September
28, 2007
The
Pakistan Election Dream Team
The “Dream
Team” for Pakistan’s forthcoming
elections is Imran Khan’s coinage.
And how deeply I wish it wasn’t
bathed in the bitterness that he, I
and probably a large number of Pakistanis
feel.
In a previous column I have lamented
the recycling of the same old political
personalities. And when talent such
as Imran Khan’s, Javed Hashmi’s
and Aitazaz Ahsan’s is left glittering
in the sun, my bitterness transforms
to anger at how blighted our national
luck has continually been.
In case suspense is murderous, the Dream
Team consists of Musharraf, Benazir
and the MQM. The director/producer of
the Dream Team is none other than that
same old very experienced nation-builder
and bringer-of-democracy-to-the-world,
Uncle Sam.
In an unusual move, the Supreme Court
of Pakistan decreed that Nawaz Sharif
had every right of return to his homeland.
In an over-orchestrated play, he did
return for four hours, only to be returned
to sender, in essence, though he thought
he was going to Landhi jail. It is rumored
that the same deception was used with
brother Shahbaz when he had returned
to Pakistan; a government elite force
disguised as journalists invited him
for an interview soon after he landed
in Pakistan, and he was whisked away
to an area which somehow got airborne
and he too was returned to Saudi Arabia.
That both Karachi and Jeddah are essentially
equidistant from Islamabad must have
had a part to play in the successful
deception.
The airplane irony was heavy. As Prime
Minister, Nawaz Sharif had the choice
of either Jehangir Karamat or Pervez
Musharraf for commander-in-chief. The
latter was reputedly more liberal and
got the job. But when Sharif wanted
him removed he chose to let the plane
circle Karachi till it perhaps ran out
of fuel. The same man was now making
Sharif switch boarding cards from Gulf
Air to PIA, then big plane to little
plane and possibly helicopter. History
tends to become a scratched record.
Newer reports claim that Nawaz Sharif’s
return was a mere charade. It is reported
that despite Sharif’s attempts
to curry favor with the Americans, the
Dream Team players had been decided
and he was not one of them. Corruption
charges have been leveled against both
Benazir and Nawaz Sharif, the difference
lies only in that the charges against
the former have evaporated as her utility
to Musharraf has rocketed, while the
latter signed a document allowing him
to repent in the luxury of a Saudi palace
rather than the drudgery of a Pakistani
jail.
Life in our banana republic would have
gone on as usual had the events of March
2007 not happened and the judiciary
not gained a semblance of independence.
It would have been much easier for the
United States to stage manage Pakistan
’s elections if strong and strange
decrees did not get passed by the Supreme
Court of Pakistan, since the reinstatement
of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Returning Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia
is akin to the government thumbing its
nose at the Supreme Court. Getting out
of that one should be interesting.
And just as we are not used to the newfound
independence of the judiciary in Pakistan,
neither is the bastion of democracy,
the United States. Official US spokespersons
are busy selling the prepackaged “we
believe in free and fair elections”
line. Behind the scenes Musharraf’s
deep antipathy toward Benazir has been
made to metamorphose into the need-for-survival
dictate. No fawning or lovely lines
yet, mind you. Some from her, though.
Appreciation of the government storming
of the Lal Masjid and other such overtures
are a great departure from her usual
tirades.
There is some clause somewhere that
the President can pardon corruption
charges. But could there be a more blatant
and more self-serving conflict of interest?
Is the supreme judiciary of Pakistan
going to sit silently when the punishment
for the pillage of Pakistan is meted
out to one party with exile, while another
is honored by being made Prime Minister?
Ad nauseam, what are the achievements
of Benazir Bhutto that merit the Pakistani
nation going suddenly amnesic about
how she and Zardari robbed the country
blind? What scorecard of development,
advancement or progress for Pakistan
is there that would quell our fury?
And it was not that she only got one
chance.
And a Mahjabeenism bears repetition
here: The greatest disservice to Pakistan
by Benazir and Nawaz Sharif was to make
civilian rule synonymous with deep corruption
in the minds of Pakistanis.
And while the two dealt in estates and
diamonds, Musharraf at 3 a.m. duress
of the United States sold the sovereignty
of Pakistan, allowing free access to
drones to flatten madrassahs and take
civilian lives, while Pakistan fights
staunchly in the war against terrorism.
And further insult to injury, and staggering
to believe, that the United States is
not disheartened by its total fiasco
in Iraq, it has decided what is good
for Pakistan. The PPP labeled as a liberal
party, is to have its leader return,
have her sins washed away en-route,
contest elections and share power with
Musharraf, she as premier, he as president.
There is a hilarious retouched photograph
doing the rounds on the Internet, wherein
Musharraf is the groom, Benazir the
bride with Bush the best man and Condi
Rice the maid of honor.
Just as Imran Khan is a dynamic leader
with a miniscule following, the MQM
is incomprehensible in its organization
and power base with a leader of the
skill and capability of Altaf Hussain.
To think that his flock is led remotely
is even more difficult to percolate
through the mind.
Since his return to the homeland could
prove to be the end of him, telephonic
shepherding must continue and an alliance
with Musharraf is a mutual need. So,
the three Dream Team players all need
each other with something of a sweet
desperation. Musharraf is willing to
look “dapper in designer suits”
per Mushahid Hussain, an indication
that even the uniform is dispensable.
Oh what power, power has!
Speaking of shepherds and flocks, has
the Pakistani nation come to this? A
dictator, an incompetent woman and a
transcontinental, chameleonic character
have been cobbled together by the United
States to force down the Pakistani nation.
Where are our saviors in black coats,
our lawyers? And if the Dream Team comes
to pass, I will console myself in the
Qur’anic saying that a nation
is ruled by one that it deserves. And
cry that our collective sins must have
been egregious.
(Mahjabeen Islam is a physician and
freelance columnist residing in Toledo
Ohio . Her email is mahjabeenislam@hotmail.com)
