Articles of the year 2016
Published on March 29th 2016
Your highness all is not well. Your minions are not performing, and the natives are increasingly restless. The mutterings are getting louder. You are inured from this criticism, but unfortunately they cannot be wished away. It would be better if the issues can be sorted out, without being brushed under the carpet- out of sight.
The anomaly is clear. Like the cricket team, eleven excellent men, but the leadership is defective. And so it is with us. Pakistan is producing Nobel prize winners, and now two oscars. There are many unsung heroes that are unknown, but quietly achieving their goal and more. The leadership is faulty, and needs to change its work habits. The cricket team was a fiasco, and if matches had been played on local grounds, a lynching would have happened.
The PMLN leadership should take note of the downfall of Col. Gaddafi. He gave more to the Libyan people than any other leader, Libyan or otherwise. Health, education, social welfare from cradle to the grave. More than any European national. Yet when the time came, he was hunted down and butchered with the contempt only an Arab mob can show.
And so one should not rely on the red busses or green trains. But heed the voice of the people. The corruption spiral is growing, and the scams become more glaring. Surpassing Zardari for flair and more outrageous than even his Jiyalas could imagine. For how long can the law be withheld, or this level of corruption be tolerated. The reckoning is due, the fury is building up. Even the authorities like NAB are unsure of whether they will be allowed to apply the law, in all its might, or abide by the time honoured Muk Mukaa so prevalent in political corridors. It is already clear that only two institutions are free from pressure, the Supreme Court, and the Army. It remains to be seen if NAB can do its duty fairly. The Media is too savvy to allow any more ‘accommodation ‘ or judicial latitude. The public will not stand for any more tomfoolery. The Sharifs cannot hide behind the fig leaf of the constitution or democracy. Every body knows the exercise of power, and who wields it. The limits are also known. The proverbial slip by the incumbent is awaited. One can only pray that the next man in does not bring with him the vicious streak common to the Arab.
The COAS is assiduously courted by the local politicians, and the external powers. The many trips of the Army chief have been duly noted by all. The approval of his performance by the foreign leaders is already on record and his input is sought at all levels. All this has been attained by his performance. Of course the institution he heads is very cogent, as is the geographic location. Pakistan being at the axis of Arab Irani power struggle is extremely relevant, and needs very careful action without disturbing the equilibrium prevailing in the region, where the US, Israeli and Indian forces are all exerting their influence and money. The effect on Pakistani interests cannot be discounted. On the other hand, the maximum advantage should be taken, by careful manoeuvring, without the unnecessary cleverness that is the hallmark of Pakistani bureaucracy. The bigger danger is the opportunity being created for a Young Turk to emerge as a saviour, and read the immortal lines ‘ mere aziz hum watano’. This line is usually followed by a severe shake up that traumatises the people, and unnecessary bloodshed.
The Sharifs would be well advised to cut their ambitious bus/train services, and get on with correcting the existing faults in the systems, rather than engage the country in cleverly glamourised bus routes. The public knows when it is being played.
While the Sharifs are playing with their buses and trains, they are missing the big opportunity of bridging the gap between the Arab states and Iran. The resulting benefits would spread economic gains throughout the region. These are the huge openings available to Pakistan, and a Bhutto is desperately needed to seize the moment. Unfortunately Sharif the elder is engrossed in his toys, and trips and cannot see the larger picture.
The Iranians and the Indians will ensure that they cement their relationship, keeping Pakistan out. The capture of the senior Indian spy in Gwadar is evidence of the Indian interest in the region. Does not Islamabad realise the unfolding scenario, and the high stakes involved? The Indians are destabilising the Pakistani interests, and keeping us busy defending the Pathankot red herrings. Pakistan is letting the big opportunity slip through our hands. It is not often that a country is afforded the luxury of being positioned as the gateman to the worlds largest oil route. And our leadership is too blind to see the opportunity or the responsibility. Both give Pakistan a huge edge in the geography stakes. The Hormuz strait is akin to the Suez Canal, but more valuable. The Chinese have seen it, while we Pakistanis are enamoured of the 45 Billion dollar dollop being dangled in front of us.