Drenched with knightly arrogance, he decided to open up a front against the armed forces at a time when they were preparing to go to war in the most lethal war zone in the world. Several overt and covert signals were sent out to them from all corners to bring to an end the Pervez Musharraf imbroglio, urging them to focus on the real issues but their personal vengeance surpassed national agenda. Their dithering stance on the issue of operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), under the pretext of planning for peace talks, against the will of the public at large, reinforced terrorism. The decision of conducting an operation in NWA came at a time when the political atmosphere was in complete disarray due to allegations of rigging in May 2013 elections, nepotism in appointments of heads of various civil institutions, violating all rules, power crisis, unbridled inflation and fast deteriorating civil-military relations. The temperature on the streets was already on the rise because of the narrative of change and slogans for revolution against the system of cronyism.
At a time when the government was supposed to keep the nation united and protect its citizens from the fallout of Zarb-e-Azb, it launched a ‘Zarb-e-Gullu’ in Model Town against the unarmed civilians, including women and children, killing over a dozen innocent people. The shoot fest by the Punjab police was so vicious that it made people draw comparisons with the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by the British Army in 1919. The Model Town incident proved to be Achilles Heel for the government and tipped the scales in Imran Khan’s favour who has emerged as a primus inter pares from the opposition benches. The call for freedom march on Independence Day turned out to be the fulcrum in the ‘government versus public’ confrontation.
Civil war instigates when there is a conflict between state institutions and the general public. It is a war between the ruler and those who are ruled. Rulers who have brought their nations on the brink of civil wars have always justified their autocratic rule by one slogan or another. In our case, that slogan is “democracy”.
Sadly, Pakistan has never experienced true democracy. It has always been “By the ruler, of the ruler, for the ruler”. Winston Churchill once befittingly said about politicians that “The only difference after all their rout, is that the one is in, the other out”. Democracy doesn’t constitute of a herd of sheep. In democracy, individual liberty of opinion and action is jealously guarded.
History is witness that civil war erupts where there is tyranny of a ruling class, empty slogans with no promise of bread and butter, lack of socio-economic justice, and non-accountability for the rulers. From the look of it, we have all the ingredients of a civil war on our table, waiting to be cooked.
When civil war sets off, two things play the most important role and become a vital force to avert the wind of change, one is a true leader from the masses like Jinnah, Nelson Mandela or Fidel Castro and the other one is the army, being the guardian of the state and sovereignty of the country.
Presently the whole nation is standing behind the armed forces and acknowledges the sacrifices they are rendering in the war against terrorism. The army is the last hope for the people and its top command is busy making history to settle scores with the enemies of Pakistan. It is certainly a matter of serious concern for all Pakistanis if the army is hauled into this trap of political showdown in Islamabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2014.
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@freed: F D. Roosevelt also said following :
In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must & shall choose the path of social justice....the path of faith, the path of hope, & the path of love toward our fellow man.
We must scrupulously guard the civil rights & civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
I never forget that I live in a house owned by all the American people & that I have been given their trust.
If we could just emulate even a fraction of what their leaders said or for that matter, just analyze & follow what our Father of the nation said & follow, we would not be in a mess, we are in today.
The above are just some of the sayings which reflects on the individual`s intellectual self-less capacity as a person not only as a President of America.
And the American people do value the sayings of their Presidents who are legends & left behind legacy, thus transforming their Stated policy as " Security " at all cost, for the State of America & the American public.
We are such an un-fortunate nation, Allah swt gave us this country after so much sacrifice, but it seem that those sacrifices are going to waste...we are unable to HOLD it together... only Allah swt knows best.
Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country. franklin D. Roosevelt..
@Pakistani:
Whether you like it or not, it is the govt who due to their egoistic approach & arrogance have brought this mess. Had the govt of PML N agreed to the first demand of IK to open 4 constituencies for thumb verification, IK promised in June & again in the first week of July ( the ticker was running on GEO for last 2 days ) to take back his plan for 14 Aug....NS agreed to open 10 constituencies only after Mr Siraj met him. That was too late then...because PML N especially NS has proved once again that he has not matured politically even during his hibernating days. A good seasoned politician has a contingency plan ( Plan A&B ), but a businessmen has a exit plan.
I am not sure if many democratically minded people will accept your view about the importance of army even when comparing the turmoil in the country right now. Yes, we are happy that army remains in the barracks and trying to do the job it is supposed to do: To defend the borders and not interfere in civilian sphere. I agree strong army is needed. After seeing the failure of Iraqi army and how ISIS has defeated the forces and taken over certain parts, we should be thankful that ours is strong. But as long as it does not interfere in governments which have been elected by people of Pakistan, we will back our soldiers.
Maj. Saab don't forget the role of certain sections of media who have managed to put oil to the flames by fulfilling their own personal agendas.its not just the govt. who have taken the nation to the edge.