Half Empty, Half Full
Pakistanis are incurable optimists who are more likely to look at a half empty glass as half full. A few weeks ago our new Finance Minister articulated the same thought at a seminar in Harvard University. Great hope has been vested by the broad masses of the people of Pakistan in the military regime, a “soft” martial law without its usual teeth never before seen in this country and one daresays, in recent history. The aspirations aroused in the people is scary, the military rulers will have to rise beyond themselves to ensure that the great expectations of the masses are not frustrated. In their talent search they will have to reach out for the services of friend and perceived foe alike. In the selection of a dream team to run the country, there is unanimity of views about their competence and integrity. Twelve or so years of democratic rule had driven us into the wilderness without a compass, the incumbent process will only be successful if it takes us back to a meaningful democracy in which all the people will participate as equal partners and not simply become pawns on a giant chessboard. With the economy in such doldrums that even easy credit has no takers, primary focus should be on the economy. However public perception wants accountability in supersession of everything else, an animal urge reminiscent of the feelings of the audience of the Roman Colliseum. Since accountability indirectly will not only force-feed the economy but will also improve law and order, build up the national morale as well as investor confidence, etc accountability (or the lack of it) will be the touchstone of success (or failure) of Gen Pervez Musharraf and his “Young Turks”.
Rule in Sindh – The First Few Weeks
A cross section of the citizens of the city were invited by the Governor to get their reaction as to (1) the promulgation of Governor’s Rule and (2) how to make it effective. All the 20 odd or so people assembled in that room spoke for the imposition of Governor’s Rule, they lauded the Federal Government.
The other day the Governor Sindh, Lt Gen (Retd) Moinuddin Haider, invited at short notice Government for taking the bold step and “saving the city”. As regards making the rule effective, a few did counsel focussing on macro issues but the majority were more concerned with micro issues. The Governor cannot do everything, he has to conserve his energies and authority. This is possible by concentrating on the macro factors in order to re-build the institutions that have been destroyed over the past several years, at least to the level of their original potential.
Self-accountability-the Decontamination Process
The final accountability being that rendered by the masses at the polls, should not the public expect the political parties to themselves filter their candidates through a pre-electoral weeding process to ensure that they pass measure at various levels leading to the anvil of the Ehtasab (Accountability) Ordinance? The recurrent failure to carry out accountability has brought a once vibrant economic engine fuelled by a dynamic people resplendent in hope to its knees, the last three years at the hands of a band of looters who would put vultures to shame. Not that any thief has ever accepted guilt (to quote renowned columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee “which thief will give you a receipt?”) without being faced by incontrovertible evidence but seldom has there been such highway robbery and then a brazen display of shameless feigning of benign innocence as by the members of the universally unlamented late government of Ms Benazir Bhutto. Unfortunately that is their benign right under the laws of the land unless they are brought to justice.
We have to studiously guard against a rush of judgment. As columnists and journalists, except for investigative journalists like Ardeshir Cowasjee, Kamran Khan, Kaleem Omar, etc we have seldom access to hard evidence, we simply articulate the mass perception. In doing so we fall into the Catch-22 trap of kangaroo courts insofar as we mix truths and half truths that feed on each other mixing these such that the palate of the population becomes anxious and hungry to apportion blame. A responsibility devolves upon us to verify the accuracy of what we put down in print, more so because in our haste to lay accusations and see the looters brought to justice we may be unknowingly playing into their hands because hastily levelled accusations run the risk of being shown to be without depth and substance, it is more difficult to cast doubt on hard evidence obtained more deliberately. Some of us are also guilty of letting our own personal bitterness and frustrations get the better of our own judgment, in effect we attempt to project as the truth what we would like to believe is the truth.
A Mango Republic?
In every country of the world, patronage is built into the system in some form or the other. In the developed countries where democracies are stable and accountability is a part of the system, the potential for favouritism for material or monetary gain may be severely circumscribed but is still very much present. Denis Thatcher was eulogised for being an obsequious husband of the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, however son Mark was ostracised by the media for any number of major business deals. In countries of the Third World where leaders depend upon a small coterie of the rich and powerful for the acquisition and sustenance of power, there is virtually no dependence upon the masses. A Client-Patron relationship becomes much more part of the system than in developed nations. The cycle of favours ensures continuation of power, patronage ensures a mutual loyalty born out of the need for survival. The disease of patronage is not confined to Pakistan alone, that it has become rampant in this country over the past two decades does make this country a part of a more select group of nations as far as nepotism and corruption is concerned. We used to poke fun at the “Banana Republics” of Latin and South America, today we are not much different in style as well as content. As nationalists we should use our national fruit as a symbol in being labelled as a “Mango Republic” or at least being well on the way to its becoming.
The most insidious form of patronage in this country is the allotment of plots and the sanctioning of loans. Recently the Lahore High Court has taken suo-moto action to ask for details of all the plots allotted by the Chief Ministers of Punjab since 1985, the Martial Law Administration (1977-1985) having taken care to have all its actions validated and not being subject to questioning (whether any illegal acts of commission by responsible people in public office can ever be so condoned on the point of a gun is a matter of debate and conjecture but not the subject of this article). Given 1985 as a marker for discovering the wholesale gift sale of public property, the learned Judge of the Lahore High Court, Mr. Tiwana, should at the very least question the CMs about what great public service the beneficiaries performed to deserve the largesse. In order to ensure fairplay, the same exercise should be carried out in the Federal Territory and all the other Provinces. Prima-facie it would seem that many of the allottees do not even have correct addresses or have more than one plot. One wealthy and influential gentleman residing in KDA is the beneficiary of as much as 12 CM-bestowed plots, albeit in different names. It would not seem out of place as to question how such a farce was contrived and enacted by leaders who unabashedly proclaim themselves guardians of public morality and should have known better i.e. if they feel any fiduciary responsibility to the masses they were pledged to serve selflessly. Besides being an act of corruption, it is sheer hypocrisy.