Articles of the year 2015
Published on April 02nd 2015
The Power games between the Govt and the politicians continues, with the people of Pakistan worried at the slow pace of the action against the criminal elements that infest Pakistan. It is obvious that Zardari has established a strong network of obedient persons to do his bidding. Led by an innocuous eighty year old,as Chief Minister Sindh, who will never be held responsible for his actions, primarily because he looks and behaves as an inept moron, and no court of law will convict him of anything. His habit of falling asleep during meetings will be demonstrated as evidence that he was not aware of his surroundings let alone his participation in any proceedings. But, he is the Chief Minister of Sindh, the second largest province of Pakistan, made more important by being host to Karachi, the premier city of Karachi. Zardari has successfully managed to evade conviction in any of the many cases filed against him, by astute political manouverings and manipulation of the legal systems.
Swiss, English and the Pakistani laws have been easily circumvented, by brilliant lawyers and exploitation of the loopholes. Most of his success can be attributed to ensuring that the government of the day was swayed by his posing as an asset too dangerous to be removed from the political board. As long as Benazir was alive, she kept him away from the centre of power, but after her death, he came into his own, and convinced the establishment to elevate him to the Presidency of Pakistan, from where he continued to rule through corrupt Prime Ministers that were twice convicted of corruption, but were conveniently pardoned by the President, none other than Zardari himself. Zardari has by retaining control of Sindh and the PPP established an impressive bulwark against any intrusion. Zardari has also convinced the other political leaders to join him ostensibly in the protection of democracy. The politicians are also well aware that without their unity, they will be incarcerated,courtesy the many skeletons in their cupboards. The Army however is constrained by having to obey the laws of Pakistan, without the luxury of the loopholes.
This is creating confusion, as the public cannot understand why the Rangers ( army) is delaying the prosecution of the MQM after all the arms that have been discovered in the raid on the MQM headquarters at 90. The Saulat tapes that have surfaced, and are doing the rounds have exposed the evil persona of the MQM, and should by all counts be enough to disqualify the MQM as a political party. Saulat’s confession lists many murders and abductions and cases of extortion(too many to count). The main point that the Army should be considering is the blatant disregard of the law. These were not minor infractions but murders, on command. The crimes should be examined and punished as soon as possible, with the proviso that anyone found supporting these criminals should be deemed a collaborator, with an equal punishment. The military courts were formed to assist in the punishment of these crimes, but it seems the Zardari grid has managed to stop the workings of these courts. It does appear that the Zardari network has halted the Army push. Whilst the army is forced to remain within the bounds of the law, the criminal elements of the PPP and the MQM have no such restraints, they will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. Their boundaries do not worry about criminal limits. Even murder is not a blip, but another step to be taken if necessary, and does not stand in the way of the Party command. The western concept of crime and punishment does not cloud their vision, nor do they need a religious edict as cover. The instructions are to be followed, without question. It is indeed surprising that in Pakistan the two political parties have put their politics above the law, and obedience to the party is mandatory. This was last seen in the communist regimes of Russia and China. In both the party ideology was absolute. And so it is in Pakistan with the MQM, and the PPP.
The army will have to quickly accord a punishment to the party as well, for actions carried out in the name of the party. Or, if these actions continue then a ban on the Party could be brought in. But first the criminals should be tried under existing laws. After the initial raid on 90, and the recovery of convicted criminals from the premises of hallowed 90 itself, the presence of these sentenced prisoners is surprising, and shows complete disregard of the law. How could men convicted of heinous crimes such as murder and extortion be discovered in the premises of 90 instead of being in prison serving their sentences? This is a serious matter and does raise many questions amongst them would be the violation of the penal code, the prison manual, various other legal breaches. Most would be punishable with long jail sentences not to mention the seizure of of the premises from where the prisoners were recovered. The most serious charge should be against the political party that was complicit. This party has violated the trust reposed in it by members of the party that joined it for the betterment of their members– within the ambit of the law, and not to be partners in a criminal activity which could negate all the good that the party represents. This could prove a great setback for the democratic process, and may jeopardize the political growth in the country. These criminal activities will restrict all other forms of developement including investment and industry. The leadership should beware of the pitfalls in allowing crime to flourish. The outflow of funds is a prime example.