THE VILLAIN WE ALL NEED

Panamagate has been on the tip of everybody’s tongue for a year now. From the revelations to the denials to the trials, it has all been a funny business and mockery of common sense and an extreme lack of respect for the public.

Putting aside the blame game and passing of judgement for a moment, let us focus on something more ironic, comical, and depressing, all at the same time. You might be wondering how one phenomenon can hold so many traits and apparently they aren’t synonymous with each other. Well! To me, they are and have been episodes of sorts for the last couple of months. Being an amateur, I can’t find an easy transition into the matter so I’ll be blunt about it and jump straight to it.

Having a track of what’s happening in the political scene, I was not that ignorant of the ranting was going on in the political arena as I had been in the past because of the classical slogan – “ye Pakistan hy”.

When this whole ‘fiasco’ started, I was as optimistic as the next person but my optimism was due to a whole bunch of different reasons I was not that concerned with what the institutions were going to do? Who was going to be called into the courts and what was it going to lead to? The thing that I was on the lookout for never happened though, and this brought on the episodal comical and depressing element. Put aside what SC said and what happened to JIT findings and just throw a look at the political landscape of PML-N. you will see the Daniyals, and the Khawajas coming forward with amusingly ludicrous things to say in defense of one family and nowhere amidst the whole bunch will you see and opportunist villain lurking in the shadows, fuelled by ambition and power-driven, ready to pounce at the throat of the Sharifs – who by the looks of it have lost it and are exhibiting the last hoorah. To me, the comical element is the wisdom of the Sharifs as they have gathered a group of people who have shunned their self-respect and are blindly following the orders from the top order. If you ask me the army should take lessons from the top order of Nawaz League to make the chain of command more effective and believe me the foot soldier will never disappoint the general, no matter if the battles have any moral ground or not.

The depression kicks in though when my thoughts penetrate beneath the surface of apparent comedy. This lacklustre of the ‘Youth Wing’ of the political party makes me worried. If this is what the political scene holds for the future of our country, we are going to be a slave nation. If nobody amongst the lot is able to think for themselves, what are the future policies going to be and who is going to make them? This thought might not have been as scary if the other prominent parties had anything different to offer, but sadly it is not so. Take a look at PPP for example – the other champion of democracy. Despite having a platoon of well-versed and veteran politicians, the general of the political force is a kid who until recently might not have even known of his Pakistani citizenship and has little to offer when it comes to business. The likes of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan are not able to make their way up the ranks and take the captain’s chair. Instead, they are standing behind the confused kid, who is told before every public appearance that he is a Bhutto and therefore, he can do it. These first mates are not totally useless, however, as they can be seen whispering into the ears of the ‘You can do it Bhutto’, the political wisdom that they have amassed over the years.

These front men of PPP in the form of Bilawal Zardari ‘Bhutto’ and of PML-N in the shape of Maryam ‘Nawaz’ Safdar are the future of Pakistani politics? Is this the best that both parties have to offer? And if they are, then what is the lower order like? These and many other questions are the reason for my anxiety and depression. Now I am not saying that the son/daughter of the head of a political party has no right to represent his countrymen, but what qualifies them for the status is the part that is worrisome.

We see Justin Trudeau – the son of Pierre Trudeau – doing wonders for Canada and his popularity amongst Canadians is marvellous. Not only that but he is becoming the face of political change around the world. But before our political parties start comparing their ‘leaders’ with the likes of Justin, let’s see what is different between the two cases.

Trudeau’s rise to the top was not because of the fact that his father was an ex PM and the leader of the Liberal Party. Yes, that is one of the reasons, as naturally we try to associate the traits of parents with the children, but alongside that is a history of political struggle and useful input which had nothing to do with nor was pointing fingers at the opponents – sadly which is the criteria that is set by our political parties. Apart from his education and jobs, he had positive input towards policy-making and problem-solving. This was even evident in the 2015 election campaign where liberal party instead of using the old battle drums focused on what they had to offer and what positive changes they could bring about and the populace showed in the elections that they are concerned with policy-making and the public affairs and not with the dirty secrets of the politicians. On the other hand, though, the only qualification these wonder kids have is that they have forced Nawaz and Bhutto in their names. Apparently, the foot soldiers don’t care about anything else and stand behind, with their hands folded and eyes on the ground in lieu of self-respect.

Literature, film, and history are littered with such ambitious villains who put the last nail in the coffins of their patrons but where is that villain when you need it? Mr Bhutto took no time in turning against Ayyub Khan and the “son” toppled the regime of the patron who introduced him to the affairs of the world, groomed him in every aspect of political shrewdness which later became the reason for his downfall.

Despite the “fact” that “Bhutto Zinda Hy”, I cannot see a Bhutto, not even in PPP. If that villain is not found soon enough, this demagoguery is going to morph into oligarchy and autocracy, and it already has taken some strides in that direction. The hero of this story is ineffective and the only saviour of our futures is this villain – this villain that we all need.