- A web of promises, a story of betrayal
“Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values, it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness instead of candid and sincere service.”
Calvin Coolidge
In the wake of the latest confessions by the crafty aspirant, come sneakily back from London, that he had been offered the office of the Prime Minister by the powers that be and even the prospective cabinet had been finalised, I am reminded of the now-forgotten hoarse-throated vows to reclaim the honour of vote. The entire GT Road and the body of an innocent child, run over by the cavalcade, were witness to the deceitful adherents of democracy bemoaning their departure from the seat of power.
The story of politics in Pakistan is a story of betrayal. From the product of daddy dictator and the co-architect of Pakistan’s break-up to the ones pretending espousal of democratic norms, we have seen them all preaching virtue and chastity before an illiterate and impressionable people. There has been an unending trail of these charlatans climbing the stage, playing their role and departing under a thick cloud of ignominy, only to chastise the wrong done to them and proclaim their resolve to come back. The promise of ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makaan’(Food, Clothing and Housing) or reclaiming the honour of vote were tactics used to exploit the deprivations of marginalised communities and rally them along on the road to the oft-promised salvation.
That salvation never came. What did come, however, were aggravating circumstances with the advent of every new fabrication, making lives even more difficult than before. ‘Roti, kapra aur makaan’ remains an elusive dream, but the real tragedy is that the poor people who were enamoured by this slogan are now much farther removed from that goal than they were over 50 years ago when it was first raised. The ones who were sold the original dream may have died, as may have their next generation, but the architect of the coinage is kept politically alive, as is his daughter and the Bhutto/Zardari clan which inherited the mantle through a fake will.
Pakistan is no longer the same country where they had spread out the web of their deceit, neither will it ever be. The benchmarks of politics do not suit their game plan which is based on rampant loot and plunder. Those times are now history. No matter how turbulent the beginning may have been, the process cannot be reversed. With each day, transparency and accountability in governance will increasingly gauge the measure of leadership which these clans of traditional fraudsters would not be able to relate to
So far as the ones who had set out to reclaim the honour of vote are concerned, the very word democracy is anathema to them. They virtually took birth in the lap of dictatorship and were fed and nurtured by the very same masters. Their ascent to power is the result of this patronage together with the lavish use of money– the one commodity the Sharifs looted and showered in abundance. It would not be inappropriate to say that they virtually bought every inch of the way to the coveted offices– the Chief Minister House in Lahore and the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. They had no integrity, capability or capacity for any of these offices, but they served a purpose. Along the way, they forgot that they had been bought as puppets whose strings would always be pulled by quarters beyond their ambit of reach.
So, what of ‘Roti, kapra aur makaan’? What of democracy? These leaders felt no shame in feeding this crap to the people with the sole intention of exploiting them to get into power and then stay there, building fiefdoms that they and their progeny would command into the future. In the process, every time they secured power, making money through foul and filthy means was their sole infatuation. These illicit billions were not even kept in the country. Instead, these were laundered out and invested in varied businesses and properties in the name of some off-shore companies owned and operated by members of their families.
Now, this merchant of deceit sneaks back to make a public confession that he had been ‘selected’ as the Prime Minister. If that be so, he should renounce his democratic pretensions and come out clean regarding the deal and why it did not work out in the end. He should also disclose the names of the go-between journalists and what were the terms of his anointment.
So far, he has escaped the censure that anyone else, making such ludicrous claim, would have been subjected to. The reason is also obvious: the bags of money that exchange hands at such junctures to promote the narrative that he can still be crowned– not by the votes of the people, but by the will of the establishment, the very same establishment that his party leader and his associates have been abusing venomously.
So, what is the game? He had gone to London upon permission granted by the court to accompany his ‘ailing’ brother. It was generally expected that he, too, would stay there to join the clan of absconders hailing from his close family. Then he makes a dash back on board the last flight that he could catch due to restrictions imposed in the wake of covid-19. This could be because of two possible reasons: one, that the leadership of the party was gradually slipping out of his hands and, two, a hoax offer was made to trick him. Obviously, there were people used to make it possible. He refers to them as the two journalists. I suspect that there were others, too, in this sting operation to lure him back. With the busting of the gambit, he is unable to disclose either the people in the establishment who approached him with the offer, or those who were used as conduits for communication. His misery is monumental and there is no way he can address it logically without coming out with the entire truth.
I don’t expect any of that to happen. It is obvious that his chances, as also those of other family members, are all but over. What they are left with now are a host of corruption cases with each worth a few years behind bars. Virtually his entire family has escaped the clutches of law to be declared absconders. He, too, would have been notified as one if he had not returned.
That could be yet another reason to come back – to carry on the fake fight in the hope that times may change, yet again, in their favour. But, will they?
Not really. Pakistan is no longer the same country where they had spread out the web of their deceit, neither will it ever be. The benchmarks of politics do not suit their game plan which is based on rampant loot and plunder. Those times are now history. No matter how turbulent the beginning may have been, the process cannot be reversed. With each day, transparency and accountability in governance will increasingly gauge the measure of leadership which these clans of traditional fraudsters would not be able to relate to.
This is the new paradigm. It may have come late, but it is here and will only become more relevant with time, paving the way for the making of a compassionate and caring Pakistan, dedicated to facilitating genuine welfare at the grassroots level.
That is also when the dead will finally be put to rest who have been kept politically alive to facilitate continuing deceit and fraud.
