The Third Force
We have ready-made plot in which our ever green villain ‘The Third Force’ is responsible for all ills of our democracy
John Le Carre was lucky to have been part of another era and another time. He would not stand a chance against the conspiracy theorists of today’s Pakistan. We can weave a thriller more complex than a missile and more entertaining than a Russian Circus at the drop of a hat. We have a ready-made plot in which our ever green villain called ‘The Third Force’ has to be responsible for all that ails our democracy, and which must also be seen threatening our Constitution very seriously, in fact so seriously that Pakistan’s existence becomes doubtful. Meanwhile the government, our hero, too clever for its own good, having set every one against each other, continues on a self-destructive path with complete dedication to prove that committing suicide was the only purpose of coming into power. This monolith must be lauded for its genius in synchronising all possible means to complete this one point agenda in the shortest possible time.
We have 20 conspiracy theories and as many variations of each one of them to explain every failure on our part. We have very short memories as well, or selective amnesia, if you will. We repeat our blunders with such precision that they look original every time. And we are very regular. We are blessed with some outstanding spin doctors too, who can manufacture plausible alternatives to suit all our purposes in no time at all. Personality cult or hero worship appears to have replaced history leaving no room for discussion.
This clever scheme makes it very convenient to blame Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq, Musharraf and now some rogue elements within the army for everything which has, or is expected to, go wrong. The periods before, or after, either did not exist, or were simply very short leaving no time for any mischief. There you have it, all very neat and all very logical with ample space to fit all our failings in any given historical perspective. Barring few exceptions the recipe worked well so far.
It was all going very well till we decided to fast track and get it over with, in 14 months only. ‘The Third Force’ could not be blamed for rigging the elections in May 2013 but why not drop few hints of its role in the furor being raised over it? Never mind the fact that everyone who is anyone has declared these elections to be the most rigged, yet. The lack of, or very poor governance since, also could not be ascribed to this villain.
The very unfortunate incident in Rawalpindi in Muharram last year was a real nut cracker. There was a remedy available to mask this disaster as well. Why not try General Musharraf under Article 6? Two birds in one strike. Besides diverting public attention away from the security lapse and deterring any future adventurism, this would remove all threats to democracy and Constitution forever. Past links to khakis, always an embarrassment, would also be obliterated.
The sum total of these masterstrokes is what you see these days in Islamabad, on TV shows and now by way of the devastation caused by floods due to criminal negligence.
There is more to come. ‘The Third Force’ is still out there, dynamic as ever, piling up miseries on the hapless, lethargic people who keep asking for more and getting it too. They expect miracles but are being offered yet another version of the same. Well, it is their choice. Isn’t this the same democracy, the worst of which is supposed to be better than the best of dictatorship? Or do we see the worst of every aspect of dictatorship in the garb of this democracy? Where is this ‘Third Force’? Who is it anyway? There is always someone out there who can, and therefore, should be held responsible for every failure except the one which catches your fancy.
A new governance principle firming up through ongoing crisis that, “We are the government. We can do it. Therefore we will”, is actually very attractive. And better still, “What we are doing is wrong. But because it was done in the past therefore, we are also justified in doing it.” Take your pick — but never any responsibility. What would become of The Third Force then?
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.
We have 20 conspiracy theories and as many variations of each one of them to explain every failure on our part. We have very short memories as well, or selective amnesia, if you will. We repeat our blunders with such precision that they look original every time. And we are very regular. We are blessed with some outstanding spin doctors too, who can manufacture plausible alternatives to suit all our purposes in no time at all. Personality cult or hero worship appears to have replaced history leaving no room for discussion.
This clever scheme makes it very convenient to blame Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq, Musharraf and now some rogue elements within the army for everything which has, or is expected to, go wrong. The periods before, or after, either did not exist, or were simply very short leaving no time for any mischief. There you have it, all very neat and all very logical with ample space to fit all our failings in any given historical perspective. Barring few exceptions the recipe worked well so far.
It was all going very well till we decided to fast track and get it over with, in 14 months only. ‘The Third Force’ could not be blamed for rigging the elections in May 2013 but why not drop few hints of its role in the furor being raised over it? Never mind the fact that everyone who is anyone has declared these elections to be the most rigged, yet. The lack of, or very poor governance since, also could not be ascribed to this villain.
The very unfortunate incident in Rawalpindi in Muharram last year was a real nut cracker. There was a remedy available to mask this disaster as well. Why not try General Musharraf under Article 6? Two birds in one strike. Besides diverting public attention away from the security lapse and deterring any future adventurism, this would remove all threats to democracy and Constitution forever. Past links to khakis, always an embarrassment, would also be obliterated.
The sum total of these masterstrokes is what you see these days in Islamabad, on TV shows and now by way of the devastation caused by floods due to criminal negligence.
There is more to come. ‘The Third Force’ is still out there, dynamic as ever, piling up miseries on the hapless, lethargic people who keep asking for more and getting it too. They expect miracles but are being offered yet another version of the same. Well, it is their choice. Isn’t this the same democracy, the worst of which is supposed to be better than the best of dictatorship? Or do we see the worst of every aspect of dictatorship in the garb of this democracy? Where is this ‘Third Force’? Who is it anyway? There is always someone out there who can, and therefore, should be held responsible for every failure except the one which catches your fancy.
A new governance principle firming up through ongoing crisis that, “We are the government. We can do it. Therefore we will”, is actually very attractive. And better still, “What we are doing is wrong. But because it was done in the past therefore, we are also justified in doing it.” Take your pick — but never any responsibility. What would become of The Third Force then?
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.