How Pakistan's politicians are dragging the country to hell
"Z A Bhutto hanged, buried in Naudero." This newspaper headline from an English daily in 1979 was the first sentence of my first article for a newspaper in 2011. One of my earliest memories of politics - I was a precocious child - is one of my maternal uncles winning on a Pakistan People's Party seat in 1977, and the entire village erupting in jubilation.
My mother loved Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and I've vague memories of his televised fiery speeches made to rapt audiences of adoring thousands. The news of his hanging hugely saddened my mother, and confused my young mind. The headline remained etched in my mind along with the picture of the man I began to detest and fear: General Zia-ul-Haq.
Growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s - Zia died when I finished college - I remember being interested in politics without really understanding what was happening to Pakistan. Throughout my school years, I lived in a small city that had a Pakistan Air Force base, and the sight of low-flying helicopters and the dashing pilots waving to us made us jump in glee. The Defence Day parades were a yearly special treat, as we watched, noisily seated in front of a chunky television, our armed forces marching to beats of military bands and silent prayers of the nation. Our textbooks had stories of valour and sacrifices of the recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military award, and every Pakistani child knew the details of their wartime heroism. Every third family had an officer in the armed forces; it was invariably a matter of pride to be wearing a uniform to dedicate your life to the service of the nation.
None of that has changed to date. Pakistan is still proud of its decorated officers, its soldiers, its martyrs, its faceless heroes.
And then there are the military dictators. While Pakistan's armed forces are known for their organisational capabilities, management skills, work ethic, a strict accountability mechanism and administrative abilities, the problem occurs when the focus of the military's power moves towards the civilian domain. Pakistan is a democracy, yet for almost 30 years of its almost seven decades of existence it has been ruled by military autocrats, who ousted democratically elected leaders to obtain power, and remain in power for long periods of time. Being a vehement advocate of democracy, I accept no reason for dismissal or removal of elected civilian governments, and my opposition to military rules - notwithstanding my respect for armed forces - remains categorical.
In August 2017, the juridical disqualification of the three-time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, came as another blow to the fragile edifice of democracy in Pakistan; the "establishment" was said to be behind his "ouster".
A juridical verdict hailed by the opposition parties, in particular the Imran-Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had the public and media re-engaged in a debate. While I strongly believe the only way to remove an unpopular or a corrupt leader is through an electoral process, there are millions of Pakistanis who believe that Sharif received his comeuppance. That all "corrupt" leaders should be removed from power. That it was about time the sense of entitlement some politicians have is given a hefty shake of reality. That power is not the given right of some families who have little or no sense of what is good for the country in the short and the long run.
Pakistan has a system of accountability, and there is no whataboutery regarding its significance and relevance in the realm of 21st century politics. How fair and impartial that system of accountability is remains to be seen. That is something time and an honest assessment of reality will tell. Will all politicians facing allegations, notwithstanding their stature and history, be investigated and put in a dock of justice? Will all judges of the superior courts undergo the same system of scrutiny? Will all senior military officials be open to the same mechanism of accountability?
Today I look at the political landscape of Pakistan, and there is a feeling of despair and foreboding within me. A country of more than 200 million people, huge resources, a great geostrategic position and untapped talent of millions, Pakistan stands at a crossroads of political ambivalence. Who will be in power after the 2018 general elections? If Nawaz Sharif is deemed "corrupt" and pushed aside in elections, those who wish to replace him have a long and hard road ahead of them. Pakistan doesn't just need a new, honest and an incorruptible prime minister, Pakistan needs a leader who is far-sighted, courageous, pragmatic and ready to map a future that seems elusive to most of its civilian leaders. The very system needs an overhaul.
Blaming the establishment for all governmental failings is not merely an old and oft-employed exercise, it is simply and simplistically a way to not take responsibility for a different course of action for future. It is one thing to say that the establishment controls Pakistan's foreign policy but who is responsible for the mess everything else is in Pakistan? I am unable to see any true strengthening of civilian institutions in my country. There is no genuine and long-term empowerment of the office of prime minister. Even a party like the Pakistan Peoples Party that has a long and painful history of fighting for democracy did not do much to strengthen the civilian edifice of governance. In 2017, what is visible is a series of governments - both autocratic and democratic - as inefficient, weak, self-serving, opportunistic and corrupt. That is what needs to change, not just the faces in the Prime Minister House in Islamabad.
It pains me to see political power games, the ungainly race for power, the unsavoury attacks on one another. Political hegemony and not the well-being of people seem to be the goal, the sole agenda. What Pakistan needs for its inner stability will also help in its image-building in the comity of nations. A corruption-free, focused on a better future, and a democratically stronger Pakistan will not only be good for its people but also for the entire region.
The real change will occur if civilian governments have an unimpeachable and an impeccable system of governance. Human failings aside, the public will be fully behind a government that is truly from the people and for the people. No excuse of establishment overreaching or interference in civilian matters would hold weight if the intention to serve people is sincere, honest and practical. Once the public is with the civilian leadership, no institution - judicial or military - and no religious organisation or party will be able to dictate terms to a civilian government. After loud avowals of strengthening democracy, a series of compromises begins, be it with religious organisations or military leadership. Appeasement for maintaining of power becomes the norm until it rots the very foundation of the very precarious democratic edifice of democracy in Pakistan.
The condition is only one: work to improve lives of people and not your personal advancement. My ideas may be utopian to many, but to me they are tangible, doable and the only way for Pakistan to step back from the edge of the abyss it finds itself on today.
Pakistan needs substantial and long-term reforms: parliamentary, electoral, juridical, economic, land, police, accountability, taxation, education, healthcare, infrastructure, law and order. The country needs leaders who are not less corrupt than one another but those who have an irreproachable record of public service and financial transparency. We need leaders who know how to control schisms, driven by distortions of religious injunctions, and propelled by bigotry and hatred for other faiths and other nations. We need leaders who realise the redundancy of militancy to be used as a tool to gain power and to win any fight within and without. We need leaders who envision a stable role for the country in the neighbourhood and internationally.
Pakistan needs leaders who while acknowledging the stature of the armed forces, their constant service and their countless sacrifices understand that there is a fine line between respect and appeasement. We need leaders who think beyond the me-and-my-family syndrome, and work for that one entity that is above all affiliations and all ties: the nation.
Pakistan needs leaders who work for the good of people, and putting aside self interest work simply for the enrichment and empowerment of one entity: Pakistan.