Opinion

Bad Democracy: A Revolving Door to Power for a Few – 2
By Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry
Pittsburg , CA

“In the sight of God, harshness, carelessness or even insensitivity to the suffering of the poor, helpless and hungry is tantamount to denying the religion and the Day of Judgment” Al-Maun. 107: 1-3

THE QUAGMIRE: The scenario is horrible. Bob Woodward in his book, “Obama’s Wars”, on page 65 quotes Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, who visited President Zardari along with Joe Biden - the vice president elect. In the words of Woodward, “To Graham, Zardari did not inspire confidence. He would have liked to tell him exactly what was on his mind, ‘The whole f……place is burning down here, pal, you know? You may not see it, but I do’ ”.

Newsweek in its November 8 edition publishes an article entitled “Should we invade Pakistan? And “Is there any way to fix Pakistan?” October 10, 2010… Pakistan is teetered on the brink of a failed state… “Is Pakistan the main problem?”, “it has been ever since”, says National Security Adviser Jim Jones… Asif Ali Zardari repeatedly invokes his assassinated wife… to underscore his dedication to battling extremists…American forbearance is waning… Quetta Shura which includes one-eyed Mulla Mohammad Omar are Islamabad’s insurance policy… they are to look after Pakistan’s interests when US withdraws… “ Petraeus is of the view that you cannot have two positions. You either have to be an ally or not”, Lt. Gen. Talat Masood… “ Pakistan never had any moral qualms about dealing with the Taliban. “By pursuing its interests so avidly, Pakistan is in real danger of isolating itself- of being a pariah state”. And all this is not untrue.

Let us confess, Pakistan is slipping into a deep hole, rather it is already in a hole. Why the forces that matter do not wake up; what are they waiting for? How much more blood needs to be spilled before it is realized that Pakistan is in trouble?

Why are we so fixated on Afghanistan and on having a friendly government over there, be it even the type of the Taliban? Why does Pakistan think only about how to rescue itself when dismantled? Why does it not see what the world is thinking about it? If we go on auto-pilot with India, then why not do what the Indians are doing? What the Bangladeshi have done? Success or failure of a person or family or country largely depends on the kind of bed-fellows they choose.

Even now when these lines are being written, Karachi has suffered a massive bomb blast. A bold terrorist attack on the country’s investigating department building ( CID) has cost more than 20 lives, injuring over 100, and destroying millions worth of property. The worst loss has been a terrible blow to the country’s erstwhile soiled image. Is there a terrorist activity happening in the world whose traces do not go to Pakistan somehow? The country is burning and the PM and his cabinet ministers are found listening to Allama Iqbal’s “Shikwa” in Sani’s voice, all clad in custom-tailored suits, French collared shirts and expensive ties, sitting with their sari-wrapped spouses in the Convention Hall of Islamabad. Life never was so wonderful for these jailbirds as it is now. Once out of power, half of them will turn the coats that they are wearing, and half of them will announce their revolt against Pakistan.

The infrastructure of bridges, roads, police stations, hospitals and schools has already been completely destroyed in one quarter of the country, the remaining is getting destroyed by the lunatics up in arms… sky-high prices of such commodities as sugar (sold at 125 rupees per kilo) and of other essential eatable items virtually out of the reach of people have further put the main population of the country in a state of shock and helplessness. They feel constrained to think the way Lindsey Graham thought, “The whole f……place is burning down here”. Even the Indian/Brazil imported sugar and tomatoes are out of the reach of the people. The PIA, the Railways, and the Steel Mills, all are about to go bankrupt. The poor people, like the people of France before the French Revolution, are getting taxed under one pretext or another while the Plutocrats, the rich and the people in power, totally remain exempted though they are the main evaders. The textile industry, which once accounted for the country’s 38% manufacturing industry, has been reduced to 8.5%. Foreign investment had completely dried out.

WHO MADE PAKISTAN SO IRRELEVANT! No one else, but Pakistan itself. When President Obama chose to stay in India for three days, he knew that Pakistan would be upset as Pakistan is India-centric. He also knew that Kashmir had been the main cause of friction between these two countries; he knew that India did not and would not cooperate with the United States on the question of sanctions against Iran; President Obama also knew that India was in blatant violation of global climate effects; and it was also not a secret for Obama that India was not free of human rights violations, or that India was where most of the poor people of the world live. He knew all this and much more.

President Obama is the smartest President in the current brand of leaders of the world. He visited India because India is more relevant to America economically than Pakistan. He deliberately posed as if it were a discovery for him that India is a country of 1.3 billion people; that most Indians speak English; that India has an economy of $1.2 trillion which is growing at an annual rate of more than 8%; that India contains a middle class which is almost as big as the total population of the United States of America; that the Indian navy is of great strategic use for the Pentagon to oversee the region; that India is the ‘biggest’ democracy.

President Obama knew all the above about India and even much more when he landed not in Delhi but in Bombay and stayed in the Taj. Since India is relevant, therefore, he also spoke what India wanted to hear. And what also served his own interests. He secured 54 thousand jobs for his own country. India felt no qualms in re-aligning itself with the United States without breaking away from the Soviet Union. Pakistan had been with the United States since its inception. In the relationships between countries, what matters is relevance, and not the length of duration. Vietnamese are closer to the United States of America than Mexico though they had more than half a million killed in the war.

Pakistan does not present such a rosy picture on any account. Pakistan on the other hand, rightly or wrongly, is understood to be heavily relying on the Jehadis, often remains accused of having ties to the Jehadis whom the Pakistani leadership sees as potential proxies against India. This is what the West thinks about Pakistan. India, and for that matter, Indonesia and South Korea, matter much more to the United States than an ambivalent and irrelevant Pakistan because Pakistan remains undecided on the question of terrorism. Terrorists have killed their generals; attacked the GHQ and the police headquarters, yet the discussion keeps on going, punctuated with ”ifs and buts and because ofs”. The people and the leadership of Pakistan remain unclear and therefore unresolved on the question of “who is a terrorist and who is not? It just has learned to live under their fear. The Punjab government offers the best example.

Let us suppose tomorrow America decides to withdraw, and the Taliban take over the government in Afghanistan, and let us befool ourselves for a moment, that the Taliban government remains friendly to Pakistan and hostile to India? How would this help Pakistan in anyway except that the lunatics would walk more defiantly and boldly claiming, “We defeated the sole Super Power”. Will it put bread on the plates of the poor Pakistanis? Would it usher in a period of un-precedented prosperity and social cohesion in Pakistan? Two religiously radicalized and hungry countries, cut off from the rest of the world, present a scary scenario. Afghanistan has nothing to lose because it virtually never had anything; the biggest loser would be Pakistan, and that too, because of its own ambivalence and wrong fixation with the losers.

The Newsweek is right when it says, “ Pakistan might win Afghanistan, but will lose the West.” Is that the prize Pakistanis really want? Why is Pakistan so fixated on Afghanistan is a question that keeps on itching the mind again and again. Afghans themselves do not like too much of Pakistan in Afghanistan. They want themselves to be left alone. The recent floods and the lukewarm support to Pakistan is a clear sign that Pakistan is already almost standing isolated in the world community. Any unfortunate terrorism incident happening in the West, or even in India, would entail a massive response, and the most unfortunate part would be that that the world would just watch.

Unfortunately, Pakistan has already missed the train to progress after the tragedy of 9/11 when an unprecedented opportunity fell in its lap. India wisely encashed it. Pakistan chose to remain a bed-fellow of the losers. The losers carry a dual potential of destruction: not only they eventually destroy themselves, they also destroy those who befriend them.

History offers examples. Muslims in Spain fell due to the radicalism of the Berbers from North Africa. The Japanese, the Germans, the Vietnamese, and currently, the Bangladeshis, the Indians, and the Indonesians, have wisely and timely re-aligned themselves by making U-turns and did what suited best their countries and people. They are reaping the rich results. Their alignment also involved drastic steps of setting their own houses in order first.

Change in the government is over-due. It should not be postponed any longer. How that change is engineered short of a military takeover is not a very difficult task. There are many models: Bangladesh offers one; replacement of the main actors through parliament is another.
Level-five leadership should be installed. Some untried faces whose reputation and qualifications match the world class leaders must be attracted. They should also be the men who are bold; who have the ability to think and make difficult decisions. There is no dearth of them inside and outside the country. The Singapore and Taiwan model can be followed.
Whosoever assumes the charge must be made to first address his own kith and kin before he chooses to address the nation. Like Hazrat Omer, he must make it clear that it was time for all to change as the law of retribution onward would be ruthless. The process should start from his own family.
All should be given a chance to declare their assets, and have them legalized. A rupees found later as not declared should be confiscated with heavy penalties, and the mis-reporter be declared unqualified to hold any public office.
Defamation acts and meritocracy on the pattern of Singapore be introduced. Let the press write whatever it wants, but defamation must be met with wrecking fines. Religious tolerance and the rights of the minorities be declared as of paramount importance.
A Special Terrorist Act be introduced, and special courts be established with security. Terrorists or anybody found in damaging or destroying even one dog-house, be inflicted with exemplary punishments.

The entire army and all the law enforcing agencies be mobilized to hunt out those who are responsible for wreaking destruction on the country. They should be given enough time to lay down their arms and be given a chance to live normal lives. After the deadline date, exemplary punishments through the specially enacted law be awarded to them. Those who are death-traders be given the commodity they are so fond of trading. Let them taste it first.

Corruption henceforth be dealt with as are the acts of terrorism dealt with.
Radical programs be introduced to provide relief to the poor people. Land reforms be introduced gradually, but first the rich and the landowners be made to pay the taxes as per their agriculture income. Evasion of taxes be declared a dire crime.
Educational Reforms be introduced in a manner that diplomas and degrees awarded by the Pakistani institutions are honored all over the world.

10. Power and water supply be ensured on grounds that the wheels of industry begin to move, and people get access to drinkable water. Welfare programs and healthcare centers be opened all over the country and those that are lying dormant are made operational.