Gunfight at the OK Corral
The Birth Anniversary of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the founder-Chairman of PPP, was celebrated with some fervour by his heirs and their supporters, principally in Larkana and at his gravesite nearby in Garhi Khuda Baksh. If he had been alive, the late lamented leader would probably have wished that the fireworks display would have been of the non-lethal kind and better targeted in the air than at each other between his surviving siblings. At least three innocent people lost their lives in the firefight between the police and Murtaza supporters including a policeman on duty who died a lingering death due to a bullet-inflicted stomach wound. What had been taken universally as a stage-managed farce in continuation of the drama (the incarceration of Mir Murtaza Bhutto) played out to placate the doubts of those who were turned off at the Prodigal Son’s terrorist connections (Al-Zulfikar, RAW, etc) has suddenly turned deathly serious. The entire exercise may or may not have been a “Noora Kushti” meant to distance the PPP hierarchy from the terrorist overtones acquired by extremists among the Party elements over the Martial Law years, the initiation of a cycle of bloodletting has created new dynamics, unleashing demons lower down the pecking order that may run totally out of control. Others may revel in the never ending misadventures of the Bhutto family as regards familial peace and harmony but this is a continuing tragedy that must come to an end. For the sake of the Bhutto family and the Pakistan Peoples Party, sane counsel must prevail to terminate this insanity. While the functioning of the government may not have come to a standstill, it has certainly been severely affected to the detriment of the people of Pakistan. Despite her personal travails (and possible anguish), Ms Benazir has managed an extremely brave front, essentially remaining a class act.
The Cracks Widen
For the first few weeks after coming to Federal power, the Ms Benazir government could do no wrong. Instead of rushing into many things at one time, it adopted a more deliberate posture. While its authority in the Sindh Assembly was undeniable, the PPP-PML (J) combine increased its majority in Punjab to make a comfortable government. The PPP masterpiece was the process leading up to the election of Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari as President. In contrast to this high point, the PML (N) Opposition touched its lowest ebb, the final desperate offers of the Presidential candidacy to all comers gave the impression of desperation and total disarray. Yet ten weeks into what should be an unquestioned rule, the PPP is caught up in a series of self-created problems as well as the impossibility of governing a country like Pakistan by adopting the safe course of status quo and survive, more so when the intelligentsia and the people have got used to the dynamism and movement of constant initiatives and change which was the hallmark of the Nawaz Sharif regime. Even the caretaker regime of Moeen Qureshi recognised this. While frenetic activity by itself may not necessarily mean development and progress, the general public tends to have a positive view of their leaders as striving hard on their behalf for economic emancipation. The psychology of public perception drives Third World populations rather than any acknowledged fact, therefore, any government that shows indications of inactivity, indeed of apathy in letting some widely hailed ordinances lapse, may soon find itself in deep trouble.
The First Cracks
Whose of us who were inclined to believe that this is a new PPP regime, chastened by their first experience at bad governance, determined to do good by their country, now see the first tell-tale signs appear on the edifice. While it is too early to render dire predictions of things likely to happen, there are certain indications in that direction which cannot go unnoticed and which seem to build up into a comprehensive design of wheels within a wheel, not divorced from the making of a quick buck. One does not see the blatant and ham-handed modus operandi of the first tenure, the perception of a hungry child wolfing down too much all at once, this time around the operating procedure seems to be much more suave and sophisticated. This is very much in keeping with the cunning of the brilliant election campaign against Mian Nawaz Sharif, a battle of the PPP’s organisation machine against the raw popularity among the masses of a basically untested political entity, where a dead heat in the number of votes cast (with a slight edge to the PML(N) and its allies) among the popular vote has been subsequently (and superbly) transformed into an electoral rout. While it does not reflect the political reality on the ground and does call into question the credibility of the democratic process as is being practiced in this country, it is now very much a fait accompli.
Governments are made or unmade on the policies that it annunciates and the way it goes about implementing them. However, what matters above all is the choice of individuals who will carry the torch. For the record, based on their respective manifestoes, there is no fundamental disagreement in the policies of the Government and the Opposition, the difference would be more in form of execution of these policies and the level of emphasis thereof rather than the substance. To implement its policies, the government has to employ people that it trusts and has confidence in, at the same time they should have a reputation for honesty and integrity. Above all, they must be free from controversies that are likely to hamper the intentions and objectives of the government. One important thing to note is that wrongdoing can only be attempted when key players are motivated by rampant greed or owe loyalty to individuals over and above the loyalty that they should owe to the institution that they are responsible for.