Pakistan’s sugar-sweetened politics

Where truth gets swept under the carpet while the kite of lies and doubts fly nice and high

Truth and power are estranged bedfellows, the more one is pursued the more the other is lost. In a very strange and puzzling world in which we live today, power nourishment and sustenance is only possible when truth is shelved and is relatively left unexplored. This is how we have been made to understand our history which has gradually been distancing us from us as almost all events occurring in our country remain shrouded in mystery. From the assassination of our first Prime Minister to the doubtful spin and turn applied to the verdict of the Panama Leaks, nothing gets decided — truth gets swept under the carpet while the kite of lies and doubts fly nice and high.

Scholars throughout history faced this dilemma: do they serve power or do they serve truth and Socrates clearly laid down the preference when charged with ‘corrupting the mind of the youth’ he preferred to drink poison from the hemlock rather than serve the dictates of the throne. Twenty two hundred years later no one remembers who ruled Athens at that time but everyone today remembers who Socrates was and his unselfish feat.

It is in the above context that I want to write something about the ‘Sugar Crisis Report’ and some of the subsequent political beans that Mr Jahangir Tareen spilled. Adolf Hitler may be termed as a despicable personality but he left us with a period of contested history that tables great lessons for those involved in politics, warfare and statecraft. He writes in Mein Kampf that “the most brilliant propaganda technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly… it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”

The post sugar truth period has managed to alienate us from the very sense of purpose and the motivation that stood behind making the sugar inquiry report public. The debate on this post sugar truth period is being supported by the spin doctors of our electronic media who are more concerned in finding the masterminds behind various conspiracy theories rather than appreciating the unraveling of the sugar truth. The Mien Kampf propagated conspiracy theories (few points) being repeated over and over again include; that this report was revealed only after it was leaked; that there are groups and division within the PTI; and that some of the responsible office-holders in the PTI government had a hand in this sugar crisis.

In fact, what the post sugar truth period has done is that it has brought to life the ‘sugar reality’ in this country. For the general public, it was a revelation that the past governments were utilising no yardsticks to determine the stock of the sugar, its selling price or even the amount that could be exported from the country. The two families that have taken turns to rule us are the holders of the sugar mills and so is Mr Jahangir Tareen (former secretary general of Tehreek-i-Insaf) who has been a prominent fund raiser and funds provider of the PTI. Pakistan’s political jar is sugar-sweetened. This big sugar jar of Pakistan’s politics is filled with coins and while a single coin in an empty jar makes lots of noise — all these years these sweetened coins in Pakistan’s sugar jar of politics remained noiseless. Why? They served each other — kinship, friendship, acquaintance and sweetened political loyalties were cemented and at times purchased. But what Imran Khan and his government have done is that they have squeezed the genie of sugar manipulation and politics half way out of the big sugar jar of Pakistan’s politics. The other half is likely to be pulled out when the forensic report on the subject surfaces on 25^th April.

Politics in Pakistan is sweetened with sugar. The guardians of the political order (disorder) have all been hand in glove. The beneficiaries of the sugar mills that have multiplied overtime and the owners are not done yet — they remind the public that the law of the land supports them in acquiring and producing 40% of the total sugar produced in this country. So the eyes were set on acquiring and gaining more. Is this a favour that they extend to this country? They are all the participants of the sweetened ‘all parties conference’ that they call for on any subject and then propose long marches, lockdowns, and strikes and sit-in. This upper class of sugar-sweetened powerful elites continues to exploit the underclass of powerless poor subjects. Instead of supporting and enhancing the security, health, welfare and education in the country, all they have done is to add more and more coins in their large sugar political jars.

If one owner of the sugar mills has paid Rs23 billion tax in the last five years then how many coins he must have added to his own large sugar political jar? That too in a system that doesn’t stand up to check and explore but bends down and bows and allows itself to be circumvented.

Should a generation that grew up in the political period extending from early 90s not feel aggrieved? Twelve million families have applied for grant from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s coronavirus relief fund. Even if there are four members in a family, we are looking at closer to 50 million poor people in need of grant in this country. And yet all the governments of the past have done is not look into the problems of the poor people but look into their large sugar political jars to determine how many more coins they can add and how much more sweetened political loyalties they can purchase? Were their sugar-coated political judgments ever based on any morals?

Political morality is not about commanding political authority and purchasing loyalties. Only when political morality engages in reducing the suffering of the people, power and truth no more remain estranged bedfellows. They coexist and give true meaning to democracy. Prime Minister Imran Khan demonstrates true and sincere intentions. Yes, he may make mistakes but his politics is not designed to fool the people. For the large political sugar jar holders of this country, I would end by sharing a quote from the former US President, Abraham Lincoln, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2020.

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