Articles of the year 2015
Published on November 12th 2015
LAHORE: The election of a dacoit on the PML-N ticket spotlights flaw in the scrutiny system both on the political and election commission side.
This was the headline in the Nation of the 5th November 2015.
There were reports of how the PMLN leadership had taken serious note of this matter and a high level enquiry old be held to establish the fault lines that allowed such an incident. This scrutiny is desperately needed, as the upper echelons of the political parties have already allowed a person convicted of felony to be elected unopposed to the highest office of the land- the Presidency of Pakistan. The system has already been twisted beyond repair, and allowed this President to usher in a Prime Minister who was involved in a cheque for 450 million Rs to be received in the PM house itself. This case is still pending in the courts.
Surely this does seem to prove that criminals have already ensconced themselves in high office where no doubt they are executing more corrupt deals. Both PPP Prime Ministers stand convicted of serious economic crimes, and are awaiting conviction. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and only Heaven knows how many such criminals have slipped through the net using loopholes conveniently placed to assist their escape.
This does bring us to the all important issue of the PPP bouncing back into play. The political forces including Imran Khan seem to be giving a wide berth as if Sind is the political heritage of the Bhuttos- a private preserve meant only for the Bhuttos, and even the Zardari children need a Bhutto suffix to have any chance in Sind. Meanwhile Faryal Zardari would be defacto supremo running the show. This facile manipulation of the names, and the acceptance by Imran and Nawaz of the Bhutto/Zardari dominance over Sind shows how completely the areas have been demarcated and accepted by Imran ,Nawaz, and the Army. Except for Pagaro all the other Sindhis acknowledge their subservience to the Bhuttos. This was stamped in place by the relegation of the Soomros to a distant second place in the provincial hierarchy by Zia ulhaq when he chose Junejo over Soomro as Prime Minister. The Soomros have never recovered their true front ranking, and the Junejos are too small a tribe, to mount a serious challenge to the power of Pagaro. The Soomros were the larger tribe, and had many members well placed in the bureaucracy while, the Junejos other than Mohd Khan were relatively unknown, and after Mohd Khan’s death their influence has waned considerably. The only other name could be the Jam Sadiq Ali clan, that gained tremendous influence through Sadiq Ali’s time as Chief Minister of Sindh, which has been far in excess of his successors, who have been sadly disappointing in performance and have suffered in consequence.
This is a short sketch of the power structure of Sindh, and the above does not explain the lack of a serious challenge to the Bhuttos, and worse the wide room being given by the Nawaz/Imran/Army, to allowing patronage to a new entrant. This is intriguing, and inexplicable. Nawaz and Imran have not visited Sindh, and this is staying any attempts by the new entrants in the provincial power game. Nawaz it appears is abiding by his earlier promise of support to Zardari for his ‘five year deal’. But is this fair to the PMLN, or to Sindh? Let alone the effect on the Federation? Even the Army should sit up and take notice of the vacuum created in Sindh allowing a corrupt PPP to continue its plunderous reign, that is giving the otherwise sterling performance of the Army a bad name. Everyone has started to believe that Zardari has forced the mighty Pakistan army to blink, and worse slowed the Army cleanup campaign and may even have halted the cleanup. The whole of Pakistan is expecting Gen Shareef to launch a real cleansing of the Augean stables, but the gradual slowdown has worried the people, and is damaging the good work that has been achieved in the Northern areas, and in Karachi. But if the same faces appear again, and Zardari and co are seen to be enjoying their ill gotten gains in nearby Dubai, seemingly thumbing their noses at the Pakistan establishment and the Pakistani Army.
Gen Raheel Sharif is at the crossroads for himself and the country. A wrong turn could be devastating for all that believe in him, and could leave Pakistan at the mercy of people who have plundered the Nation, and have proved themselves to be the biggest enemies of Pakistan.
Part 2. The earlier chapter has explained in detail, the problems facing Pakistan, and the unwillingness of the establishment in addressing these issues. Why is there no patronage for new leadership, and why is there no search for newcomers. Is the establishment content with propagating and promoting people of dubious merit? Possibly because they believe in the status quo, and feel that their chances of progress and prosperity are better in a corrupt society because they feel that they are already ahead of the others, at having played the game longer, and with people positioned by them who can repay the favours whenever required. They do not understand that by assisting the status quo they are resisting the leap forward that Pakistan could make, by being merit oriented, another Malaysia, or Singapore, or Dubai. The example of Dubai is relevant because it is being run by the same Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis but the laws are strictly and rigidly enforced. Where a Zardari or Nawaz would have been removed long ago. Why is this system, hijacked by these two families still being run by these notoriously corrupt self serving interests, which are holding the Nation to ransom. Surely the establishment should look beyond their own short term interests and look at the broader picture, one in which a prosperous Pakistan could be in everyone’s interest.
The army being the most import arm of the establishment should understand that it is in its interest to promote the establishment of a prosperous Pakistan, away from the stranglehold of the crooks. Above all the army has a system based entirely on merit, and there is no possibility of safarish. With a Pakistan doubled in output, we could afford an army twice this size, with higher perks. Better universities, better research facilities, and a good deal better quality of life. This would attract many expatriates to return and help develop Pakistan. Why is this vision so difficult for the Pakistan establishment to see. It is the Zardaris and their ilk that are holding us back. The sooner we are rid of them the better, and usher in a new Pakistan where merit should flourish and corruption by the leadership should be punishable by death. Pakistan is at the take off point, and with the right decision we would prosper. General Shareef has also succeeded in identifying all the black sheep, against whom action is mandatory, to save the country from anarchy. The only people holding us back deliberately are the Zardaris / and the other criminals. It is strange that even Gen Shareef seems to have slowed down. Shamefully when all seems positioned for a cleansing, a go slow seems to have been placed. All the villains have been identified and most have confessed. It needs just the executioner aka saviour. So the ‘ go slow’ is not understandable.