Pakistan: A Nation Looking for Navigational Change

  Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

After the Supreme Court nullified the Musharafs’ NRO on December 16, the voices of reason are blowing loud across Pakistan and abroad for Mr. Zardari and his gang to quit the self-adapted political powerhouse and be accountable in a court of law. Comparatively, if this would have happened in a Western nation, the politicians would have honorably left the corridors of power. Not so, for the stupid and self accentuated Pakistani politicians. It clearly demonstrates the dichotomy of the claimed democracy if they represent any honor for the position or of the national interest of the country. Pakistan survives in an age of extreme uncertainty and emerging political conflicts of diverse and challenging nature offering little substance to ignorant and wicked politicians to understand the 21^st century global politics. Leaders hold the vision of the future and make it happen with commitment and continuous struggle for the best of the nation. Across the technologically developed Western world, public and private institutions conduct research and analyze changing alternatives to foresee the picture of tomorrow- a visionary outlook for the future. Leaders listen and learn and take serious notice of consuls and public inputs into the making of the public policy and decisions of supreme national interests.

Leaders create leaders and that is the real problem in Pakistan. Look at the contemporary Pakistan, it is managed by people who have hardly known the entry gate to a high school or possess any visionary or intellectual foresight to utter few words of wisdom, giving meaning to common sense or compelling realities of purpose in a changing world. Pakistan needs change but there is no political mechanism to bring about a peaceful change out of the institutionalized anarchy and corruption of the few. Military coup is not the option or a workable remedy. The physical body of the nation is in turmoil; it lost touch with the real world and forgot how to THINK as conscientious Muslims and Pakistanis. The stupidity and corrupted behaviors of the few have infected the bloodstream of the whole nation to be indifferent to the perception of the political problems. The sickness must be treated by non-partisan and positive thinking people of the new educated and honest generation of Pakistanis who were not part of the problems but could be promising contributors to the making of the future.

For more than forty years, the nation was governed by various military dictators creating havoc social and political conditions that Pakistanis experience today. The Generals in collaboration with the feudal lords turned politicians, sucked out the creative energies of the nation, stole its material and financial resources, wasted all the precious time and opportunities for change and development, and left the skeleton to face the difficult challenges of the future. The outcome translates clearly to long awaited emotional outbursts and revulsion against the present and former rulers. Large scale social deprivation, missing moral and intellectual security, daily rampage of suicide bombing by Taliban militants and lost business and trades and means of national productivity. The seeds of greed and stupidity that General Musharaf sowed, more and more the Western news media portrays Pakistan as a nation obsessed with extremism and terrorism. The world floats on media carved images but that is not the real image or the fact of life of Pakistanis. For his survival, Musharaf made common Pakistanis as suspect of militancy ad terrorism. He is the biggest terrorist who should be held accountable for his crimes against the Muslim nation.  This was not incidental but a planned scheme of things to destabilize the foundation and faith of nation that no one can cope with the terrible bloody issues of today.  You need intelligent and educated people to come up with feasible and responsible solutions. The military Generals who ruled Pakistan under one or another pretexts were self-centered and stupid. They encouraged illiterate feudal lords to become politicians and used them as pawns on chessboard to demonstrate illusions for change and restoration of democratic norms. The Generals invested in a class of neo-colonial agents whose families had wealth and influence to buy the people. The so called politicians were used as shield to extend the military rule, but once out of the military interests and active service, they could be identified as traitors. The Bhutto family, Zardaris, Sharifs and so many others are the by-products of that age of exploitation and corruption. You cannot blame them for being what they are. Bhuttos and the Generals were problem when alive, and they are problem while dead.

The whole nation must analyze itself, what role it played in keeping these filthy scoundrels in power for over several decades. They were and are the real enemies of the people of Pakistan, not India, not Israel or any other foreign nation. Late Mr. ZA Bhutto was complacent with General Yahya Khan to dismember Pakistan and to grab power after making its defeat to India in East Pakistan- a reality. The Generals and Mr. ZA Bhutto were not held accountable for their crimes against the people of Pakistan. Have the Pakistanis learned anything from that national tragedy? According to the political sources and General Zia’s family, Bhutto family conspired to kill General Zia ul Haq and 12 or more Pakistan Generals and hundreds of others in a plane crash to make ways for Miss Bhutto to come into power. The elite were well aware of the conspiracy but no one was ever charged for these killings. While first time Prime Minister, Miss Benazir Bhutto offered lists of Kashmiri and Sikh freedom fighters and political activists to then Indian PM Rajeev Gandhi to get personal favors. Indian security killed all of them. Miss Bhutto and Zardari stole million and millions from the nation to buy properties in UK and open secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere. Twice dismissed on corruption charges, Miss Bhutto never admitted any wrong doings. What a disgrace that some naive people call her a martyr. Her husband Asif Zardari (now the President), known to be Mr. 10% agent for bribery and enriched with many money laundering schemes, killing of other members of the Bhutto family ( Murtaza Bhutto) and several other cases, not formally indicted but somehow became the President of the already exploited nation.

 General Musharaf is no angel either. After nine years of aggressive rule and civilian strife, killing thousands of innocent people under the guise of “terrorism” just to please America and make some extra money, lives happily in a 1.4 million dollar villa in London protected by the British secret service. They appear to be all foreign implanted rulers with foreign minds and intellect who ruled Pakistan for so long. All of them had one thing in common. They were all wicked (“khabis”) people, and it is well known that “one khabis would never harm another khabis.” Accordingly, General Musharaf conveniently worked out the NRO (National Reconciliation Order) and facilitated power to the Bhutto Zardari family. They were all greedy for power to become agents of foreign influence to rule Pakistan. They have all stolen the future of the ordinary people of Pakistan. Time and opportunities lost, are never regained. Today, Pakistan is left with its broken dreams and shattered hopes for the future. It is the future that counts. If the present is fluid and shrouded with secrecy as to how power is transferred in a country that was supposed to be free to serve the cause of Islam for a just and balanced system of human affairs, how could its future be better and brighter? Are there any laws or a system of justice to hold all these people accountable for their crimes against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? It seems that the recently restored Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Chaudry has a critical task to define, determine and implement the laws of the land, if in reality they do exist. The prolonged military rulers left the nation with Martial Laws - the laws of the jungle, not the laws of Islam for a civilized society to emerge and work in a global arena.

The current PPP rulers are obsessed with personal survival and greed of the dollars and have no time to analyze the affairs of the besieged nation or to think of workable change and reformation of the political turmoil and bloodbath taking place to fuel extremism and terrorism. Are there any public institutions in tact to think of the viable alternatives out of the current conflicts? Did the army leadership ever have any clues how to deal with internal strife, extremism and political unrest? Almost for forty years, they ruled the country in complete disregard to their professional duties and responsibilities. Are they really capable to handle the present political and military conflicts planned and executed by the foreign powers?  Politics is not the business of the military Generals. Complex political issues cannot be addressed by guns and bullets. There is no surety of any feasible outcome from the current problems and military engagements on the Afghan-Pakistan border. If there are THINKING people with live conscience, they would first THINK and then act. Not so, with the Pakistani decision makers. They seem keen to kill any numbers of their own people in order to rationalize the coming of the American military aid package. For seven years, America failed to achieve any strategic goals after invading Iraq and Afghanistan. America and Britain killed an estimated 2.5 million civilians in Iraq, and tortured and destabilized the human habitats for millions in Afghanistan. It was not a war against Al-Qaida but a crusade against Islam. Given all the advanced knowledge and weaponry, America and Britain could not apprehend handful of people that they claim to be the aim of the wars. Now, they dictate Pakistan to do the bloodbaths of the innocent Afghans and Pakistani civilians in South Waziristan tribal belt. America needs mercenaries to fight proxy war on its behalf and the $7.5 billion aid package is meant to hire the Pakistanis to do the job that America and Britain have failed to carry out. War is killing, not peacemaking. The aid package is means for strangulation of the Pakistani nation and to take control of its nuclear establishment. Could Pakistan live without such a so called aid?

Hundreds of innocent civilians are daily targeted by the suicide bombers (whether unofficially consented extremists and politically arranged extremists) to hit markets and destroy normal life and commerce of the nation. It could only be transpired by the dead-enders who have a history of killings and corruptions – what else is new in Pakistan or what else could you hope for from the Generals, Bhuttos and Zardaris, there are lot of them, everywhere filling their own pockets with blood stained money. With dismantled political institutions and failed politics of the few, Pakistan looks to its educated and honest citizens to come to rescue it from the horrible crimes being committed by its phony leaders. Pakistan deserves its life, dignity, business markets and image of a progressive nation to be restored. Pakistan asks its citizens living abroad to return as they are the HOPE for the making of the future and help to enhance change and reformation of the corrupt governance. As an educated and responsible citizen of Pakistan, you are vital to share your vision, global knowledge and experience for the reconstruction of a viable political system away from the neo-colonialism and you could be instrumental in making the navigational change to safeguard the future of your homeland – where you belong.

(Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in global security, peace and conflict resolution, and comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of many publications including Muslims and the West; How America Lost the War on Islamic Fundamentalism; To America and Canada with Reason; “Pakistan: Enigma of Change”, “Pakistan: Leaders who could not lead”, “Pakistan: how to make sense out of nonsense.” Comments are welcome at: kmahboob@yahoo.com).