Articles of the year 2015
Published on March 24th 2015
The present situation in Karachi, is the culmination of many many years of misgovernance, under persons elected to govern, but who turned to criminal activities. Among the main pursuits were extortion, kidnapping, even murder– all backed with political muscle. So, when the Saulat Mirza televised confession appeared one was shocked, but the facts were already well known on the street. The details were not. Saulat Mirza has provided these details. The shocking part is the involvement of the higher echelons of the party involved.
Even now it is too dangerous to name the party, for the aura of fear still hangs in the air.The extent of the criminality can only be pieced together, but the network of the MQM machine is so tight, it is difficult to obtain any conclusive proof. However the stories are leaking out, and the TV anchors are in the forefront, most of them showing reruns of the Mirza confession. No widows or orphans of victims have been interviewed, as would have been the case in a normal ( unbacked politically) crime. It is only with a confession such as Saulats, that the dots can be joined. Till the confession the perception of the criminal activities was believed, and spoken of in hushed whispers. Now the whispers are louder, but the furtive glances are still there. The Uzair Baluch statement coming on the heels of the Saulat Mirza confession has opened yet another dimension to the Criminality of the Pakistani Governance. This time the target is Asif Zardari, the merry widower, who proved that you can marry above your station, and thrive. As unpopular as Altaf, though not as dangerous, he has managed to reduce the PPP to its present sad position, where all the diehards have left, and now the remnants of the PPP are casting about for an honest leader to hang onto.
The Bhutto mystique, mainstay of the PPP attraction, was sidelined by the Zardari stamp, reducing the Bhutto ‘effect’ . This was done by using the stick of the state, whipping the party workers into line. The real romance of the ‘Bhutto’ was his leftist leanings. Nationalization, ostensible hatred of the feudals, was part of the plan. Zardari, moving away from ‘Bhuttoism’ perforce lost the leftist element in his following. Also he tried to promote himself into the Feudal strata where he had never been accepted. He was always considered a camel driver– this not the highest rung in the feudal ranks. In political spheres, the political manifest is the very foundation of a party’s belief or creed. If there is no manifesto, the party has no basic structure other than the persona of the leader. Zardari could not claim any great thoughts or actions.
His background as a cinema ticket scalper, and then a deal maker picking scraps from the Prime Minister office. Enriching himself in the process going from Mr 5% to 10% finally to Mr 100% ! Ignoring the people, the voters, party. This behaviour has proved suicidal, and mood of the people reflects this disappointment. Again the perception of Zardari being a corrupt crook is now accepted as the truth, as is the criminality of Altaf. The perception has changed to the affirmation of a fact. The remaining myth is the administrative ability of the Sharifs. The hype created by the PMLN, to fulfil the PR requirements of a political party, has been an effective tool, but empty promises cannot be held out forever. Eventually the people will see through the charade, and when the results are not forthcoming, they will react. The Lahore riots have shown that the attacks were focussed on the Lahore Metro bus, which has become a symbol of the Sharif regime. This has not been missed by the Army, and the PMLN will also come under scrutiny. The Model town massacre, will soon be revisited, and appropriate criminal actions will ensue. The only person above the criminal activities, is Imran Khan, and he will be used as a yardstick to measure others.