Rhetoric and Platitudes
By Misbah U. Azam, PhD
Phoenix , AZ
None of the contestants in the general elections had a clear picture or quantitative research to share with the people of Pakistan . They could not explain the reasons for the problems confronting the country or offer any explicit plans for dealing with issues like atta crisis, terrorism, restlessness in Balochistan, foreign policy, especially, Pakistan ’s relations with India vis-a-vis Kashmir . The ruling PML (Q) stalwarts were lecturing the people of Pakistan and the world on the national and international media about the “ground realities” of Pakistan . They insisted that since in 2002 they had swept the general elections they would finish first in the parliamentary vote on Feb. 18, 2008 elections too (as if no one knows how they swept the 2002 elections). They bluntly deny that there is a crisis in the country stemming from the scarcity or non-availability of items of basic necessities like flour, oil, electric power and natural gas. They brag about the “great industrial progress” they brought about in the county during their eight years of government. Then there are the so-called large parties - PPP, PML (N) and ANP - who, according to independent observers, are expected to gain most of the parliamentary seats, They are still not quite sure if: a) they are willing to work with General (rtd) Musharraf, b) how they are going to deal with the unilateral amendments in the Constitution made by the General, c) how they are going to deal with the judges issue, and d) what they will do different from the former government to deal with painful issues like price hike and terrorism. PPP, time and again, puts the people in a state of confusion by changing its statement on working with Musharraf. True, if the late Ms. Benazir Bhutto had chosen to work with the establishment she had the charisma to convince both the party workers and PPP supporters about her decision, but it is not very clear if among the present PPP leadership there is any person who has the ability to work under the rules of the game defined by the powerful establishment and still save the party from break-up. Mian Nawaz Sharif is demonstrating a political vision and maturity as an opposition leader but even his has not come up with explicit solutions to the ills of Pakistan , which, an ordinary Pakistani is desperately trying to overcome once and for all. One expects that in the heated election campaign preceding the polls all the parties would avail of the opportunity of explaining to the people of Pakistan their specific plans and goals to deal with pressing issues instead of playing local body politics.
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