In the groove

Who in their right mind can be surprised that our govts cede so much space to the mighty military?

Over a year ago, floating around the internet was what was termed “The Complete Idiot’s Chart to Understanding the Middle East”. It graphed the “support”, the “hates”, and the “has no clue” lots interlinked with each other — the US, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Gulf, Qatar, Sisi, Israel, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda, Syria Rebels, Assad, Lebanese Sunnis, Lebanese Shias — a mass of the meetings of three coloured lines. The “supports” and “hates” were almost on a par and mixed up with each other. The “has no clue” only involved the US as to Sisi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

It was, of course, meant to be funny, in a sort of gallows humour way, but with all the blood, gore and displacement involved, it really could not be — and the worst thing is that it still stands true today, though probably with a few more lines added under the three categories.

How would one make a similar chart involving the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (aka The Fortress of Islam) and its links between, say, the political parties, members of the wondrous establishment, business and industry, what’s known as social activists, the liberals, the fundos (lots of them), and the run-of-the-mill citizen who rides the Mandi Bahauddin omnibus? Well, there would be a sorry lack of ‘supports’, rather a lot of ‘hates’ and a whole jumble of ‘has no clue’ — and two graph lines would need to be added, ‘fear’ and ‘couldn’t care a damn’.

The political parties all basically ‘hate’ each other despite infrequent bogus declarations of support, merely expressed for devious ulterior motives, because they really are all the same — motive-wise, in their ineptitude, their dishonesty both moral and material, their contempt for the people other than when they are indulging in national hypocrisy in a most nauseating manner when involved in the ruination that is the country’s electoral system. They are also internally divided with streaks of visible ‘hate’ blighting any needed unity.

They probably all, within their inner sullied souls, ‘hate’ the establishment for having done them in on several occasions though they pretend to be on a ‘support’ mode to keep themselves safe. Take our third-time prime minister, a creation of the military, who faithfully served it decades ago until it got uppity and agreed to one ousting, the first, and then was wholly instrumental in the following two. Now, how does he or his evergreen team, which has been in and out with him, actually feel about the military? Who in their right mind can be surprised that our governments cede so much space to the military? It is ‘fear’ that propels. And perhaps, it has to be admitted that the ‘fear’ is not misplaced.

The establishment, by and large, distrusts them, recognises them for what they are — though indeed the members themselves are no angels — but, in real terms, they have the upper hand. The much-vaunted by the pretend-parliamentary system politicos’ ‘supremacy of parliament’ is a colossal myth, which has been and is very much obvious today. Business and industry have their own interests at heart and often are forced into ‘support’ mode to keep themselves more than liquid. The activists and liberals make the right noises at the right time but basically they fall into the ‘has no clue’ category (as do most of us who can read a newspaper). The fundos, aah them, they ‘support’ each other and dangerously ‘hate’ those that stand up to them. The omnibus rider really ‘couldn’t care a damn’ as long as he can put something into his stomach and those of his family. He is pandered with cheap perks when elections are on and does his clueless bit at the ballot box following the best he comes across. He should rightly be thoroughly put off by the aftermath, but then in his ignorance at the next round he goes and does it all again.

And there is no radical change in sight.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2015.

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