July 25,
2012
By Saeed
Qureshi
No one has the
guts to dislodge the incumbent PPP government. The prime and overpowering reason
is that this party enjoys a majority in the parliament. AAZ as a shrewd
puppeteer has tied such rubber stamp parties as MQM and ANP with the political apron-string
of PPP, whose own political clout and profiteering depends upon the agreeable
nod and patronage from Asif Ali Zardari.
They are like
small streams looking formidable because of their presence and merger in an
ocean. The Ocean should be treated as a metaphor for the encompassing political
tenacity and resilience of PPP to remain trenchant in the riotous political
arena of Pakistan.
Had the PPP
been debased or lost its popularity, the Multan citizens would not have voted
for Abdul Qadir Gilani and enable him to capture the national assembly seat
vacated by his father, the former Prime Minister Gilani. It is forgone and a much
assured guess that in all the by-polls, the PPP’s nominated candidates would
triumph. The Multan contest was a test case to measure-up the political
standing of both Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and PML Nawaz faction. The joint
candidate of both these parties Shaukat Hayat Bossan lost to Qadir Gilani.
The Supreme
Court and the rest of judiciary have been turned into a laughing stock for
handing out the galore of verdicts and the executive blowing these away with
disdain and mockery. In implementing surfeit of decisions by the Supreme Court,
the acting chairman of PPP and the president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari have
kept the apex court at bay. One example is defiance or disregard of Supreme Court’s
unambiguous orders for writing a letter to the Swiss authorities for reopening
the money laundering cases of Asif Ali Zardari and his deceased spouse Benazir
Bhutto.
Now the
shrewish and bellicose attorney general of Pakistan Irfan Qadir categorically
and rather impetuously tells the Supreme Court that the government would not
write such a letter to the Swiss court. The Memogate issue has been relegated
to the cold storage, the Abbottabad commissions’ proceedings have gone into
hibernations.
Despite
threats by the religious parties both political and non-political, the NATO
overland supply has been resumed. Similarly
the Hajj scandal, the ephedrine quota case seems to be gone with the winds and
no one in the government give a dam to the highest judiciary’s orders.
Mr. Zardari,
who is pulling the strings and leading the game of wits and political
brinkmanship from the safe fortress and the imposing building of the
presidency, knows well that army would not intercede for upholding the Supreme
Court’s various verdicts. The army is docile and detached because of her total
commitment to the military operations in the tribal belt and also an unremitting
engagement in the troubled Balochistan. Also the army would not opt to meddle
in politics and grab power as this would be worst time for the military
leadership to do so. As the adage goes, the army’s top brass would not like to fish
in troubled waters.
The opposition
parties are in a state of disarray, dejection and dissolution. These parties
have utterly failed to build up a strong and formidable movement or front against
the government on such volatile and provocative issue as target killings,
rampant and endemic lawlessness, the rising prices, the mushrooming corruption of
the ruling cabal, decay of the nation- building institutions, the broken-down
municipal system, the galloping inflation, and on top of all the grinding power
shortage atrociously affecting every aspect of life and population in Pakistan.
The press has
been tamed and fixed. The recent drama with Malik Riaz Hussain as the main hero
and villain has spilled the beans as to how the self-styled saints and
moralists among the journalists were the recipient and beneficiary of cores of
graft and sell-out rewards from him. The arch journalists have been so nakedly
exposed for their clandestine wheeling dealing with the shady individuals who
are immersed in corruption and loathsome money-making pursuits. That lethal
lightening rod must have fallen on the high profile and preeminent media
charlatans, presumably, at the behest of Mr. Zardari.
So he knows
the art of fixing the non-conformists and taming the rebellious or rowdy
elements in every walk of life, be it the ministers, the lawyers, the
journalists, the judges and even the military top notches. The PPP’s traditional
vote bank is as intact and would remain so as are the assets of Mr. Zardari in
offshore accounts and in the Swiss banks.
He is a past
master in making rapprochements and reconciliations. But he is a ruthless
executioner as well. Where is Babar Awan who used to be as the lead cavalier
for the PPP and the front man of president Zardari in rejoinders, reviling and
foul mouthing the opponents? He was disgracefully kicked out of the party and
the government when he dithered on bailing out Mr. Gilani in the court as a
witness. AAZ has been able to command and extract unconditional and absolute
loyalty from his associates and cohorts. In returns he treats them with utmost care
like an indulgent godfather and cardinal patron.
A clever and
foxy person as he is, he possesses the abundant ability and adroitness to deflect
the dark darks clouds that gather around the PPP and himself from time to time.
He has always come out with amazing success and scoring victory over his
raucous political adversaries. His four years’ track record eloquently bears
out that he has been inimitable in browbeating and disarming his political
opponents.
As for the people’s
outcry for their woes, he gives a dam to it. Understandably, the agitations or
protests can be effective only if there are sincere and dedicated leaders to
lead them. And in Pakistan there are self-centered, greedy and myopic pygmies
whose vision is as narrow as their concern is negligible for the well being of
Pakistan and Pakistanis.
If all are
chips of the same faulty and reprobate block then it hardly makes any
difference whether you support and stand by Zardari or his adversaries. Better
vote for PPP. After all it is a revolutionary party with a heavy backlog of
plentiful sacrifices and hardships. More so because it is headed by a
consummate, crafty and matchless navigator.
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