fatman17
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An obsession worth having
Monday, June 14, 2010
Ameer Bhutto
A few days ago a close friend of mine said to me, Your obsession with Zardari reminds me of the old Pink Panther movies, referring to the movies main character Inspector Jacque Clouseaus obsession with his criminal genius nemesis, Sir Charles Litton, the notorious phantom. Zardaris apologists and minders have also levelled the same allegations against his critics, claiming that they are driven by personal vendetta. But the point they, and my friend, seem to miss is this: if criticism is based on issues or on Zardaris own statements and declarations made in public gatherings, and supported by factual evidence, then the criticism must be examined under the microscope of merit regardless of the motives of the critic. The fact that there has accumulated an overwhelming body of such material can only lead to the inescapable conclusion that something is rotten in the Aiwan-e-Sadar.
It is interesting to note that the ranks of Zardaris supporters are composed of those who have a vested interest in the continuation of his presidency, while almost everyone else is aligned against him in varying degrees and forms. There are very valid reasons for this: his tainted past and the stigma and baggage he carries. His undeserved rise to power, having gone from hiding behind medical certificates of mental illness to evading prosecution in Switzerland to the Aiwan-e-Sadar in the blink of an eye, that too on the strength of a highly suspect will that even Benazir Bhuttos closest confidants knew nothing about. His implication in cases corruption in Pakistan and Europe that have dragged the sanctity of his office through mud. His conduct since coming to power, including going to inordinate lengths to avoid apprehending and punishing Benazir Bhuttos killers and dodging the Swiss cases. None of these can be counted as glowing accomplishments deserving canonisation and have had the natural effect of fuelling the fires of anti-Zardari sentiments.
Zardari firmly controls the government even after the passage of the 18th Amendment which was supposed to have the Robin Hood effect of taking powers away from a powerful president and restoring them to a feeble prime minister and parliament. But nothing has changed. The powers that Zardari yielded with one hand, he grasped back with the other, as unelected party heads acquired the power under this amendment to decide the fate of parliament. The formation of the core committee that operates under the president, bypassing parliament and the prime minister, further empowers the president. Parliament and the prime minister have done nothing to flex their supposedly enhanced muscles thus far.
What is the point of hailing the 18th Amendment as an historic milestone when you have no clue about what to do with all those powers? If Zardari wishes to remain the focal point of power, then he cannot escape the responsibility for all that goes wrong and must swallow all criticism levelled against him. Such are the ways of democracy which he wanted as a revenge for Benazir Bhuttos murder.
We are told to talk about issues instead of focusing on Zardari. But the issues that face the nation have either been created by his government or have been exacerbated by it. Caliph Umar is often quoted as having said that if a dog goes hungry at night, the ruler will have to answer for it on the Day of Judgment. Things in Pakistan have moved well beyond the plight of hungry stray dogs. Who else can we blame for the prevailing stench but the government and those who run it? Fighting a proxy war for the western powers and taking dictation from them, in continuation of Musharrafs policy, may have secured power for the ruling clique with the blessings of their foreign overlords, but it has done no better for the nation than perching it on the precipice of ruin, with terrorists making us their target on the one hand, and, on the other, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton threatening a direct military strike on Pakistani soil in the event of a successful terrorist attack in America.
Why should the people of Pakistan bear the brunt for prolonging the governments power joyride? Which natural calamity should we blame for this state of affairs if not the government of the day? Poverty and lack of opportunity have forced mothers to actually put their children up for sale in open markets. Yes, global economic conditions are difficult and resources in Pakistan limited, but how can the government justify a daily budget of Rs2.5 million for the Prime Ministers House and the Aiwan-e-Sadar at a time when babies are being sold to make ends meet?
Far from clamping down on corruption (not a single corruption case has been filed by the government), it has allowed a free ride for all. If we cannot blame the government for this, then should we hold the Hunza landslide responsible for it? From target killings in Karachi to the virtual unobstructed rule of dacoits and criminals in rural areas, lawlessness and crime have made life unliveable. Law enforcement authorities are deployed to protect the VIPs while the common man is abandoned to his own fate. The writ of law and the authority of government are non-existent. Should we hold unusual celestial alignments responsible for this, if not the government?
How can one not criticise a government whose members, instead of providing good governance, or at least governance, are busy avoiding going to prison by getting bail or presidential pardons? How can you not criticise them for closing their eyes to all norms of decent, ethical conduct and for being hell-bent to prevent the establishment of the rule of law, not to mention their unparalleled, mind-boggling incompetence? They cannot even send a lawyer to represent them in court without falling flat on their faces. A new ridiculous farce unfolds before this horrified nation every day. Is it wrong to hold accountable those responsible for this mess? Should we just bite the bullet and chalk it up to our kismet?
Pakistan is drowning in a maelstrom of corruption and incompetence. Those responsible for this horrible mess may find it easy to close their eyes to ungainly realities as long as their petty, narrow personal interests are being served, but the nation cannot afford to do the same. This land belongs not to those wily fat cats who have destroyed this country over the years and decades, but the desperate mothers who are forced to sell their children to make ends meet and the desolate fathers who are pushed by insufferable circumstances into committing suicides in record numbers.
The children being put up for sale in bazaars are the future of Pakistan. They deserve better than this. My appeal to the people is this: fight back. Take this country back from the fat cats. Do not allow them to use you. Know that the future depends on you and you are not bound by any constraining tethers of the past. Do not listen to all the cynical naysayers who, instead of playing a constructive role in bringing a greater sense of awareness and mobilising the nation, only tell you why change cannot come, like petty bureaucrats whose sole raison detre is to avoid change.
There is no greater political power than a nation on the move. You have seen it happen in Georgia in 2003, in Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine in 2005 and in Kyrgyzstan again in 2010. You have made it happen here in Pakistan under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. You can make it happen again. This is the only way to save Pakistan. Now there is an obsession worth having!
The writer is vice-chairman of Sindh National Front and a former MPA from Ratodero. He has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Ameer Bhutto
A few days ago a close friend of mine said to me, Your obsession with Zardari reminds me of the old Pink Panther movies, referring to the movies main character Inspector Jacque Clouseaus obsession with his criminal genius nemesis, Sir Charles Litton, the notorious phantom. Zardaris apologists and minders have also levelled the same allegations against his critics, claiming that they are driven by personal vendetta. But the point they, and my friend, seem to miss is this: if criticism is based on issues or on Zardaris own statements and declarations made in public gatherings, and supported by factual evidence, then the criticism must be examined under the microscope of merit regardless of the motives of the critic. The fact that there has accumulated an overwhelming body of such material can only lead to the inescapable conclusion that something is rotten in the Aiwan-e-Sadar.
It is interesting to note that the ranks of Zardaris supporters are composed of those who have a vested interest in the continuation of his presidency, while almost everyone else is aligned against him in varying degrees and forms. There are very valid reasons for this: his tainted past and the stigma and baggage he carries. His undeserved rise to power, having gone from hiding behind medical certificates of mental illness to evading prosecution in Switzerland to the Aiwan-e-Sadar in the blink of an eye, that too on the strength of a highly suspect will that even Benazir Bhuttos closest confidants knew nothing about. His implication in cases corruption in Pakistan and Europe that have dragged the sanctity of his office through mud. His conduct since coming to power, including going to inordinate lengths to avoid apprehending and punishing Benazir Bhuttos killers and dodging the Swiss cases. None of these can be counted as glowing accomplishments deserving canonisation and have had the natural effect of fuelling the fires of anti-Zardari sentiments.
Zardari firmly controls the government even after the passage of the 18th Amendment which was supposed to have the Robin Hood effect of taking powers away from a powerful president and restoring them to a feeble prime minister and parliament. But nothing has changed. The powers that Zardari yielded with one hand, he grasped back with the other, as unelected party heads acquired the power under this amendment to decide the fate of parliament. The formation of the core committee that operates under the president, bypassing parliament and the prime minister, further empowers the president. Parliament and the prime minister have done nothing to flex their supposedly enhanced muscles thus far.
What is the point of hailing the 18th Amendment as an historic milestone when you have no clue about what to do with all those powers? If Zardari wishes to remain the focal point of power, then he cannot escape the responsibility for all that goes wrong and must swallow all criticism levelled against him. Such are the ways of democracy which he wanted as a revenge for Benazir Bhuttos murder.
We are told to talk about issues instead of focusing on Zardari. But the issues that face the nation have either been created by his government or have been exacerbated by it. Caliph Umar is often quoted as having said that if a dog goes hungry at night, the ruler will have to answer for it on the Day of Judgment. Things in Pakistan have moved well beyond the plight of hungry stray dogs. Who else can we blame for the prevailing stench but the government and those who run it? Fighting a proxy war for the western powers and taking dictation from them, in continuation of Musharrafs policy, may have secured power for the ruling clique with the blessings of their foreign overlords, but it has done no better for the nation than perching it on the precipice of ruin, with terrorists making us their target on the one hand, and, on the other, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton threatening a direct military strike on Pakistani soil in the event of a successful terrorist attack in America.
Why should the people of Pakistan bear the brunt for prolonging the governments power joyride? Which natural calamity should we blame for this state of affairs if not the government of the day? Poverty and lack of opportunity have forced mothers to actually put their children up for sale in open markets. Yes, global economic conditions are difficult and resources in Pakistan limited, but how can the government justify a daily budget of Rs2.5 million for the Prime Ministers House and the Aiwan-e-Sadar at a time when babies are being sold to make ends meet?
Far from clamping down on corruption (not a single corruption case has been filed by the government), it has allowed a free ride for all. If we cannot blame the government for this, then should we hold the Hunza landslide responsible for it? From target killings in Karachi to the virtual unobstructed rule of dacoits and criminals in rural areas, lawlessness and crime have made life unliveable. Law enforcement authorities are deployed to protect the VIPs while the common man is abandoned to his own fate. The writ of law and the authority of government are non-existent. Should we hold unusual celestial alignments responsible for this, if not the government?
How can one not criticise a government whose members, instead of providing good governance, or at least governance, are busy avoiding going to prison by getting bail or presidential pardons? How can you not criticise them for closing their eyes to all norms of decent, ethical conduct and for being hell-bent to prevent the establishment of the rule of law, not to mention their unparalleled, mind-boggling incompetence? They cannot even send a lawyer to represent them in court without falling flat on their faces. A new ridiculous farce unfolds before this horrified nation every day. Is it wrong to hold accountable those responsible for this mess? Should we just bite the bullet and chalk it up to our kismet?
Pakistan is drowning in a maelstrom of corruption and incompetence. Those responsible for this horrible mess may find it easy to close their eyes to ungainly realities as long as their petty, narrow personal interests are being served, but the nation cannot afford to do the same. This land belongs not to those wily fat cats who have destroyed this country over the years and decades, but the desperate mothers who are forced to sell their children to make ends meet and the desolate fathers who are pushed by insufferable circumstances into committing suicides in record numbers.
The children being put up for sale in bazaars are the future of Pakistan. They deserve better than this. My appeal to the people is this: fight back. Take this country back from the fat cats. Do not allow them to use you. Know that the future depends on you and you are not bound by any constraining tethers of the past. Do not listen to all the cynical naysayers who, instead of playing a constructive role in bringing a greater sense of awareness and mobilising the nation, only tell you why change cannot come, like petty bureaucrats whose sole raison detre is to avoid change.
There is no greater political power than a nation on the move. You have seen it happen in Georgia in 2003, in Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine in 2005 and in Kyrgyzstan again in 2010. You have made it happen here in Pakistan under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. You can make it happen again. This is the only way to save Pakistan. Now there is an obsession worth having!
The writer is vice-chairman of Sindh National Front and a former MPA from Ratodero. He has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.
