Fall Of Bhutto – Inside Story – Pakistan Finally Cornered II

Although, if noticed the previous Government takes a back seat, the control is transferred and Benazir dies. Nobody from the previous plot has to face discredit, save the President, who himself seemed perturbed.

With the facades of truth and evidence coming in, more of curtains are falling, it shows that the gunman was amongst the crowd and that the vehicle was not moving due to the populace of supporters. The gunman made sure the bullet crossed the head of the leaders as the flaps of the sunroof which were bullet proof and that wouldn’t have done the purpose. The gunman who had only a splice of a time to aim and hit without a miss itself points to many directions. Firstly, given such a training, under which the action is to be taken in intensely populated and secured feature, requires adept and hours in days of flawless and relentless training. This raises a question as to which areas, groups are allowed such frequent access to facilities which train, brainwash, finance the recruits. This is a full fledged network which selected one of the comrades to fore go his life along with the leader’s.

Now the fact that has dawned here, the politicians, whether of magnitude or not, are on the hit list. This is what seems now. Or, according to the word making rounds, Benazir was not attracting the numbers which were expected from her political and personal aura she maintained which ingrained the possibility of failure in the upcoming elections; thus making her quite vulnerable and dispensable for those who employed her and fixed her in the Pakistan politics yet again. This dastardly act might have come from their sides too; wherein the saying, ‘What goes around, comes around’ doesn’t seem to hold. However, some of the names, looking at the fashion of attack can be nominated here –

• Lashkar e Toiba – A militancy arm of Jamaat ud Dawa. Benazir promised handing over Ameer of the Jamaa’t; Hafiz Saeed.
• MQM – the erstwhile opponent had to settle many scores with the lady. Naseerullah Babar, under Benazir, ordered operation against the MQM in Karachi in the 1990’s. Many supporters had to go under the guillotine.
• Jaish e Mohammadi – Although depicts a religious faction but nonetheless not very Islamic; headed by Molana Azhar who had an indian passenger plane hijacked to have his release ensured some time back. The plane was stationed in Afghanistan during the times of the Taliban, which was then eventually released on the eve of the new year to cover up the killing of the passenger on board.

Principally these names strike first. The maintain training facilities in and out of Pakistan; wherein MQM had their workers (read comrades) trained in India to counter the military and have Karachi seperated from Pakistan during the 1990’s.

Although, international media and the representatives are reeling on the incident alongside India, which surely suggests that the West had a certain expectation with the late lady who was working on their protocol but left it incomplete. No perfect replacement is in sight.

The Bhutto legacy ended abruptly. PPP was riding on this. The party’s perturbed, leaderless, has met the same fate as Hitler’s party. Should it have been the Labour Party like England’s, easy replacement would be there; and why would a leader of a ‘democratic’ party be killed when the leadership is rotating around the objectives of a party and not a fascist, in the first place? Serious discourse is needed to review and revive the party politics of Pakistan. Every party is individualistic based and focused then why wain about dictatorship. Isn’t the same being followed in a democratic parties which advocate democracy but themselves run hollow in itself?

Lastly what about ‘contract’ workers of PPP? Like Naheed Khan, Sherry Rehman. Are they going for the greener pastures? They should, when they have the chance to improve their resumes and not change the national stance from the national view. I feel sorry for Naheed Khan, so near yet so far. Naheed Khan is out of job now. So is Sherry Rehman.

The perpetrators knew it that alone a bomb blast won’t suffice; thus the bullet route was taken, with all evidence gone laters. The election campaign is on hold and receded to much an extent. Nawaz Sharif, who blows the trumpet of nationalism and sympathy for the unheard and unheeded masses, too won’t take a risk to come in the open and under the sun when perpetrators are open. Confusion and the premiership is now more difficult than thought. Investigations, reviews, analysis won’t do any good if serious revival at the top is not implemented. The people, before heading to any party assuming it to be saviour, should equip intellectually the pros and cons of democracy. Awareness has to be proactive and comprehensive. And nobody is ready to do that, for now.

Emergency – After-birth like Pangs of the Media

With the emergency in effect and going strong with 50+ hours already passed and also seems to cross 50+ days as well. The General had it planned. And that too very well.

Although, this comment should have waited for yet another 18+ hours to surface; but the birth like pangs of the media; local and international, altogether in a chorus are condemning the act, really put it into action. This also voices that international conspiracies now have got a jolt although with such a pressure the emergency might not sustain for long. But when its army and hellbent, things get sturdy and precarious, like Bugti.

Just out of curiosity, is there any other country which is going through such trials? Is there any country where disparity, conspiracy, lobbying, sponsored violence is at this helm? No. Its Pakistan where the odds meet. Underlying sustainability with overtured susceptibility of the nation is worth of note. The vulnerability is amongst the ranks, the civilian ranks a.k.a politicians who on the grounds of personal gains and competition are out to add fuel to the fire. Most of the politicians are under arrest or house arrest.

Noteworthy is, no suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle, not even a cycle in these past 50 hours. Emergency is indeed paying off. At last. But the media has been put under strict surveillance and suspension until further notice, so as not to invite more of the ill-educated, sponsored, financed people who are given impetus on the calls of so called nationalist politicians. History is awash with examples. And history not far.

Possible indications or symptoms for the emergency could be the underlying purpose to halt the judges who were on the verge to go against the ruling General. On the other hand, if this was couldn’t be avoided, was the Civilian party ready to face the heat in Swat Valley? Was the civilian leadership ready to sacrifice the earnest and sincere blood of its workers. Benazir could have. 150+ casualties of 18th October incident is much evidence. Period.

Media blacked out, politicians behind bars, protestors tear gassed, newspaper offices attacked, ambassadors and diplomats are busy inviting their representing governments to up the amp the pressure on Pakistan government to end the saga. But the question is still unanswered, why Pakistan? Is CNN, Fox News allowed to go against the Government and nose-diving dollar? Are they allowed to show the falling bodies of their soldiers who are fighting an unknown and garbed enemy which might be sponsored by their own bosses? Hell no. Multiple diplomatic hypocrisy where questions are not allowed. Period.

With the restive with media for some days, the Government of Pakistan has allowed itself some room to play and plan around. And plans are there. Some rumours are rife that the current development is a setup to get Benazir somehow on the forefront as the representative. Having her has never been so easy for the prospects of Pakistan. Lord knows, what would her priorities be the 3rd time. Would this be the last one, please?

With US aid intact after the emergency put into action, the act in itself was pre-planned and for quite some time. And now the ratification. Although if Iftikhar Chaudhary is not reinstated, he leaves with blotch less conscience.

Emergency heralded a sign of good faith, evidencing release of the 211 soldier captives at the hands of the local warriors in the Swat valley. So much so, the aftermath of the emergency is already showing signs. But the media writhes in after-birth pangs, pointing to international financing to put media in the front row to instigate some movement, agitation to bring Pakistan yet again into notice albeit to frighten away investors. Investors might have taken the road back but elections wouldn’t be scared away. International pressure again. Vietnam, devastated after the war records 8%-9% of economic growth per annum, not to mention its shipping industry is second to China’s in the region. Country in the yesteryears in tatters and Pakistan with its status quo languishes. International media and agencies press for democracy but not economic reforms. Hypocrisy maintained.

Nonetheless, it pained to see Dr. Shahid Masood trying his level best to project the situation as a crises although life in Pakistan was normal. Some parts and some businesses recorded slow progress, but not as such as the media wants the world to ‘assume’. Assumption is a trump card media effectively used to change opinions.

But nonetheless, concluding, after-birth like pangs of the media could lead to abortion; abortion of its rights if it doesn’t set itself right. Only 2 parties stands out to benefit from the emergency; Rumour engine and the Stock Market. The latter fell approximately 500 points on the first day, much could be associated with the former. The ticker was kept moving, with rumours like Imran Khan got killed and Musharraf under house arrest. Emergency is yet to show more of this. Fingers crossed.

News is around that the Jang office has been attacked. Columnists in Fatima Bhutto might want to rest their pens for a while. You might have awakened the bear out of hibernation when the season didn’t even start.

The rise of Benazir Bhutto

Sunday, October 28, 2007
Yasser Latif Hamdani

Benazir is back. Without drumming about the salience of the events of last week, it should suffice to say that she is back with a bang- a bang that resonated — where no previous Pakistani bang resonated – in that hallowed hall of international diplomacy that is United Nations Security Council. It seems that the international community does not seem to notice the loss of hundreds of innocent lives anywhere in the third world, unless of course it came close to killing someone of significance on the global stage. Still there is no downplaying that the fact as far as significance goes, Benazir Bhutto is the most significant individual on the world stage right now. Linked with her is the future of a country of 160 million people, the second most populous nuclear-armed Muslim majority nation, and a country that has played a pivotal role in global politics since the Second World War. Therefore, it is no surprise that when Benazir travels in and around Pakistan this week, the world will be watching her every move.

A lot has been written, indeed right from her first homecoming, about the comparison with her famous father, the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The elder Bhutto was a global figure in his own right. Because he was passionate and patriotic, he electrified the people of Pakistan. On the global stage he positioned himself as a great third world and Islamic bloc leader challenging the might of the super power – though he was enough of a diplomat cut from the cloth of Talleyrand himself to have a good working relationship with the US. He failed because Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was, despite his Berkeley and Oxford education, at the end of the day steeped in the feudal politics of honor and revenge. Never financially corrupt, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was capable of considerable cruelty and guile towards his enemies real or perceived and in many ways, he had risen too high too early. This was also the cause of his downfall. Had he become the Prime Minister a decade or two late, he would have a statesman of the highest caliber who would have never made the tremendous mistakes he did. He paid for those with his life. If Benazir Bhutto becomes the Prime Minister next year, she will be 55 years of age. That is five years older than the age her father died at. Her first two terms in office came at a difficult time. She was a newly married young woman who carried the burden of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s martyrdom on her arms. Her mistakes were horrible and they dented her credibility considerably. The Benazir of 2007 is markedly different from Bhutto’s daughter of 1986. While she owes her constituency to her father, Benazir’s style of politics is at considerable variance to his, at time diametrically opposite.

For one Benazir Bhutto is unabashedly pro-West. While her father had quit the British commonwealth — a largely ceremonial cultural fraternity – it was Benazir who re-joined it. Unlike her father, she is not swayed by the romance of revolution. Her politics is not red by any stretch of imagination. We got a glimpse of that when the stock exchange shot up to unprecedented levels on the day of her return. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on the other hand is rightly credited with the most devastating blow to the business sector of Pakistan with his ill-advised nationalization. In many ways despite being the inheritor of the glorious Bhutto legacy of populist politics, Benazir is increasingly coming into her own as a leader who has ready to make hard choices and take tough decisions. But does she have it in her to carry out the monumental task before her? The very fabric of Pakistan’s society has been torn asunder by parochial concerns and the military establishment’s manipulation of right wing Islamic groups. All over the world Pakistan has been projected – with some truth to it albeit exaggerated – as a violent and extremist society. In these circumstances, even the most well-meaning and honest of politicians like Imran Khan are clueless. They honestly believe that religious extremism is not an issue in Pakistan. The media — completely free and independent – reflects the middle class’ flirtation with this the re-hashed and Islamised “anti-Americanism”. A TV anchor who narrowly escaped death last week in the Karachi suicide bombing was seen lamenting the fact that while condemning Islamic radicals for their activities, no one condemned the “liberal fascists” for their actions. As if the “liberal fascists” were going about blowing themselves up in crowds of people.

Benazir must — to use her father’s phrase – pick up the pieces. Her stand must be clear. The answers are well known: While respecting its Islamic heritage and sense of identity, Pakistan must become for all practical purposes a secular state with clear separation of church and state. She must undo the terrible legacy of outward and hypocritical Islamization, which ironically was initiated by her own father. As the leader of the largest and the strongest party she must go at it alone without any futile consensus building exercise. Benazir must learn to live in the solitude of great leaders. She must leave her father behind and rise above him not for the sake of popularity but posterity. Despite her many faults, Benazir today commands the support of the people. For once Uncle Sam also seems to be on the right side of the Pakistani current, dragging the army and the establishment along kicking and screaming. The soldier-president must also know that while he will fade away into oblivion, Benazir is the best hope for the future of his agenda of enlightened moderation. A democratically elected strong woman Prime Minister like her alone can further the little good Musharraf has achieved. He must therefore come out in total support of Benazir Bhutto.

Also if and when this battle is fought and won, Benazir must also preside over the institutionalization of the great Pakistan People’s Party as a truly broad based political party of the masses, no longer dependant on caste and biradari politics of rural Punjab and Sindh. The Pirs and the Makhdooms must ultimately give way to party workers like Jehangir Badr and Fauzia Wahab — extracted from the people. Pakistan People’s Party must also, for itself and for Pakistan, break away from the South Asian tradition of the cult of personality. Benazir must ensure that she is absolutely the last Bhutto to lord over this party, but is the first of many Benazirs that the party will produce from within its cadres in the service of the nation. Only then will she be able to go down in history as a truly epoch-making figure. May Allah help her succeed in her stated objectives and protect her from those who want to harm her. Amen!

The writer is a lawyer. Email: yasser.hamdani@gmail.com

Government parties, military and Taliban seem to be uneasy with the lady. Ladies’ apartment is specifically separate, that explains.

One candidate who could stop her from surfacing again as PM is probability of keeping Shahbaz Sharif around the seat. Government previously had the ‘Little’ Sharif in good books. Lately, it would be possible, Government might have initiated some talks with the brothers. ‘Elder’ Sharif might not extend warm hands to the Government, to save face. But the Junior brother was scurried unscathed, the card is ready. Let’s see how things turn up. The General is waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling for him or against him.

But cards are ready for yet another showdown.

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