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.
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