institutions, forfeited all possible avenues of political normalcy, dismissed the Chief Justice of Pakistan and 15 other judges who opposed his illegal re-election for the presidency, killings of thousands of innocent civilians across the northwestern Pakistani tribal belts by the US drone attacks and corruption almost in all domains of civility. Musharaf had the money and backing of another psychopath warmonger George Bush waging the “crusade” against Islam and more so against Pakistan via the military invasion of Afghanistan.

American led bogus War on Terrorism - an entrenched and failing warfare without any purpose has been defeated by a handful of hit and run mujahideens across Afghanistan. The US strategists are increasingly engaged in hiring other people to fight for them- the coalition of the absurds under NATO fighting in Afghanistan and enlarging its scope onward to inside Pakistan as was the recent killing of 24 Pakistan soldiers at a border site.  The besieged nation MUST see itself in the mirror and learn from the dead past, to change the future course of history and to articulate a new beginning - a new system of political institutions and intelligent leadership.

Over the past four years, the PPP dominated Zardari government in collaboration with the Army Generals were engaged in deceit of corrupted normalcy - extreme rhetoric, irrational thinking and belligerent outcomes and completely divorced from the prevalent strategic-economic-political realities on the ground requiring URGENT RETHINKING and new policies and new directions to disconnect with the treacherous present. The policy and practices of self-generated fantasy did nothing good to serve the interests of the common people except to embrace increased foreign (USA-British) reliance, internal intrigues and terrorism and destruction of the capacity of the Pakistan to survive as an independent State of Muslim Nation. This mockery of political existence has made Pakistan vulnerable to sudden and accidental collapse - the ultimate death of the nation.

When pretension and stingy greed give life to politically manipulated leadership, treachery and oppression become the rule of political governance in which people are seen as the eggs and chickens, conveniently broken and slaughtered and politicians are akin to assume the above normal role play lacking legitimacy and accountability. Pakistani politics regrettably as is, a venture of intrigues, self-engineered conspiracies and dead roll calls to explain the history of this beleaguered nation. Feudal lords are the political masters, and Bhutto family with complacent army Generals, has been one of them to unfold a naïve and destructive chapter of the Pakistan’s political misfortunes. Mr. ZA Bhutto, the leader of the PPP, his daughter Benazir Bhutto, two of her brothers, all are dead but they still ruling the country by imposter Zardari as the living example. Alive or dead, Bhutto family has been the centre of political intrigues and destructive problems in Pakistan. How irrational and untrue it seems that dead people are leading the living masses of Pakistan? The business of the dead as usual. A situation comparable to the present day Iraq under the American-British continued occupation.

The American led war is financing the terrorism to destroy Pakistan within and take control of its nuclear warheads. They have helped to make the Pakistanis helpless and desperate to kill each other for no obvious and rational purpose except money and political power. Wherever darkness prevails and corruption gets institutionalized, people lose sense of moral and intellectual thoughts, directions and priorities. The Generals, Bhuttos, Zardari and Sharifs are the instruments being used to pursue this strategic goal.

The military dictators, Bhuttos, Zardari, Chaudries and Sharifs could never have come into power unless the whole nation had lost the sense of rationality, PURPOSE and MEANING of its existence. These sadistic and cruel monsters have institutionalized chaos and fear, demoralization of a moral society and dehumanization of an intelligent nation and have transferred these naïve traits and values to the psychological-social-economic and political spheres of the mainstream thinking hub of the nation. Why should we care - many will assert at the cultural levels. Are there any concerned thinkers, intellectuals and proactive political activists to safeguard the national interests of the present and future generations of Muslim Pakistan?

Leaders do lead or they are ugly imposters and stage puppets. Western democratic nations eagerly search and patronize new and creative talents and people with visionary intellectual outlooks, credibility, characteristics and merits. This appears to be a rare commodity in Pakistani politics. Once again, political garbage is piling up but who should clean it? The Supreme Court is making headlines in defining and diagnosing the political ills accumulated by the Zaradri –Gilani gang and the ignorant Generals. Observably, societal change and reformation process do not come out of the legislative or legal stipulations but educated and proactive visionary leaders play their role in innovative THINKING and share their proactive visions for the best of the nation. What happened to the collective conscience of the brave people? Have they taken the asylum in the rear seat and come out only to engage in shouting matches and poster displays when a national crisis situation warrants more serious THINKING and robust action for change and stability. Would shouting in streets and crying on roads and the most stupid acts of burning flags of other nations change the course of future events? What have you accomplished out of this repeated nuisance? Have you impressed the world that you have a genuine cause for freedom from blood sucking draculas? Have you impressed upon the informed global community that you have an honest sense of political imagination and courage for making a different and a viable political future? Your demonstration should aim at the crux of the problems – Zardari-Gilani and the Generals, not the foreign powers who simply go where they find the opportunities to exploit others and rule them. Zardari and dead Miss Bhutto stole millions and millions from the public treasury to open account in Swiss banks, money laundering schemes worldwide and bought palaces in Dubai, UK, France and Spain. Musharaf lives in $1.4 million paid mansion in London under 24/7 British security protection. Where did he get all the money?  It is well known that a wicked person (khabis”) would never harm another “khabis” - wicked person. Stunning facts point out that General Musharaf and Bhutto family had a close understanding how to share the power for the future. This arrangement was planned and optimized by the US leadership.

The corruption knows no bound. Under the military rule, Pakistan has lost precious time and opportunities to regain honor (“Ezat”) while the Generals lead coercive politics devoid of reason and responsibility - the nation continues to live in tormenting uneasiness and being crippled by the cruel acts of sectarian killings and destruction of economic infrastructures across Pakistan.  Every day has become a tragic day, full of bloodbaths, killings of the innocents and disruption in all sectors of public trades and businesses and intellectual lifelines. The Generals and Zardari are the core of problems, not the remedy for any workable solutions. Someone must initiate to clean the stinking garbage or foreign Masters will intervene making Pakistan disappear under the guise of cleansing military operation. 

The nation is devoid of security under the continued military rule symbolized by the PPP Zardari governance. The Pakistani nation must see the mirror – who they were, where they are and where they are heading to - or the Nation stands no chance for any recourse or coming peacefully out of the deadly political stunts of the few, time killing legal battles and the historical graveyards - “Mohenjadaro.”. None of these political figures (Bhuttos, the Generals, Zardari and Sharifs and Chaudries) made any positive contributions toward a functional democracy and they had no knowledge of it to do so and to safeguard the integrity and security of Pakistan. The contemporary history will describe them as cancerous monsters who stole time and opportunities for change and development of the Pakistani nation.

Andrew Marshall (“Imperial Eye on Pakistan”), outlines that in December of 2000, the CIA released a report of global trends to the year 2015, which stated that by 2015, “Pakistan will be more fractious, isolated, and dependent on international financial assistance.”[1] Further, it was predicted, Pakistan:

“Will not recover easily from decades of political and economic mismanagement, divisive politics, lawlessness, corruption and ethnic friction. Nascent democratic reforms will produce little change in the face of opposition from an entrenched political elite and radical Islamic parties. Further domestic decline would benefit Islamic political activists, who may significantly increase their role in national politics and alter the makeup and cohesion of the military – once Pakistan’s most capable institution. In a climate of continuing domestic turmoil, the central government’s control probably will be reduced to the Punjabi heartland and the economic hub of Karachi.”

Frederick Kagan and Michael O’Hanlon scholars at the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution made the following concluding remarks on the evolving insecurity in Pakistan:  “Thus, if we have any hope of success, we would have to act before a complete government collapse, and we would need the cooperation of moderate Pakistani forces.” They suggested one plan would be to deploy Special Forces “with the limited goal of preventing Pakistan’s nuclear materials and warheads from getting into the wrong hand.” However, they admit that, “even pro-American Pakistanis would be unlikely to cooperate.”

How tragic is it that in fifty years, the Pakistani nation could not produce a single leader of political ingenuity and moral and intellectual credibility. What would history say that only wicked (khabis) people, most corrupt and egomaniac and indicted criminals became its leaders - an insult to the idea of Islamic Pakistan, if you can think rationally. The nation is misinformed and misled by the political actors. There are hardly any genuine political establishments to represent the interests and fears of the deprived masses. Corruption breeds corruption. Another “khabis” will be no different than the present ones. Pakistan needs new educated, honest and intelligent leaders. Pakistan desperately needs change but there is no political system to facilitate political change on its own in a peaceful manner. One can imagine the most viable solution to the serve the interest of the people would be to remove the Zardari regime, and bring-in a non-political-non-partisan educated leadership and credible government for one to two years with the public mandate to devise a new constitution and encourage new generation of educated Pakistanis to establish new political institutions and then arrange the next national elections for new assemblies and new political governance.

Even if the obvious circumstances deny place for creative solutions and a new political system for change and freedom from the absurdity of the Few, but if there are mindful and active people of Reason and dedication to pursue CHANGE, the Nation can be helped and rebuilt out of the deliberate neglect, political mismanagement and ruins of the few cancerous monsters. Could the THINKING PEOPLE of Pakistan reverse the course of junk history and make a new beginning based on the Islamic ideology and values of the concept of Pakistan? After much destructions of the public institutions, hopes and trust, could the new generations of educated, honest and intelligent Pakistanis get a breathing space - anew opportunity denied in the past, to initiate and build new political institutions and introduce educated proactive visionary leadership and help to protect the intellectual foundation, integrity and security of the besieged nation?  Allah has promised to change the conditions of the besieged people to favorable future if they wanted a change and are actively working to make it happen: “Allah does not change the condition of people unless first they change themselves.”  (Al-Qura’an, Surah Al-Raad).