Source/Credit: The News International
By Talat Farooq | July 11, 2011
Commenting on the possibility of a grand alliance of the opposition, the July 5 editorial ‘Alliance politics’ (The News) rightly points out: “There are many who will find this beneficial for ordinary citizens who continue to seek political forces willing to speak out against ceaseless inflation and the absence of effective governments. If they wanted to, politicians could play this role efficiently, if they wanted to.” And therein lies the first million dollar question. Why would they want to?
Political leopards living in the post colonial Pakistani state have never found it politically beneficial to change their spots. The state has been an administrative, not a political entity despite the façade of democracy.
The wealthy and the privileged landowners, industrialists and military elite have run the country without ever making genuine efforts to bridge the gulf between the state and society. Increasing disconnect between the masses and the political elite has existed because of a dearth of common, shared values between the two; whether it is provincial autonomy or foreign policy; education, health or poverty, the two segments have remained poles apart.
The actual purpose of the rulers has not been development or nation building but control of state resources to further personal interests. It is therefore not surprising that over the last six decades Pakistan’s social indicators have consistently shown a downward spiral that has not been arrested by either the military or civilian governments. What has happened now that would change the trend and turn these self interested politicians into philanthropists?
Since 2008 the PML-N has been the friendliest opposition ever, Chaudhry Nisar’s tantrums notwithstanding. The MQM, in keeping with its past record has been hand in glove with the ruling elite, despite Altaf Husain’s anti wadera, anti jagirdar and anti authoritarian rhetoric. As for JUI (and JI), the lesser said the better. In another time and place this pro militancy religious leadership would have been tried for treason. In Pakistan in the 21st century they can still pass for ‘ulema’.
No surprises then if the culture of impunity remains healthy and well looked after as we approach another election campaign. Be it tax evasion or imposition of agricultural tax; bonded labour or land reforms, VIP culture or nepotism or appeasement of the jihadi groups – nothing has changed for the better.
The PML-N and MQM’s joint rhetoric emphasises corruption and ‘awami masail’ as the motivation behind the effort to create the said alliance. Terms like inflation, load-shedding and law and order are being thrown about as important issues. One cannot help but ask another million dollar question: What took you so long to work this one out?
The overall corruption according to Transparency International, increased from Rs195 billion in 2009 to Rs223 billion in 2010. Nearly 80 percent Pakistanis in a 2009 survey saw the PPP coalition government as the most corrupt ever. The cumulative rate of inflation by the end of 2009 was 44 percent and as per SBP estimate, this compelled more than 40 percent Pakistanis to live below the poverty line by 2010. It doesn’t take a genius to infer that since then the situation could only have gone worse.
According to a 2010 security report compiled by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies the number of terror attacks in Punjab increased from 46 in 2009 to 62 in 2010. Lahore was the worst hit where 44 attacks were carried out as compared to 11 in 2009. The report further states that South Punjab appears to be providing recruits for militant outfits. The PML-N, however, has made no substantial efforts at the provincial or federal levels to ensure the implementation of a viable counter-terrorism legislation. Moreover, besides using acts of terrorism as occasions to criticise an incompetent federal government the PML-N has never dared breathe a word against the Taliban or other jihadi outfits operating from within Punjab.
The turf wars in Karachi between the MQM, ANP and PPP are not a new phenomenon. According to a Human Rights Commission report 272 targeted killings took place in 2009 and the number increased to 748 within the first six months of 2010 of which 447 were political activists, while the rest were innocent citizens. According to the records of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) there were 1,034 deaths in the first ten months of 2010. CPLC’s records show that this is the highest number of target killings since 1995. According to a foreign news agency target killings in Karachi in 2010 claimed more lives (1233) than that of suicide bombings across the country (1,208).
The latest spate of target killings is merely an addition to the sordid drama being enacted by the representatives of volatile ethnic and political fault lines in Karachi. Politically motivated extortion rackets, land grabbing and killings along with kidnappings, sectarian violence and street crime have continued unabated in Karachi under the PPP-MQM government since 2008. Why did the plight of the masses not bother the Grand Alliance Aspirants much, much sooner than mid 2011?
Pakistan’s political, judicial, social and economic institutions have failed to resolve the issues of the common people over the last sixty years. The simple reason is that both the ruling elite and the opposition belong to the same social class. Their confrontation with each other is about control of state institutions and resources; it is about power. Whoever is in opposition tries subverting the ruling elite in order to grab power for furthering their own self interests. Opposition alliances are never for the welfare of the downtrodden. The people or ‘awam’ are part of the political hyperbole – nothing more.
The politicians operating within the prevailing environment will never initiate change. Only the people themselves can change this situation. And so here’s another million dollar question: Do we have what it takes to protect the future of our children?
The writer is a PhD student at Leicester, UK. Email: talatfarooq11@gmail.com
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