Leaders in the Times of Great Peril -2
By Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry
Pittsburg , CA
“They conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear” - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Under Musharraf’s leadership, the country got a new nomenclature for its head, i.e. the Chief Executive; basically the country became a company like the Coca Cola or the Microsoft over night; it touched new nadirs when the general in his capacity as C-in-C imposed emergency against his own government and put the highest jurist under house arrest.
The unfortunate part is that he still remains unrepentant for having done so. Even Somalia, Haiti and Nigeria would not think of doing such a low thing. Terrorists prospered as he never showed his resolve to go after them with Lincoln’s resolve during the civil war when he (Lincoln) used the fullest force against the southern secessionists, contenting that there was no room in the United States of America for two countries.
The price the United States of America paid in order to stay as one country had been tremendous; but it was worth the sacrifice because it resolved the problem once and for all. The Gentle Abe taught the difference between provincial autonomy and treason to the 50 States so well that hardly any State in America can now ever think of doing what was once thought of by the tobacco and cotton growing Southern states.
All our politicians and generals have not been able to find a solution to the Baluchistan problem except to go after the Baluch Sardars whenever their demands and greed exceed their defined stipend. A compromise in the stipend amount is what the generals and politicians all thought to be the solution of the problem. Have these Sardars been more powerful than the over 568 Rajas and Princes of India who became Plebian overnight in 1951?
Yes they, the Sadars and Vaderas, are very powerful in Pakistan. Rather, they have been kept so deliberately by the politicians and generals for a purpose. The green, black and white turban donning Talibaan have had a hay day during Musharraf’s times. The Holy Prophet of Islam, “sweated with the effort to bring peace to war-torn Arabia… his life was a tireless campaign against greed, injustice, and arrogance. He realized that Arabia was at a turning point and that the old way of thinking would no longer suffice, so he wore himself out in the creative effort to evolve an entirely new solution”, wrote beautifully Karen Armstrong in her book ‘Muhammad: A Prophet for our time.’Our leadership in Pakistan, both religious as well as political, on the contrary allowed Tribalism and the tribal culture with all its allied vices of revenge, ignorance, exclusiveness, blood-shedding, ferocity, and intolerance, to prosper, thrive and catch roots, not as vices, but as virtues, duly extolled by the members of the parliament, not just on political forums, but on the very floor of the House. Honor killing, rape, revenge, and the traditions of Vinni, etc., was defended and protected under the name of respect for tribal culture.
All is not lost as yet. The Economist of July 25, 2009 is correct when it acknowledges that “ Pakistan’s generals have a rare victory to boast of”, by gaining control of the lofty Malakand region. So they can do it if they want to. General Ashfaq Kiyani deserves credit for it. Success comes to those who are sincere in their efforts. The country’s Supreme Court is trying to clear the muck that had accumulated in its corridors over a long period of deliberate neglect. There is, however, much to worry about as well. The lawyers are finding it hard to adjust themselves with the newly won judicial freedom. Manhandling a camera man for exposing their excesses when some of them were found kicking and beating a police officer; or a civil judge complaining about their high-handedness as some of them confined him in his chamber and threatened him for life if he passed a verdict contrary to their wishes, are grave matters of concern.
And now the incident of meeting out the most inhuman treatment to Christian minorities in Gojra under the name of the desecration of the Qur’an. Over 450 target killings in Karachi alone, and of people burning government properties all over Punjab and Sindh. Or take the case of Asia Bibi sentenced to be hanged under the Blasphemy Law. Why would the religious leaders like Sahibzada Fazal uddin and others make it so personal that the “Shaan” of Islam and its Prophet would arise manifold if Assia Bibi was hanged. Why would they forget that the Noble Prophet forgave his worst adversary, Abdullah ibn Ubbay, and even honored his sons with his own robe in which they could wrap him; even led his prayers of funeral; why did they forget that the Prophet forgave the entire population of Mecca at the time of its conquest in 630? One of the five points of Hazrat Umer’s last will included a special instruction for the treating well of the Dhimmis, the non-Muslims.
Why are these religious leaders using the Prophet’s name in order to gain some political dividends? Why don’t they see the rampant presence of injustice, cruelty, rape, mal-treatment of women, kidnappings for ransom, unhygienic conditions, social and moral degradation of the society as a whole, and the absence of the basic norms of decency, courtesy and morality in the general public? Why do they remain fixated only on sectarian issues (the latest slogan being ‘The Sunnis are getting side-lined’, and to establish the Sunni supremacy in the focus they arranged a march from Islamabad to Lahore).
If these are not the times that may try people’s souls, then what new perils are the people of Pakistan waiting for? It is a time for the leaders of Pakistan, not only to wake up, but to come forward and assume personal risks. Why did the PM or the CM take days to reach a place like Gojra, which is just three-and-a-half hour drive from Islamabad? Why did the leadership not camp with the flood-affected and displaced people? They can learn, if they have a desire to learn, from Rwanda, from Bangladesh how the leadership there accomplished social cohesion, and how they put their nations on to the road of progress. May be Pakistan also needs a Gacaca type court system to dispense immediate justice as did Rwanda.
On the other side of the border, India is likely to be a member of the Security Council as the American President first time announced it on the Indian soil (57 Muslims countries never came under any such consideration ever); India gets a new desk at the National Security Council, the second after Russia to be handled separately at the NSC. Not only this, India also completes its “triad for nuclear weapons-giving it the ability to deliver them from the air, ground-based mobile platforms and the sea”, as it launches its first nuclear sub built entirely in India, reports San Francisco Chronicle, on July 27, 2009. If India blinked at the Shermul Sheikh Conference by half-heartedly agreeing to talk to Pakistan, it was more due to its economic concerns, fearing lest further tensions with Pakistan should install its Foreign Direct Investments than due to any other consideration.
Pakistan should not gloat over this little success by terming it as India’s defeat. Pakistan should go 100% against the terrorists, be they in Malakand, North Waziristan or South Waziristan or in South Punjab, and against those who are found directly linked behind the attacks in Mumbai or who may be planning to commit such acts in other countries. Pakistan must understand that it cannot afford such whimsical elements endangering its very survival at will. Once the sincerity in the effort is there, then it need not worry about what the world thinks. And the world is not blind, nor is it so unjust. Truth always comes out. Trust and reliability, so essential behind all relations, would follow as a natural consequence.
The country is passing through a phase that it has never passed through before. There is complete lack of good governance; and no political leader is coming forward with a clearly defined solution to problems such as sectarian and ethnic violence; availability of power, water and justice in the earliest possible time-limit; relentless efforts to curb corruption and inflation; and immediate steps to attain self-reliance without which the country’s sovereignty is a hollow slogan.
The present ruling junta can be easily likened to a “bride-groom attired in an expensive outfit” that hardly fits him well. Columnist Ayaz Amir rightly calls the cabinet of ministers as “the most well-dressed” in the history of Pakistan. Leaders are not made by tailors; they are the product of intuition and vision.
Some are fixing their eyes on Imran Khan and Aitzaz Ahsan as the future saviors. Well, both need to clearly define their agenda. Both often talk in general and euphemistic terms. The nation is looking at the horizon for the appearance of a leader who is clear-headed, bold, visionary and willing to risk both his life as well as his career when it comes to making bold, unpopular and unpleasant decisions. One thing common in the game of cricket and politics is performance. Imran Khan wants his reputation to be transferred to politics for all times, and that is not possible. Like cricket, politics is also not a proxy game. He needs to perform in this field as well. So far his role in politics has been that of a commentator. He should know all good commentators have often been bad or just mediocre players.
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