Opinion Editorials, February 2012

Pakistan: 

Nation of Stolen Future Looks Desperate for Change and New Leadership

By Mahboob A Khawaja

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, February 13, 2012

 
Over the past three years, the PPP dominated Zardari government in collaboration with the Army Generals were engaged in deceit of corrupted normalcy - extreme rhetoric, irrational thinking and belligerent outcomes and completely divorced from the prevalent strategic-economic-political realities on the ground requiring URGENT RETHINKING and navigational change to make new policies and new directions to disconnect with the treacherous present dictated by the US hegemony. The policy and practices of self-generated fantasy did nothing good to serve the interests of the common people except to embrace increased foreign (USA-British) reliance, internal intrigues and terrorism and destruction of the capacity of the Pakistan to survive as an independent State of Muslim Nation. This mockery of political existence has made Pakistan vulnerable to sudden and accidental collapse - the ultimate death of the nation.

“Many and sharp the num'rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And Man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn, -
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!”
(Robert Burns, From Man was made to Mourn: A Dirge, 1785)
 
 
Even if the obvious circumstances deny place for creative solutions and a new political system for change and freedom from the absurdity of the Few, but if there are mindful and active people of Reason and dedication to pursue CHNAGE, the Nation can be reformed and rebuilt out of the deliberate neglect, political mismanagement and ruins of the few corrupted rulers. Could the THINKING PEOPLE of Pakistan reverse the course of junk history and make a new beginning based on the Islamic ideology and values of the concept of Pakistan? After much destructions of the public institutions and trust, could the new generations of educated, honest and intelligent Pakistanis get a breathing space - anew opportunity denied in the past, to initiate and build new political institutions and introduce educated proactive visionary leadership and help to protect the intellectual foundation, integrity and security of the besieged nation?
__________________________________________________________________
 
Jeff Gates (“The Seduction of the Knowledge-Based Society” Dissident Voice: 01/8/2011) noted a rational vision in progress for the people and nations changing darkness of ignorance and indifference into knowledge-oriented new world
 
“The appeal of the Knowledge Society is apparent. Who could object to nations preparing their citizens for the 21st century? Yet unless knowledge is changed, the result could worsen an already dangerous situation.”
 
The enlightened Muslim thinkers, visionaries and ordinary people striving for the freedom of a distinct nationhood out of much lost Muslim ruled India, were not endangered species but politically energetic and proactive active institutions offering their creative thoughts and efforts for a continuous struggle to create Pakistan. What went wrong with the succeeding generations to abandon that intelligent principle and succumb to bogus symbolism of democracy as it stands now in Pakistan– that few pro-British neo-colonial subservient feudal lords could sustain that role for the future-making. The junk history of the past fifty years cannot regain the time and opportunities consumed by the Generals, Bhuttos, Zardaris, Shraifs and Gujrat’s Chaudry families- the sadistic core of the Pakistani political paradox.
 
Agreeably, the law and justice system - the Supreme Court of Pakistan is an integral part of the functional governance, but laws and legal judgments do not change nor develop nations - from one crux of the problems to another disastrous page of contemporary history.  This is the last resort to assert aspirations of civic societies for moving forward only if there was a respect for the laws and legal injunctions to reassert REASON and justice over deliberate wickedness and escape from truth.  Not so in Pakistan under the present circumstances. The egomaniac military Generals (more so 11 years under General Musharaf and his friends), the nation lost precious time and opportunities for change and futuremaking.  Zardari - a well known family of thugs and criminals glued to Bhutto family was the lost blow to Pakistan’s search for a new life. Had the people of Pakistan realized this fact a decade earlier, its present and future could have taken a different shape and political outcome. Asking the Supreme Court to decide on the issue of perpetuated corruption and institutionalized dishonesty of the few ruling elite - is a mockery of rationality as if there were no intelligent people left in the body of that nation to perceive change through political activism and continuous movement for change and reformation of the corrupt establishments. Is it a stage drama of sensationalism or drudgery to ignore the facts of human affairs? The BBC reporter made it known that the Generals are using the Supreme Court to oust the corrupt political leaders. Perhaps, an alleged face-saving act to continue coming-in of US aid dollars to the pockets of the few official horse traders and political traitors.  The issues of institutionalized corruption against the Zardari regime, money laundering case in a Swiss court of law, stolen wealth from the national treasury, killings of innocent civilians in collaboration with the MQM in Karachi, and dishonesty to the interests of the people of Pakistan, just to mention few. The Supreme Court as it stands will deliver the guilty verdict but would the indicted criminals quit the political powerhouse? It is fine to have a just legal judgment but it is another route to change the cross-cultural corruption and crime riddled politics. There are increasing speculations of another military take over. Do the Generals have any capacity to deliver any remedies to the beleaguered nation? They have a history of stealing the time and resources for almost half of a century that cannot be compensated. Look how the Egyptians, Tunisian, Moroccan and Libyan have organized themselves as people’s movements and achieved freedom from the authoritarian dictators. Comparatively, Pakistani masses were better informed and educated in contemporary knowledge and expertise in global political change and development. There are thousands and thousands of well educated and intellectually credible and enriched with excellent leadership traits and capable Pakistanis living overseas who feel tormenting pain for the crippled nation and its socio-economic, political and moral downfalls. Pakistan faces a serious brain-drain problem and the overseas Pakistanis are the best suited wealth of the nation to help take it out of the muddy waters into a sustainable future. But now the politics is a game of deaths and destruction of the national resources. Enlightened and responsible Pakistanis returning from overseas will find it hard to readjust to prevalent culture of corruption and political exploitation or to make any tangible contributions. Pakistan faces multiple unsolvable crises. The nation must be rebuild with new generational visions, enthusiasm, knowledge-based political imagination for ANEW Pakistan. The people of Pakistan are at the heart of issues to THINK ANEW Pakistan and pursue it as a practical aim. Any indifference to this rationale would be an act of wickedness and political treachery to the sustainability of a viable Pakistan.
 
The Zardari regime and the accomplice Generals (now appearing to be at odds with the sadistic gangsters) were floating in a self-generated bubble of illusion and deceitful policies and practices to willingly join the US sponsored bogus War on Terrorism and assume that it will safeguard the interest of the people of Pakistan and enrich their individual pockets with generous cash payments of paper dollars. In May-July, 2007, the New York Times ran headlines that “Pakistani Generals are paid to do the job.” Of course, that was the era of Pakistan under individualistic absolutism of the General Musharaf - the renegade Pakistani General who dismantled the institutions, forfeited all possible avenues of political normalcy, dismissed the Chief Justice of Pakistan and 15 other judges who opposed his illegal re-election for the presidency, killings of thousands of innocent civilians across the northwestern Pakistani tribal belts by the US drone attacks and corruption almost in all domains of civility. Musharaf had the money and backing of another psychopath warmonger George Bush waging the “crusade” against Islam and more so against Pakistan via the military invasion of Afghanistan.
 
 
American led bogus War on Terrorism - an entrenched and failing warfare without any purpose has been defeated by a handful of hit and run mujahideens across Afghanistan. The US strategists are increasingly engaged in hiring other people to fight for them- the coalition of the absurds under NATO fighting in Afghanistan and enlarging its scope onward to inside Pakistan as was the recent killing of 24 Pakistan soldiers at a border site.  The cruelty of the American led bogus war on terrorism has transformed Pakistan into a non-productive beggar nation, solely looking to military and economic aid for all of its operations. The army Generals and their by-products – the ruling Bhutto family-PPP Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif (Muslim League-N), have infected the body politics of Pakistan with corruption and political tyranny, draining out all of the positive thinking and creative energies of the nation for change, development and a promising future. Bhuttos and the Zardari gang must be tried for crimes against the people of Pakistan. If the law and justice system is still in tact, these political thugs and indicted criminals should not be allowed to hold offices of public responsibility but be held accountable in a court of law. The besieged nation MUST see itself in the mirror and learn from the dead past, to change the future course of history and to articulate a new beginning - a new system of political institutions and intelligent leadership.
 
Jeff Gates (“The Seduction of the Knowledge-Based Society” Dissident Voice: 01/8/2011) elaborates how the US being an occupied society by the Zionist industrial-military-political interests, craves a irrational mindset to wage proxy wars.
“The modern-day battlefield is the shared field of consciousness. Where else could consensus opinions reside? Or generally accepted truths. There too are found “field-based” phenomena such as credibility and celebrity that are also deployed to exploit thought and emotion. When waging field-based warfare, the power of association ranks near the top as effective weaponry. For example, with global public opinion the target, Zionists arranged for U.N. testimony in February 2003 by Secretary of State Colin Powell who vouched for intelligence showing that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories. When the U.N. Security Council and a global television audience watched the testimony of this former four-star general, what they saw was his reputation for honesty. By the power of association, his credibility “bled over” to grant legitimacy to phony intelligence………Mental and emotional exploitation lie at the heart of how knowledge is corrupted to catalyze conflicts, manipulate behavior and influence affairs from afar. With a solid grasp of the methodology of deceit, the Knowledge Society can expose and, by design, displace those complicit in this cunning form of combat.”
Over the past three years, the PPP dominated Zardari government in collaboration with the Army Generals were engaged in deceit of corrupted normalcy - extreme rhetoric, irrational thinking and belligerent outcomes and completely divorced from the prevalent strategic-economic-political realities on the ground requiring URGENT RETHINKING and new policies and new directions to disconnect with the treacherous present. The policy and practices of self-generated fantasy did nothing good to serve the interests of the common people except to embrace increased foreign (USA-British) reliance, internal intrigues and terrorism and destruction of the capacity of the Pakistan to survive as an independent State of Muslim Nation. This mockery of political existence has made Pakistan vulnerable to sudden and accidental collapse - the ultimate death of the nation.
 
 
When pretension and stingy greed give life to politically manipulated leadership, treachery and oppression become the rule of political governance in which people are seen as the eggs and chickens, conveniently broken and slaughtered and politicians are akin to assume the above normal role play lacking legitimacy and accountability. Pakistani politics regrettably as is, a venture of intrigues, self-engineered conspiracies and dead roll calls to explain the history of this beleaguered nation. Feudal lords are the political masters, and Bhutto family with complacent army Generals, has been one of them to unfold a naïve and destructive chapter of the Pakistan’s political misfortunes. Mr. ZA Bhutto, the leader of the PPP, his daughter Benazir Bhutto, two of her brothers, all are dead but they still ruling the country by imposter Zardari as the latest example. Alive or dead, Bhutto family has been the centre of political intrigues and destructive problems in Pakistan. How irrational and untrue it seems that dead people are leading the living masses of Pakistan? The business of the dead as usual. A situation comparable to the present day Iraq under the American-British continued occupation.
 
Lyndon LaRouche had the intellectual courage (like well known American Professor of Law Francis Boyle who filed a formal law suit in a US Court against George Bush to be charged for Crime against Humanity and to be impeached) to spells out the course of legal actions at a Strategic seminar in Berlin on June 28, 2005 under the auspices of Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) “America's Indispensable Role in Securing the Future of Civilization.”
 
“The President of the United States, George W. Bush, is clinically insane. He is not only clinically insane, but he's clinically insane in ways which have rendered him technically impeachable. When the President of the United States, a United States whose dollar is still the denominator of the world monetary system, says not once, but repeatedly, and reasserts it defiantly against all criticism, that U.S. government bonds are merely IOUs which are intrinsically worthless, that man is clinically insane. He is irresponsible. Because, if anybody believes him, that the policy of the United States government is that its bonds are worthless, with the amount of dollar obligations outstanding around the world, as an integral part of the monetary system, the system is doomed by the fact alone….Now, the United States Constitution provides for impeachment. The intrinsic basis for impeachment is not conviction for some crime. That is not sufficient basis for impeachment, because the question of the Presidency of the United States is the question of an institution, not of a person. But, if the person who occupies that institution is clinically insane, or is otherwise incompetent to serve, that is sufficient grounds for a charge of impeachment and for his removal from office.”
 
Have the people of Pakistan ever thought or organized a legal movement to impeach Zardari or any of the Generals including the former dictator General Musharaf? Both have done so much harm to the interests of the common folks that its impacts will riddle for ages to come.  The deprived people of Pakistan are desperate for change and a way out of the individualistic extremism of the few to endanger the integrity and freedom of Pakistan. Some could pretend that this is progressive working of a democratic craving in what was destroyed by the continuous military dictators of the past fifty years. But a reality check will clearly demonstrate that Pakistan as a whole is in worst social, economic, political and strategic conditions than what it was a decade earlier without the propelling and foreign generated War of Terrorism. General Musharaf and some of his colleagues in the armed forces traded-in the vital interests of the nation in return for personal favors and support for continued military rule from the then US administration.
 
Pakistan, a Muslim nation of living people is governed by physically, morally and politically dead people who cannot change the course of history nor make any difference to the present volatile politics carving a hopeless future. Islamically, dead are those who are forgetful of the memory of Allah, ignorant and arrogant people devoid of public accountability. The PPP regime under Zardari meets the set criterion requirements. The political elite sees its best interests in engaging with dead ideas and foreign strategies and buying time for good times at the expense of the nation toll of miseries and havoc social and political conditions. The overwhelming occupation of the dead minds and souls is to see how best they could exploit the common citizens or to get foreign monetary assistance to finance the self and bogus projects for change and economic development.  The so called national Assemblies operate on bogus agendas irrelevant to the public interests and all of the corrupt people are part of the political gambling.
 
 
Once again, history of the British Raj over India is re-enacted through the “divide and rule” policy. The American led war is financing the terrorism to destroy Pakistan within and take control of its nuclear warheads. They have helped to make the Pakistanis helpless and desperate to kill each other for no obvious and rational purpose except money and political power. Wherever darkness prevails and corruption gets institutionalized, people lose sense of moral and intellectual thoughts, directions and priorities. The Generals, Bhuttos, Zardari and Sharifs are the instruments being used to pursue this strategic goal. In 1857, Muslims in India were defeated when the British mercenaries were successful in crippling them within by their own hired agents of influence – Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadaq and so many others. August 14, 1947, is the only time when the power was peacefully transferred by the British colonial authority to Quaid e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, otherwise, it is a bloody history full of treacherous conspiracies to change the neo-colonial erected powerhouses- from one wicked family to another corrupt and crime riddled neo-colonial affluent landlords.
 
 
The military dictators, Bhuttos, Zardari, Chaudries and Sharifs could never have come into politics unless the whole nation had lost the sense of rationality, PURPOSE and MEANING of its existence. These sadistic and cruel monsters have institutionalized chaos and fear, demoralization of a moral society and dehumanization of an intelligent nation and have transferred these naïve traits and values to the psychological-social-economic and political spheres of the mainstream thinking hub of the nation. Why should we care - many will assert at the cultural levels. Are there any concerned intellectuals and proactive political activists to safeguard the national interests of the present and future generations of Muslim Pakistan?
 
 
Leaders do lead or they are ugly imposters and stage puppets. Western democratic nations eagerly search and patronize new and creative talents and people with visionary intellectual outlooks, credibility, characteristics and merits. This appears to be a rare commodity in Pakistani politics. To change the adverse historical trend, Pakistan is desperate for new, educated and intelligent proactive leadership to facilitate a sustainable future for the nation. In a knowledge-driven global age of rising expectations and public accountability, most developed societal politics would set criterion requirements and define standards of quality and specifications for performance in jobs/role-plays and in positions of greater public responsibility. Why are not there any written standards and defined criterion requirements for the positions of the President, Prime Ministers and Ministers and MP’s in Pakistan?  Should the Constitution not define such salient features and characteristics of the vital office bearers? Could those imposters with paper and bogus educational credentials be viewed as genuine political hub of Pakistan? Not so, this is utterly nonsense and disingenuous to the moral and progressive needs of the Pakistani society.  It was reported recently by the Election Commission of Pakistan that some 248 members of the Assemblies have failed to provide evidence of their required educational qualification. Should these treacherous monsters not be kicked out the Assembles and make room for re-elections of qualified people? Is there any law and justice system in the country to protect the interests of the beleaguered masses? Are the leaders not supposed to provide intellectual security and sense of direction in crises, and a visionary picture of the future to the nation they claim to represent? Under what operational system, do thugs and indicted criminals get legitimacy and approval to hold public offices for which they do not even qualify?
 
Once again, political garbage is piling up but who should clean it? The Supreme Court is making headlines in defining and diagnosing the political ills accumulated by the Zaradri and the ignorant Generals. Observably, societal change and reformation process do not come out of the legislative or legal stipulations but educated and proactive visionary leaders play their role in innovative THINKING and share their proactive visions for the best of the nation. What happened to the collective conscience of the brave people? Have they taken the asylum in the rear seat and come out only to engage in shouting matches and poster displays when a national crisis situation warrants more serious THINKING and robust action for change and stability. Would shouting in streets and crying on roads and the most stupid acts of burning flags of other nations change the course of future events? What have you accomplished out of this repeated nuisance? Have you impressed the world that you have a genuine cause for freedom from blood sucking draculas? Have you impressed upon the informed global community that you have an honest sense of political imagination and courage for making a different and a viable political future? Your demonstration should aim at the crux of the problems - Zardari and the Generals, not the foreign powers who simply go where they find the opportunities to exploit others and rule them. Why don’t you hold Zardari and General Musharaf responsible in a court of Law and ensure they never comeback to the political domain? Zardari and Miss Bhutto stole millions and millions from the public treasury to open account in Swiss banks, money laundering schemes worldwide and bought palaces in Dubai, UK, France and Spain. Musharaf lives in $1.4 million paid mansion in London under 24/7 British security protection. Where did he get all the money? Impeach the traitors, claim your damages and punish these known criminals rather than wasting time and energies in one act superficial demonstrations. If you are open to listening and learning the facts of life, you will for sure, get the message.
 
The corruption knows no bound. Under the military rule, Pakistan has lost precious time and opportunities to regain honor (“Ezat”) while the Generals lead coercive politics devoid of reason and responsibility - the nation continues to live in tormenting uneasiness and being crippled by the cruel acts of sectarian killings and destruction of economic infrastructures across Pakistan.  Its promising FUTURE was stolen by the planned schemes of personalized aggrandizement, exploitation, mismanagement and stabbing the nation body to live and survive at their mercy. The 21st century politics and responsible planning for the future-making demands ANEW THINKING - a different mode of rationality and strategies chalked out by educated and intelligent new generation of Pakistanis, not maligned and complacent to the filthy and barbarian domain of current Pakistani politics.
 
 
The Pakistani nation must see the mirror – who they were, where they are and where they are heading to - or the Nation stands no chance for the recourse or coming out peacefully of the deadly political stunts of the few, time killing legal battles and the historical graveyards - “Mohenjadaro.”. None of these political figures (Bhuttos, Generals, Zardari and Sharifs and Chaudries) made any positive contributions toward a functional democracy or they had any knowledge of it to do so and to safeguard the integrity and security of Pakistan. History has a defined role and the present and future generations must give credence to these developments and learn to be aware of the future in waiting, and how best to make a navigational change to ensure independence and integrity of an Islamic Pakistan. If some were alive and you were to ask the Generals, Bhuttos, Zardaris and Sharifs, what went wrong with them?  What made them to transgress against the poor masses of Pakistan? Why were they dismissed from the public offices? What made them to act like cruel traitors to the interest of the Pakistani people?  Why could they not change their wrong THINKING? Surely, they will claim innocence and blame others. But history sees the leaders by their actions, not by their claims.
 
 
The masses wish if Pakistan could be returned to its originality - foundation of Islamic ideology and practices for peace and unity of the divided nation. Some conscientious people try to imagine and talk openly if there was another Dr. Mohammad Iqbal coming to rescue the NATION, Moahmmad Ali Jinnah- Quaid-E-Azam, another Liaqaut Ali Khan - the brilliant first PM of global prominence and credibility, Sardar AbduRub Nishtar, another Moulavi Tameezuddin from East Pakistan - the committed parliamentarian and Speaker of the National Assembly- a person of vision and integrity, Moulana Fazal ul–Haque - the lion of Bengal and pioneer of Pakistan movement, Mohammad Ali Bogra, the wise politicians and PM, Moulavi Fareed Ahmad – the dedicated intellectual from East Pakistan and MP, another FM Ayub Khan to defend the interest of the nation. Has the left-over Pakistan created any new visionary leaders of intellectual and moral credibility as were the Iqbal, Jinnah, Liaquat, Tameezuddin, Moudoodi, Al-Mushriqi and so many others living honorably in graveyards? Time lost is never regained. Is the nation awake NOW?
 
Pakistan desperately needs change but there is no political system to facilitate durable political change on its own in a peaceful manner. Military take overs do not solve any problems but create more. One can imagine the most viable solution to the serve the interest of the people would be to remove the Zardari regime, and bring-in a non-political-non-partisan educated leadership and credible government for one to two years with the public mandate to devise a new constitution and encourage new generation educated Pakistanis to establish new political institutions and then arrange the next national elections for new assemblies and new governance.
 
Even if the obvious circumstances deny place for creative solutions and a new political system for change and freedom from the absurdity of the Few, but if there are mindful and active people of Reason and dedication to pursue CHNAGE, the Nation can be reformed and rebuilt out of the deliberate neglect, political mismanagement and ruins of the few corrupted rulers. Could the THINKING PEOPLE of Pakistan reverse the course of junk history and make a new beginning based on the Islamic ideology and values of the concept of Pakistan? After much destructions of the public institutions and trust, could the new generations of educated, honest and intelligent Pakistanis get a breathing space - anew opportunity denied in the past, to initiate and build new political institutions and introduce educated proactive visionary leadership and help to protect the intellectual foundation, integrity and security of the besieged nation?
 
(Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in global affairs (global security, peace and conflict resolution and with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations), and author of several publications including the latest: Arabia at Crossroads: Arab People Strive for Freedom, Peace and New Leadership. VDM Publishers, Germany-UK, September 2011. Comments are welcome at: kmahboob@yahoo.com)
 

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