Trashing a country

Over the course of the past month, during what has been termed internationally ‘unrest’ in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, with the virtual collapse of the government formed by the third coming of Mian Nawaz Sharif — of Sharif Family Inc — America, Britain and the European Union have been highly vociferous in urging the euphemistic ‘powers that be’ in the country to resolve the political differences and ensure the continuance of, as they put it, the democratically elected government (albeit however repulsive).

The three are perforce committed to the upholding of democracy in a country awash with nuclear assets and a plethora of armed militant groups dedicated to a particularly perverted form of Islam as their own national interests are involved — apart from strategic concerns importantly aid and trade. This may be all very high-minded, but at the same time they make no bones about condemning the fecklessness of the government of Sharif Family Inc., its total lack of governance, and, in short, its complete lack of any dedication towards an acceptable democratic set-up. They are all aware of the reality and their comments are on record.

Just to take one example, the recently released US Congress Report on ‘Pakistan Political Unrest.’ Apart from the Congressional Research Service comments on the international political implications, it is highly critical of Mian Sahib’s ‘autocratic and detached ruling style, his inability to get it together with the generals, and his neglect of ‘Pakistan’s sclerotic governance system.’ His regime is ‘dynastic’ (Sharif Family Inc.), he has a Raiwind cabinet of unofficial advisers, and he lacks response to public sentiment. Now, of course, having been jolted by the captain and the cleric, and his own Parliament, he is doing the rounds of the flood affected areas — good PR for the transient moment.

Democracy in Pakistan — it’s a poor joke. It has never happened and it certainly will not happen with any of the present lot with which we are confronted. The electoral system is another joke perpetrated upon those who have the vote, and with what we have to hand how on earth can that be put right? The performance of Parliament under the guiding hand of Mian Sahib and the hands that guide him has been outrageous.

It deflected that limelight from the two revolutionaries and from all the other woes with which the country is beset and for days the media concentration rested upon the Tom and Jerry, or Mutt and Jeff show (take your pick) staged for us by Aitzaz Ahsan and the would-be Beatle (will he ever change his headgear?) Chaudhry Nisar. Media watchers were riveted. Was that the best example of democracy our (unfreely and unfairly) elected representatives could stage for us?

Then came the swooning over the Javed Hashmi revelations — the hailed and applauded so-called ‘rebel’ well versed in parliamentary antics as he too is a relic of Ziaul Haq, having sat in his bogus assembly from 1985-88. Are we never to be rid of awfulness bequeathed to us by Zia and all he stood for? His destructive policies had been perpetuated by the relics he left, even reinforced. The constitution remains riddled with bits and pieces of his Eigth Amendment, and his laws still stand. In one fell swoop this week 55 Christians and three Muslims of the Faisalabad area had a blasphemy charge registered against them over a land dispute. Democracy and the 21^st century — my foot!

We need to move on, out of the mischief of the 1980s and all who have been with us since then. Imran Khan tried. He may have miserably failed but if in his failure he manages to at least jolt the outworn ‘system’ so that before we are all dead and gone the sleeping beauties of the 1980s will turn up their mouldy toes, call it a day, and let in some new, fresh, hopefully untainted blood. Saving what we now have is simply not worth it — it can lead nowhere.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2014.

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