Articles of the year 2015
Published on January 27th 2015
Pakistan is poised at a vulnerable juncture. The politicians have lost their mandate under threat from Imran, managing only just to keep away from challenges in the courts, against the legitimacy of their elections. It is a wonder that the returning officers have not been charged with serious misconduct.
Meanwhile the Prime minister has cancelled his trip to Davos ( with an entourage of 40 people) the cost of which would have run into millions. It is not confirmed whether his personal chef would have been in attendance, but in all likelihood the weather in Switzerland is conducive to a really good Siri Paya. I am also sure that the Indians cannot digest more than a watery Dall. No doubt their frugal tastes will be dictated by an equally frugal leader.
We have 180 million starving Pakistanis that we can safely ignore, and insult, with our excesses. The good news is that the Prime Minister has stayed behind to try and salvage the latest crisis to hit the country – the shortage of petrol. Watching the growing lines of people outside the petrol pumps, the anger of the people was visible, aimed at the misuse of their votes, already under challenge in the various courts. The most apt was a remark by one wag, that there could not even be a rebellion, because the people were restricted to their homes. A curfew was in place because the people were rendered immobile. This is possibly the most ridiculous situation for a country, that it should run out of petrol, in peacetime.
The PMLN supporters, are screaming conspiracy, while it is solely a matter of incompetence of the government itself. It would have been even more laughable if the PM with his 40 guests had been comfortably ensconced in the plush surroundings of Davos, when the Nation’s transport was at standstill. Every member of the attendees at Davos is a success in his own field, with our PM the ‘third time elected Prime Minister’ showing his stuff, and how he would be the ideal person if you wanted to do business in Pakistan, Nawaz was the leader to meet. Without petrol the country is pushed back a hundred years. No wonder his trip was cancelled. While the PMLN diehards are crying ‘conspiracy’ others are suggesting that perhaps it is time the PM formed a joint National team, for it is obvious that his PMLN team cannot deliver. If there is a conspiracy then it is only from within the ranks of the PMLN itself. Nawaz is indeed lucky that the petrol crisis came too early.
The most damaging effect of the petrol crisis has been destroying the myth of the managerial ability of the Sharifs. The two brothers had built a reputation as skilled business managers, multiplying their assets at a dizzying pace. This reputation lies in tatters, and their business acumen is in serious doubt. The younger Sharif also has taken a severe hit in his administrative abilities. The attack on the Sri Lankan team, the law and order situation in the Punjab culminating in the Model town massacre, shows hoodlums on the rampage, police out of control. Schoolchildren being Lathi charged, are all indications of an administration high on hype, but short on governance. With so many things going wrong, it was as if the smoke and mirrors act had come apart. To effectively govern, much more attention to administration and the law is required. The morale of the Civil Service in the Punjab is at its lowest and it appears that the progress in the Punjab is the genius of the Punjabi people, rather than the magic of the Sharifs. That myth lies in tatters.
The rest of Pakistan is slowing down while everyone is waiting for the next crisis to hit. Nawaz is seemingly paralysed, and does not know where to begin. He is surrounded by incompetent advisors who are at a loss, because of their own inability to function or guide. The only way out is to restore the bureaucracy to its former self, and empower it to withstand the attacks from bent politicians. Coupled with a judiciary that should enforce the laws. This is the only way to correct a system that has become grotesque in its inability to function properly.
A national Government is the only viable solution, as the present members of the assemblies are too entrenched in their bent ways to allow a decent government to function. They insist on commanding the bureaucracy to obey their diktat, even if it is against the rules or the law for that matter. Continuing in the same manner, would lead to more of the same. Setting the stage for a Dictator, that would sweep away the present lot, and to install his new team. This installation would be very painful, and will cost the country many lives. It would be best if the National Goverment model is followed, being relatively painless. The alternative will be extremely painful, and if the past examples are to be taken into consideration, the incumbent Goverment will pay a heavy price. Unfortunately the Pakistani leadership is always surrounded by the ‘all is well ‘ team. The inner circle is never told the bad news, ‘the end is near’. Both times Benazir’s government was removed, Zardari was once in the Sind CM house issuing last minute allotment letters and the second time in Governor house Lahore again issuing similar instructions when he was told that the government had been sacked and he was under arrest.
Even though he was the husband of the Prime Minister he and his wife had no inkling that they had been sacked. So completely were they cut off from reality. It is shocking that they could be so isolated. The monarch of a failed Kingdom is first isolated and then removed. One of the reasons for Ranjit Singhs longevity was the information to the King was always pertinent and updated. The quality of advice rendered was the best, and largely successful in keeping him in power. In Pakistan the PM is being given incorrect advice, deliberately, and when the crisis appears he is seemingly unable to solve it, causing more suffering to the hapless people. In the almost two years since taking power, all the crisis are self inflicted. Except for the Army School massacre, the others have only the Kitchen cabinet to blame. The next crisis will bring about the downfall of the PMLN government which already seems to have thrown in the towel. And is waiting for the last rites. The explosive mixture awaits a matchstick to set it off. Nawaz would be well advised to gather his companions and negotiate a smaller future rather than one replete with criminal cases under a new NAB chairman, or worse, a military court. The collapse of the Nawaz Sharif III government is making the Zardari administration look good in comparison, and we know how many years that set us back, and the cost.