Pakistan Today

My contemporaries growing up in the seventies would remember a character known as ”‘Qabacha”, in a TV serial, which still haunts the artist who played that part. The punch line as I remember was “chakko hai meray paas” signifying a weak person’s desire to overcome his opponents by threatening his adversaries with the rudimentary of the weapons that a man has developed. It seems that I am not the only one who was infected by ‘Qabacha”, our entire leadership and think tank seem to be taking his lead.

If you were to recall the statements made by our politicians, our defenders and our stalwarts, you will know what am I talking about. First, let us take the example of our illustrious chief whip, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain; he made a mockery of our national defense when he equated our nuclear program to a religious phenomenon we have inherited from Hindus- Shab-e-Barat. And then it was the worthy Prime Minister, whose laurels are limited to being from the alumni of a colonial college and patron of our national sport, he like his parliamentary leader, was little too obsequious to state that Pakistan would resort to anything in its power to defend its national border, suggesting the use of nuclear option.

And then we have our evergreen Information Minister, who is still seeking marital bliss and could only find the comfort of “hired help” as the touring Information Minister with his former boss whom he have to chosen to ditch in national interest. He did not mince his words, not that he knows how, to state in his crude “potohar” manner that Pakistan would teach India a lesson if India were to attack Pakistan. May be the gentleman needs a few lessons in oratory from Said-al-Sahaf! His crude statements, reminiscent of his college days in Rawalpindi, must have sent tremors in Powell and company’s waterholes. Donald the gung-ho Rumsfeld would have a case against Powell given Sheikh Rashid’s statements against Powell and the State Department’s agenda.

The Maulvis it seems are not helping our case either; they are calling for the government to annihilate the allied forces operating in Iraq with our God given nuclear arsenal. A joke to say the least! Somehow or the other we are obsessed with our ability to deliver nuclear weapons and a segment of our society believe that we are invincible since attaining the nuclear state’s status! But are we really invincible, as our fearless leader wants us to believe? A rhetoric shared by the siblings of a police constable from Gujrat or the landlords from Multan and Khanewal? I think not. Like Qabacha of the past our rulers think that by shouting wolf more than once they will be able to placate the concerns of the teeming population, ready to burst at its seam, that they need to trust the Muslim League of Quaid-I-Azam version. What they have failed to understand is the fact that people of sub-continent have never, throughout the known history, rallied behind a singular cause! The mess they made in Bangladesh should be an eye-opener for everyone concerned.

So if the Sheikh Rashids or Musharrafs of this world believe that they have a tight grip on this part of the world, thanks to the Chaurdries of Gujrat, they have another thing coming their way. General Zia had the same illusion when he trusted the glutton, Nawaz Sharif. The Sharifs ditched him and his cronies when the going got tough, i.e. when the General fell off the sky from grace. Musharraf needs to smell the coffee and realize that the Chaudhries of Gujrat are no different than the Harisa eating Kashmiris of Lahore. They are opportunists just as the Sharifs were. Who can forget what Shahbaz did when he was a young Kashmiri brigand intoxicated with wealth and power that his elders had bestowed upon him. The fact that he was a good administrator when he governed Punjab does not absolve him of his wrongdoings when the terror reigned upon Beko road under his rule!

We have a few martyrs to reckon with: Bhutto is the ideal candidate followed by Liaquat Ali and to a certain extent Zia-ul-Haq, after all there are more NGOs for Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed than that of Bhutto or Liaquat, being the sole Shaheed Millat. But all this hero-worshipping has helped us a little; we are still a long way from being a nation. The recent blasts in Bugti and Kashmore areas are indicative of our fragility as a nation. The President may impress upon us his supremacy by appearing on the state-run TV, but the fact remains that the elected members of this country have deprived him of the opportunity to exalt his supremacy in a joint session of the parliament and National Assembly. This is an eye opener for Musharraf and his aides.

US of A hasnever been a good partner for all practical purposes. We have witnessed it having the capability of dispensing away with his lesser citizens, Mexican-American, in case of Zia-ul-Haq. So if Musharraf is counting on the American aid he is as mistaken as was Zia. The sixth fleet never arrived when Yahya wanted it to arrive; Saddam was their friend and then fell out of grace for no reason at all. American interests are driven by economic as well social reasons. Today, Cheney, Rumsfeld and company are the driving force behind George W’s policy of intervention in Iraq, tomorrow some other American President or his advisors would feel an economic advantage of having ties with Bollywood and abandon Pakistan like they ditched Saddam, what would Musharraf and his entourage of the Gujrati descent of sycophants do then? Will it still be Pakistan first or would they take refuge in UAE in a Chaudhry owned enterprise with its guesthouses in Jebal Alai?