Pakistani Pols - What Games This Time?

Much to most Pakistani pundits' surprise, Elections 2008 produced results that, by and large, seemed free and fair. Credit to Musharraf and co., perhaps. Then again, they may well have been too sheltered from the ground realities to think that PML-N, in particular, would emerge as strong as it did, albeit in Punjab only.

Now the National and Provincial Assemblies have been asked to convene next week on the 17th of March. A showdown between Musharraf and his cronies is inevitable, given the recent handshakes and alliances between the PPP, PML-N, ANP, as well as the religion-toting but opportunistic JUI.

Nawaz Sharif, in particular, is in an ebullient mood and it's apparent that he cannot wait to exact revenge from the General who sent him into exile (of course, the Sharifs voluntarily accepted that fate since Nehari just wouldn't taste the same in an Attock or Karachi jail!).

Zardari, on the other hand, benefitting from the untimely death of Benazir, is keen on emerging as the top gun for some time to come. He is deftly playing the game of musical chairs even before the music has begun. The Prime Ministership awaits him, should he choose the seat for himself. There are pros and cons of going after the seat. Staying in the background as the puppet master has certain advantages, not the least of which is furthering his fortune which, clearly, was not amassed by premiering films at Bambino Theatre.

Then there are the lawyers (black coats) who are obsessed with one thing and one thing alone: Restoration of the deposed judges, equating that with establishment of an independent judiciary. Aitzaz Ahsan, the Cambridge Chaudhry, is in the forefront. Mr. Ahsan, unfortunately, had not sharpened his legalistic mind sufficiently when the now deposed Chief Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar was taking oath under an earlier Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) under, no less, General Musharraf. Had he the maturity of purpose then that he now exhibits, he would, no doubt, have thrown himself under some bus as a form of protest.

The lawyers' movement was led ably and with integrity by Muneer Malik, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association when it first came into being. (Knowing Mr. Malik personally, I am comfortable attesting to his integrity - he assured me then, in an email, that what we were witnessing was a "defining moment" for Pakistan). The Cambridge Chaudhry took over it once it gelled. Time will tell what his real motivations are. Anyone who claims undying loyalty and devotion to the PPP, on the one hand, and claim gushing praise from Nawaz Sharif, on the other, inspires the skeptic in me (I haven't gotten cynical yet, miraculous as it may seem given the historically raunchy and tragic political landscape of Pakistan). The roly-poly, hair transplanted Sharif even proposed the Cambridge Chaudhry for the PM slot.

Sad as it is to be discussing players and personalities that are nothing but retreads, it is equally sad to admit that they may offer better prospects for Pakistan's future today then others such as Imran Khan (unfathomably attached to the likes of Qazi Hussain of the JI) or the likes of Fazlur Rahman. Beware, I say, of rotund politicos in impoverished, terrorized countries that are obviously too well fed (Fazlur Rahman, Sharif, in Pakistan and Muqtada Sadr in Iraq). And doubly beware of those that use religion for self-aggrandizement and for bankrupting further the already largely uneducated minds of the masses.

When Musharraf came to power I, like most Pakistanis, was hopeful that a new order would take shape, where the masses would be looked after first and foremost as opposed to the tyrannical and exploitative vested interests (feudals, mullahs, bureaucrats, military). There was no real basis to believe that, of course, other than the fact that all post-1971 civilian governments of Bhutto, Sharif, and Bhutto had left quite a sickening taste in one's mouth.

Musharraf squandered the moment and the potential he had after the Twin Towers had collapsed. He became a changed man, lionized in his own mind by the opportunity of milking the Sacred Cow, America, venerated by some and slaughtered by most. He must have read Machiavelli's Prince but not well enough, apparently. He believed that he could rein in the radical Islamists at will and could manipulate them as the situation demanded. He was wrong and fatally so for the thousands of Pakistani innocents that have lost their lives to pigheaded, Wahabiism-inspired "Muslims" hell-bent on riding the suicide train.

Democracy and all it represents is all well and good but if a military man rules then he should rule with an iron fist. That is where Musharraf went wrong. He should have made an example of a half dozen prominent mullahs (Qazi, Fazlur, et al) where, if they survived, they would weigh far less than they do now.

The opportunity for Musharraf has slipped away. Now the onus is upon the retreads. Which way Pakistan? Your guess is as good as mine. Pray tell.