At This Moment
of Supreme Crisis
By Dr Syed Ehtisham
Bath, NY
At this moment of supreme crisis in Pakistan,
let us not stoop to name calling. Let us analyze
the events and offer some long-term solutions.
Expatriates are unable to take direct part in
politics in Pakistan. Impassioned statements have
only a transitory impact. Appeals to our congressmen
and senators would go some way to salve our conscience
but would have little material effect. They are
only interested in untainted support that the
USA gets from Pakistan and not in justice fair
play or democracy. Remember the US government
is supporting any number of satrapies. One US
ambassador when asked who his government would
prefer - BB or Nawaz - gave his revealing response:
he did not care if Mickey Mouse became PM of Pakistan
as long as the GOP followed US guidelines!
Pakistan was ruled by a combine of bureaucrats,
feudals and the army after Liaquat was assassinated.
It has lurched from one dictatorship to another
since 1958.
Once when people of united Pakistan united the
evil Quad of the feudal system, army, bureaucracy,
and mullahs unleashed a reign of terror in East
Pakistan, rather concede power to Mujib lest he
impose taxes on the feudals, reduce expense on
the army and increase the budget on health, education,
infrastructure and job creation.
East Pakistan could get freedom from the toke
of the Quad only with the help of India.
Bhutto took over and removed the nascent bourgeoisie
from competing with and replacing his feudal class.
Zia was brought in when Bhutto in his megalomania
threatened imperialist interests. Zia turned out
to be more diabolical. He used the US-USSR proxy
war in Afghanistan to impose an Islamo-fascist
system and suppressed all freedom of expression,
enlightenment. He created ethno-fascist political
parties to buttress his support and left the legacy
of guns, drugs and ethnic mafia. In his turn he
was dispatched by the imperium to a well-deserved
fiery grave.
BB and Nawaz spent the post-Zia musical chairs
years in covering their flanks and looting the
exchequer.
Nawaz grew too big for his britches. Musharraf
though not a son of the soil packed him off into
a comfortable exile.
Musharraf has ruled for nearly eight long years.
BB and Nawaz have not dared to return and face
court trials and jail. One has no problem in accepting
and understanding the behavior of Nawaz. He is
product of the Zia military regime.
But BB suffered unimaginable tortures during the
Zia time. One of her lesser travails was time
spent in a cell in Sukkur jail at the height of
summer. Jail authorities offered her slabs of
ice and an electric fan. She disdainfully rejected
preferential treatment and demanded similar amenities
for all political parishioners. Her jailers gave
the excuse that they did not have enough ice!
There may be other reasons but marriage with Asif
Zardari must be the major one for her cowardice.
DEMOCRACY CANNOT BE IMPORTED. It cannot be imposed
by US congressmen. It cannot be achieved by an
amorphous combination of disaffected feudal group
out of power, pseudo nationalists, Talibanized
mullahs or lawyers riding a crest of public fatigue
with Musharraf.
Musharraf had been coasting along comfortably.
He had nothing to fear from BB, Nawaz or the mullahs.
He was in any case adroitly playing one against
the other. Suspending the CJ was Musharraf's first
misstep. He was probably induced to do so by his
Citi-Bank side kick who most likely had been told
off by his corporate bosses to get rid of the
chief impediment to Global corporate takeover
of Pakistani assets. Remember the CJ blocked the
handover of the steel mills at a fire sale price.
That has served as a catalyst to a sustained campaign
against him. His opponents are inept. If they
had managed to create the Karachi situation in
Lahore Musharraf would be history now. Remember
the downfall of Ayub and Bhutto started in Lahore.
Both had easily overcome breakdown of law and
order in Karachi. He may fall yet.
IF STEPS ARE NOT TAKEN TO OVERHAUL THE SYSTEM
Pakistan would go through another period of musical
chairs and another Musharraf will inevitably follow.
Expatriates can help by encouraging a grassroots
movement by financing it, by keeping the issue
alive in the world press and by suppressing fissiparous
tendencies. They have to concentrate on the evil
Quad and demand abolition of the feudal system,
reduction of the army to man gable levels, perhaps
fifty thousand to help in times of natural crisis
like an earthquake from the current half a million,
and suppression of ethno and Islamo-fascist parties.
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