And Now, the Charter of Demands: The Comedy Continues!
By Ahmed Quraishi
Islamabad, Pakistan
Turkish President Abdullah Gull was not impressed. There was no Robert Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, or John McCain to receive him here. Not even Howard Dean. Just Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, and Imran Khan. If our dear Turkish friend was expecting to meet towering statesmen, he was in for a surprise.
According to the people accompanying Turkish President Abdullah Gul in the Pakistani capital, the Turkish leader was not very impressed after meeting the cream of the Pakistani political elite.
“This bunch of jokers failed to impress him,” said a protocol officer who witnessed the meetings.
The Pakistani political circus has been a source of much international interest lately. Interest for the media, shame for the Pakistanis. But it’s one thing to see Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif performing on television screens (where they don’t look bad, let’s admit it), and it’s quite another thing to actually hear them talk face to face.
The Turkish President appeared bored to death throughout his meetings with Mr. Sharif, Mrs. Bhutto-Zardari, and Mr. Khan.
Mr. Gul came to talk about the larger picture, Pakistan ’s regional and global status and reputation, the threats emanating from Afghanistan , where many different players are using the Afghan soil to create havoc in Pakistan , and the international situation where the American media is bent on demonizing Islamabad ’s military and nuclear capabilities.
The Turk president was expecting strategic discussions with first-class Pakistani politicians. He ended up with third-rate classroom backbiting.
Examples:
Abdullah Gul: “The international community must remain committed to a constructive approach towards Pakistan, keeping in view its pivotal role against global terrorism.”
Benazir Bhutto: “Terrorists can seize Islamabad and take control of Pakistani nuclear installations at Kahuta!”
Abdullah Gul: “Democracy is essential … but at the same time the realities of a country should be taken into consideration … there’s a need to get the big picture ... all leaders must look to the future.”
Nawaz Sharif: “We need to boycott elections to bring down the government!”
Benazir Bhutto: “The ban on third-time premiership negates democracy.”
With this type of “strategic” dialogue, it is no wonder that Mr. Gul was bored stiff. He maintained the same fixed grin on his face with his left hand tucked under his left knee throughout the back-to-back meetings with Pakistani politicians.
The point here is that here you have a leader of a crucial country, a NATO member, a US ally that stands its ground on major issues, coming to Pakistan to say: You know what, we are concerned about your great nation. You don’t deserve to demean yourselves like this, have some pride and don’t create conditions for your enemies to exploit by showing that you can’t run your country.
Gul came to revive our faith in ourselves, but he ended up with selfish and self-centered politicians who think the nation can’t be if they are not in power, and for this they will join hands with anyone else in the world that would help them come to power.
And it’s not just Turkey ’s Abdullah Gul. There is also Mr. Hu Jintao, the President of China. On 3 November, when the US media came down hard on Pakistan and Britain maneuvered behind the scenes to kick Pakistan out of the Commonwealth, Mr. Hu sent a strong message of support to Pakistan and the people of Pakistan. He sent another message on 30 November. In total, two important messages for the Pakistanis in less than one month from the leader of China.
If any Pakistani has an iota of patriotism and pride in his/her veins, he/she would stand up and salute the Chinese president for the message he sent to the Pakistanis and to the world. To the Pakistanis Mr. Hu said, when all is said and done, it is Pakistan’s stability that is above everything else. Don’t forget that. Pakistan’s strength is in development and stability, everything else comes second, including Western notions of democracy. And to the world, his two messages were a clear sign: China will not abandon Pakistan. If someone thinks they can profit by creating internal strife in Pakistan, this will not be allowed to happen.
The Turkish president, breaking the norms in government-to-government relations, landed in Islamabad to tell the world to back off and give Pakistan a breathing space.
In the backdrop of all this, consider the performance of the Pakistani political elite.
Almost all major Pakistani politicians worth their salt ignored these important messages from the friends of the Pakistani nation.
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif met to announce “a Charter of Demands.” This comes after the farce of “Charter of Democracy” last year.
Nihal Cassim, a Karachi businessman, reacted to the news of the new charter like this: “Charter of Demands — the comedy continues.”
But jokes aside, he also asked a very interesting question: “Why doesn’t anyone ask how the success of Charter of Demands will be measured. All or some of the demands have to be met?”
Don’t ask me, Nihal. This is a country where probably the cleanest of politicians, Mr. Imran Khan, failed to build a decent political party in five years. Why? Because he wants to be the sole leader within his party. Dissent not allowed. The classic problem of Pakistan’s hopeless politicians.
Look at the bright side, President Gul. You’re back home by now. We still have to live with this circus.
(Mr. Quraishi is a foreign policy commentator for PTV NEWS, Pakistan’s largest television network. He also heads the Pakistan Project at FurmaanRealpolitik, an independent think tank based in Islamabad. He can be reached at aq@ahmedquraishi.com)
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