Ayaz Amir
This is not a tragedy. It is a self-manufactured farce– a crisis wholly self-invented –which cannot go on much longer without irreparably compromising the nation’s already embattled wellbeing and security. In other words, if the paladins pretending to run Pakistan are given free rein for some more time, even for a few more days, there won’t be much left to save. In that eventuality we might as well invite Baitullah Mehsud, virtual Emir of Waziristan, and Maulana Fazlullah, very much Emir of Swat, to descend from their mountain fastnesses and march on Islamabad.
More than any madressah, it was General Pervez Musharraf with his stupid actions who gave a fillip to Taliban power. President Asif Ali Zardari professes himself to be an enemy of the Taliban. By sowing discord in Pakistan, in reality he is proving to be their best friend. Our American godfathers, to whom we owe so many of our troubles, should savour the irony of it all. Asif Zardari was their Karzai in Islamabad, someone who was supposed to fight the Taliban better than the discredited Pervez Musharraf. But by proving an all-round disaster he is undermining everything.
His detractors, of whom there was never a shortage, had no illusions about him. But his supporters, internal and external, thought the leopard might just change his spots. They have been proved wrong. Zardari is not even Karzai. He is proving himself a pale copy of the original, which only underscores our luck. Karzai is the quintessential American puppet but compared to Zardari he begins to look like a national hero.
To call Zardari’s recent actions reckless is to invest them with a measure of dignity. Hitler was reckless. So, in some of his late military adventures, was Napoleon. Zardari’s ill-considered actions are plain silly, revealing a capacity wholly inadequate and disproportionate to the challenges Pakistan faces, or the job in which providence — not the people of Pakistan — placed him.
Anyone even dimly aware of what’s what in Pakistan knows that the Dogar Supreme Court — there’s no other word to describe it — walks in Zardari’s shadow. Zardari has been Dogar’s great protector and Dogar has done all in his power to return the favour. So it is scarcely to be wondered at if most people have traced to the presidency the footprints of the Supreme Court decision disqualifying the Sharifs from holding public office. This is what sparked the present crisis.
For any adventurer that one adventure should have been enough. Not Zardari who went on to compound his initial folly by imposing governor’s rule in Punjab. This left no room for a cover-up. It revealed the twisted vision taking shape in his mind: the desire to seize control in Punjab.
In normal times this would have been considered part of the normal pattern of Pakistani politics. But with the northwest and Swat lost to the Taliban, terrorism spreading to other parts of Pakistan — as evidenced by the audacious attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore — tensions with India unresolved and the US breathing down our necks to get our act together and “do more”, who so bold as to say these are normal times? At such a time to open another front in Punjab was not just suicidal but insane.
Pakistan is now reaping the fruits of this insanity. Al Qaeda’s purposes are served if there is turmoil in Pakistan. But even if it had wanted to, Al Qaeda could not have scripted the present unrest sweeping Pakistan. This required the artistic flair of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, Asif Zardari.
Pakistan is no stranger to undeserved leadership. But this one takes the prize.
What about the army? Well, the army is part of Pakistan. If ordinary citizens are worried, why shouldn’t it be worried? From domestic security to external challenges, it has its hands full, and it is more over-stretched now than in any of its wars with India. It would have to be out of its mind to even contemplate seizing power. But it is too much to expect it would remain unmoved at the spectacle of the Supreme Commander leading the country over the edge.
Indeed, not learning anything from our history, and unmindful of the consequences, everyone is hurtling towards the precipice. Those watching Pakistan are increasingly given to saying that this country is consumed by a death wish. On top of all this angst, we get Zardari. Our sins may be great but this is punishment for sins we have not committed.
If Pakistan is to be saved the pantomime being enacted in the presidency has to end. This shouldn’t necessarily mean getting Zardari to quit the presidency. But it does mean clipping his powers so that instead of igniting new fires we can concentrate on tackling the fires already raging..
How is this possible? The outlines of various possibilities have already been sketched in the media. A consensus is emerging on the role of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. If he were to assert himself, this crisis can be resolved. The first thing to do is call an immediate session of the Punjab assembly to ascertain who commands a majority. This would bring down the political temperature at once and also create space for discussing how best to resolve the judicial crisis.
Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, has done the impossible. He has made himself more unpopular than Zardari. He has also turned himself into an object of ridicule. Whom the gods would destroy, they first make ridiculous. It is in everyone’s best interests, including perhaps his own, that he should go.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his ambitious cousin, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, have also performed the impossible. At a time when they could have washed all their sins by adopting a principled stand and coming out openly against the politics of Zardari and his Punjab minion, Salmaan Taseer, they have been frantically hunting for political advantage: trying to secure for themselves either the chief ministership of Punjab or the chairmanship of the Senate. They will get neither but they have lived up to their reputation of being unprincipled adventurers.
There is a strong section of opinion within the PML-N — but which doesn’t include Nawaz Sharif — favouring an alliance with the Chaudhrys.. Which only proves that no single party has a monopoly on short-sighted politics.
But to return to Gilani, he can only be effective if he has army backing and if the Americans also play along. Short of stepping into the arena itself — a move sure to have disastrous consequences — the most attractive option for the army is to work from the sidelines and stiffen Gilani’s spine so that, in a remarkable turn of events, he becomes the instrument to cut Zardari down to size.
Zardari as unfettered president is a disaster Pakistan can no longer afford. But Zardari as figurehead president — a continuing embarrassment for Pakistan, yes, but a embarrassment hidden safely behind the tall façade of the presidency — is something most Pakistanis can live with.
Our American friends must be tearing their hair. Pakistan is key to their endeavour in Afghanistan and Pakistan is in a mess. Since mid-term elections are not an immediate option, this rules out any fresh players (PML-N?) at the centre. This leaves Gilani, or rather a combination of Gilani in front and army chief, Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, in the shadows. And the PML-N holding the fort in Punjab. And some way to settle the question of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s future. Not an ideal solution but the best under the circumstances.
Just three weeks ago Zardari had the initiative while the PML-N was on the defensive. Now Zardari is cornered while Nawaz Sharif is very much in the ascendant, his moral position and his party’s standing stronger than ever. When Harold Wilson said that a week was a long time in politics how could he have known that to no country would his adage apply better than Pakistan?
In one sense, however, we have to be grateful to Zardari. Had he been cautious and prudent, eschewing adventurism, he could have been around for four more years. Imagine the calamity this would have been. By shooting himself in both feet, thus ensuring a premature end to his days of unrestricted glory, he has done Pakistan a favour. This is the only silver lining in the present crisis.
So perhaps Mao had a point when he said, “There is great disorder under the heavens and the situation is excellent.” The News
http://www.sananews.com.pk/english/2009/03/13/endgame-zardari-or-goodbye-to-all-of-this/
