In the name of God the Most Merciful & Gracious
As we watch in horror the shameful treatment of the respected members of the lawyer and journalist community in Pakistan by - the now by most accounts - tyrant regime of Gen. Musharraf I can’t help but gasp at the dismal performance of the so called political entities in and/or outside the country.
It seems that most political parties are void of any real strategy and intellect in the matters of charting out a viable approach to counter state supported crackdowns. The imposition of the emergency should hardly have come as a surprise to these elevated political leaders and if they truly believed in the rule of law they should have been better prepared - much much better prepared. Black sheep aside even the regime’s sworn enemies seem powerless to do anything to protest effectively against the imposition.
I am particularly disappointed with the attitude of the leadership from PML(N) & the MMA. It seems the leadership hasn’t learnt the lessons of the recent past when their leader was turned away from Islamabad mainly because there wasn’t a significant street presence to put pressure on the government. In a country and culture where prowess and right is determined by show of force a political strategy which cannot provide an efficient method of active popular protest deserves to be trashed.
I think most of the political leaders are quite happy to rule the country and ransack the treasury but are unwilling to stand up against the oppression and acts of tyranny. It seems everyone is waiting – waiting for that call from GHQ telling them what’s in it for them. I frankly feel sick and ashamed that our political leaders have lost all sense of righteousness. There are of course reasons for this attitude which can only be understood once one realises the perks of being in power – power over the powerless. It doesn’t surprise me anymore to compare the relative healths of leaders from the west and our country once they walk down the corridors of power. We see Blair’s health was effectively ruined over the 10 years in power with his heart troubles and thinning hairline not to mention the countless creases and contours adorning his countenance. On the other hand just look at our PM or for that matter any member of his cabinet or even an MP and you will see how their physical health improves dramatically once they drink from the stream of statehood and stress-free life style.
Our political leadership has failed the nation again and again and Musharraf knows this and he must also realise that people will not now come out for someone else’s sake as the nation as a whole is sedated and crumbling under the pressures of dragging a life in one of the most comparatively expensive countries in the world. The last time we saw people come out in force supporting a cause was the case of the chief justice earlier this year because they believed he was hard done by a regime bent on destroying the last grain of credibility left in any institution of note in the country. There is no one today who can claim this ‘oppressed’ status from within at least the political spectrum. So the country’s best hope resides with a dirty deal being struck between the like-minded forces to ensure the shameful act continues.
So in view of this is it surprising that no one currently holds the popular imagination and the public is not interested in getting beaten up or arrested only so that someone can get into power and continue to loot and plunder the nation. It’s a simple case of the devil you know and any political change of guard will merely be the changing of the master for the common man on the street.
I think far more important than any political turmoil in the corridors of power is the general state of the nation which is cause for real concern. We have repeatedly seen that through history any nation or tribe that falls into a sedate state of mind and becomes oblivious to how they are ruled is treated with indignity and eventually destroyed as a nation. We do hope and pray of course that we have a peaceful transition to a stable state of affairs where everyone has access to the basic amenities and a reasonable chance for earning an honest living. However with the way things are going the stage seems set for a group of people with enough group feeling among them and the ability to strike a chord with a section of an aggressive section of society may take over part or all of the country and then it will be left to their mercy as to whether their subjects are able to or allowed to carve out a living under them.
We are as a nation responsible for this state of affairs as we seem very content with the achievements of our forefathers and see it as our divine right to be free and able to enjoy the same rights as any civilised and modern society. Yet we have done next to nothing to reconstruct our intellectual thought and building our institutions based on the theology and history that is suitable for us and not a hotchpotch of imported democracy from the west that is not in line with our culture, people, demographics or political history.
We urgently need to as a nation become more active and realise that the alternative will not be dissimilar to Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to think for ourselves what is best for us and how we can survive as a nation and a group of people who tolerate each other and engage in scholarly discussion about our issues and concerns and not play into the hands of the few traitors and external game players. Everyone of us as an individual and a group must start to rekindle within ourselves the national and group feeling that is so very crucial to a nations survival. We are a diverse nation and made up of many tribes, provinces, casts and cultures we must thrive with this diversity and not attempt to amalgamate and destroy the heritage of any group of people as this will and has given rise to intolerance and oppression and has never culminated in a successful state in the past and neither will it ever do in the future.
Our nation and every member of this nation must learn to listen to its own conscious and not get bogged down with what our so called political leaders want us to hear. At this stage there are far more grave issues at hand instead of the issues being given air by the political leadership. Some of them talk the talk but none of them have ever walked the walk. The whole issue of political equality is a sham there is no democracy even within most political parties. We must not be under any illusions that neither the Bhutto nor the Sharif clan will be rooted out of their respective political spheres no matter how shambolic their performance will be. This is a form of political dynasty which goes completely against the philosophy of democracy and equality. Unless each and every person in this nation believes that they can make a difference and get to wherever they want to get to armed with their hard work dedication and without fear of oppression we as a nation will not survive for very long.
Our hope lies with the new generation coming through at this stage in our nation’s life where the second generation is paving the way for the third and fourth generations and one hopes that they have learned some lessons from the wider world around them and realise that being a politician is hard work and required dedication, research and commitment. We seem to have a culture where everyone and anyone that is involved with politics or even any governmental institution seem to have an aspiration to gain power at whatever level they can. This feeling has exasperated since politics carries a great deal of glitter. If our politicians were to serve the nation through politics in the way that they should be I am sure not many people will be queuing up to take office!
May Allah give us guidance and allow us to thrive as a nation for a long time to come (Amin)
As we watch in horror the shameful treatment of the respected members of the lawyer and journalist community in Pakistan by - the now by most accounts - tyrant regime of Gen. Musharraf I can’t help but gasp at the dismal performance of the so called political entities in and/or outside the country.
It seems that most political parties are void of any real strategy and intellect in the matters of charting out a viable approach to counter state supported crackdowns. The imposition of the emergency should hardly have come as a surprise to these elevated political leaders and if they truly believed in the rule of law they should have been better prepared - much much better prepared. Black sheep aside even the regime’s sworn enemies seem powerless to do anything to protest effectively against the imposition.
I am particularly disappointed with the attitude of the leadership from PML(N) & the MMA. It seems the leadership hasn’t learnt the lessons of the recent past when their leader was turned away from Islamabad mainly because there wasn’t a significant street presence to put pressure on the government. In a country and culture where prowess and right is determined by show of force a political strategy which cannot provide an efficient method of active popular protest deserves to be trashed.
I think most of the political leaders are quite happy to rule the country and ransack the treasury but are unwilling to stand up against the oppression and acts of tyranny. It seems everyone is waiting – waiting for that call from GHQ telling them what’s in it for them. I frankly feel sick and ashamed that our political leaders have lost all sense of righteousness. There are of course reasons for this attitude which can only be understood once one realises the perks of being in power – power over the powerless. It doesn’t surprise me anymore to compare the relative healths of leaders from the west and our country once they walk down the corridors of power. We see Blair’s health was effectively ruined over the 10 years in power with his heart troubles and thinning hairline not to mention the countless creases and contours adorning his countenance. On the other hand just look at our PM or for that matter any member of his cabinet or even an MP and you will see how their physical health improves dramatically once they drink from the stream of statehood and stress-free life style.
Our political leadership has failed the nation again and again and Musharraf knows this and he must also realise that people will not now come out for someone else’s sake as the nation as a whole is sedated and crumbling under the pressures of dragging a life in one of the most comparatively expensive countries in the world. The last time we saw people come out in force supporting a cause was the case of the chief justice earlier this year because they believed he was hard done by a regime bent on destroying the last grain of credibility left in any institution of note in the country. There is no one today who can claim this ‘oppressed’ status from within at least the political spectrum. So the country’s best hope resides with a dirty deal being struck between the like-minded forces to ensure the shameful act continues.
So in view of this is it surprising that no one currently holds the popular imagination and the public is not interested in getting beaten up or arrested only so that someone can get into power and continue to loot and plunder the nation. It’s a simple case of the devil you know and any political change of guard will merely be the changing of the master for the common man on the street.
I think far more important than any political turmoil in the corridors of power is the general state of the nation which is cause for real concern. We have repeatedly seen that through history any nation or tribe that falls into a sedate state of mind and becomes oblivious to how they are ruled is treated with indignity and eventually destroyed as a nation. We do hope and pray of course that we have a peaceful transition to a stable state of affairs where everyone has access to the basic amenities and a reasonable chance for earning an honest living. However with the way things are going the stage seems set for a group of people with enough group feeling among them and the ability to strike a chord with a section of an aggressive section of society may take over part or all of the country and then it will be left to their mercy as to whether their subjects are able to or allowed to carve out a living under them.
We are as a nation responsible for this state of affairs as we seem very content with the achievements of our forefathers and see it as our divine right to be free and able to enjoy the same rights as any civilised and modern society. Yet we have done next to nothing to reconstruct our intellectual thought and building our institutions based on the theology and history that is suitable for us and not a hotchpotch of imported democracy from the west that is not in line with our culture, people, demographics or political history.
We urgently need to as a nation become more active and realise that the alternative will not be dissimilar to Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to think for ourselves what is best for us and how we can survive as a nation and a group of people who tolerate each other and engage in scholarly discussion about our issues and concerns and not play into the hands of the few traitors and external game players. Everyone of us as an individual and a group must start to rekindle within ourselves the national and group feeling that is so very crucial to a nations survival. We are a diverse nation and made up of many tribes, provinces, casts and cultures we must thrive with this diversity and not attempt to amalgamate and destroy the heritage of any group of people as this will and has given rise to intolerance and oppression and has never culminated in a successful state in the past and neither will it ever do in the future.
Our nation and every member of this nation must learn to listen to its own conscious and not get bogged down with what our so called political leaders want us to hear. At this stage there are far more grave issues at hand instead of the issues being given air by the political leadership. Some of them talk the talk but none of them have ever walked the walk. The whole issue of political equality is a sham there is no democracy even within most political parties. We must not be under any illusions that neither the Bhutto nor the Sharif clan will be rooted out of their respective political spheres no matter how shambolic their performance will be. This is a form of political dynasty which goes completely against the philosophy of democracy and equality. Unless each and every person in this nation believes that they can make a difference and get to wherever they want to get to armed with their hard work dedication and without fear of oppression we as a nation will not survive for very long.
Our hope lies with the new generation coming through at this stage in our nation’s life where the second generation is paving the way for the third and fourth generations and one hopes that they have learned some lessons from the wider world around them and realise that being a politician is hard work and required dedication, research and commitment. We seem to have a culture where everyone and anyone that is involved with politics or even any governmental institution seem to have an aspiration to gain power at whatever level they can. This feeling has exasperated since politics carries a great deal of glitter. If our politicians were to serve the nation through politics in the way that they should be I am sure not many people will be queuing up to take office!
May Allah give us guidance and allow us to thrive as a nation for a long time to come (Amin)
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