Arsalan-Gate: A Blessing in Disguise?
By Dr Ghayur Ayub
London, UK
Nature plays its role in mysterious ways. Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful business tycoon in UK who had total control over known politicians, legislators and media outlets, was caught red-handed when his newspaper, ‘News of the World’, illegally taped conversation of family members of a murdered young girl, Moly.
It was an abrasive attack on privacy of the grieving family in a most inhuman way. The news was leaked out and the public was outraged. Using his usual unholy tactics, he tried his resources to cover up the issue, but failed. This time he was facing the public, not a few saleable highbrows.
As they say, the public represents the godhead and their voice is considered the voice of God. The outcry of enraged public created a storm which swept away the most powerful man whose one wink could destroy politicians, legislators and bureaucrats. He resigned from the chairmanship and closed one of the oldest newspapers of the country. His cronies went down with him, one by one.
The cases still continue in the court of law. It happened that just before the ‘Moly case’ came into open, his deal of buying ‘The SkyB’ with the Tory government was in final stages. That deal would have thrown the future politics of UK under his feet and the future of politicians in his hands. The deal evaporated in thin air.
We have a similar powerful man in Pakistan. His name is Riaz Malik. Up until now, he filled one pocket with trillions of rupees and other pockets with ‘who is who’ of the country, so to speak. For him it was business between his pockets. We do not know what was the tipping point that activated Nature’s anger. All we can say is that Nature is in action in Pakistan and unlike choosing the murder of an unknown person, it chose Dr Arsalan. We don’t know about the outcome of the case but if Nature is angry after watching the widening gap between the needs of the public and the ‘who is who’ of the country, one will be rightly assess that this is the beginning of a big change which will either reform the country and put it on the right track or pose a threat to its very existence. Let us hope and pray for the first scenario, as many among the ‘who is who’ would like to see the country disintegrate so that they could settle abroad with looted wealth.
The question arises whether Nature is with the public or with the corrupt elite. The outcome of ‘Arsalan-gate’ will tell. At this stage we can easily discern:
• ‘Arsalan-gate’ has further divided the Pakistan society.
• Its two important pillars - the judiciary and the media - have come under severe scrutiny and have been targeted left, right and center.
• An open division has appeared amongst:
The leading lawyers, well-known media personnel, leading political figures, political analysts, leading civilian elites, and retired army generals.
. The same trend might be reflected in the serving generals and the sitting judges of the highest court as revealed by Riaz Malik. He told certain journalists, that seven judges, a few important serving generals and others from the establishment are in his pocket. Looking at the names of the board members of ‘Bharia Town Scheme’, he might be telling the truth.
• One can easily observe leanings of the anchors of important talk shows and where their loyalties lie. Some of them spare no time to do what Dr Shakeel Afridi did in the name of humanity to protect the American interests.
• Asif Ali Zardari who on the initial exposure of ‘Memogate’ had a panic attack leading to his urgent admission in a Dubai hospital will be relaxing, especially when he heard Malik Riaz exonerating him from ‘Arsalan-gate’. Why doesn’t that surprise us keeping their ongoing ‘deep friendship’ in mind? Wasn’t it Malik Riaz who brought the Holy Qur’an on behalf of Asif Ali Zardari to seal a deal between him (AAZ) and Nawaz Sharif?
• Asif Ali Zardari is master in diverting public attention from one issue to another and slips himself out of the loop. He doesn’t care whom he sacrifices in the process; Babar Awan and Zulfiqar Mirza are two glaring examples. According to a news item he even offered Gilani’s head on a platter to Nawaz Sharif which was rejected.
• Malik Riaz and AAZ are survivors; so is the Chief Justice, Ch Mohammed Iftkhar. Let us wait and see whether Nature takes the side of Ch Iftkhar, or Malik Riaz and Asif Ali Zardari.
• Meanwhile, the poor masses are suffering owing to load-shedding, backbreaking unemployment, and unending miseries. To make matters worse they lack enthusiasm to come out on the streets for a national cause in the likes of ‘Arab Spring’. This is because they suffer from centuries-old slave-mentality which has plagued them to the core. The most they can do is to come out on the streets in pockets to vent their anger against load-shedding and the corrupt practices of the government. After venting their emotions they go back to their homes without making the protests a prolonged struggle against the corrupt system which has made their life an agonizing misery.
There could be other angles to ‘Arsalan-gate’, such as:
1. The CJP should put ‘Arsaln-gate’ on a fast track in which the justice be seen as done.
2. If the case is proved against his son then Arsalan as a bribe-taker, and Malik Riaz, as a bribe-giver, be punished according to the law.
3. That will prove that the judiciary in Pakistan is free, fair and upright.
4. It will bring to an end the badmouthing campaign against the CJP that he has leanings towards certain people or parties which make him appear biased in taking quick action in certain cases and using delaying tactics in others.
5. It will make it easy for CJP to give decisions on other important pending cases.
6. It will open a gate to start fresh cases of ‘brothers’, ‘sons’, ‘wives’ of ‘who is who’ of the country.
7. Although Dr Arsalan’s case is an agonizing reality for the CJP but may be Nature is trying to build a new road for a new and better Pakistan through him.
8. To put it in real terms this case could be a blessing in disguise for the country which has been going down the drain because of the corrupt practices of the powerful ‘who is who’ of society and a wake-up call for the sleeping nation which is wrapped up in the dusty sheet of slave-mentality.
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