At the pinnacle of his political struggle, Imran Khan has decided to take-on the combined force of the dreaded Status quo and its external masters. It is indeed a daunting task but he has shown his resilience. Except for a few beneficiaries of the old system, the people of Pakistan are solidly behind their leader. The dream of ‘ Naya Pakistan ‘ may finally be realized.
On 16 October 2002, the people of the republic in a one-on-one contest voted for change and their Kaptaan’ who has always led from the front. Against the existing norms of the country, IK has willed all his worldly belongings to be transferred to his charitable cancer hospital after his death.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister, after leaving his huge estate across the border, refused to allot himself a dwelling to live in the new land. After his assassination in October 1951, the family had nowhere to go after vacating the PM House in Karachi. Till today his heirs are struggling to get what rightfully belongs to them.
While the generals, judges, bureaucrats, sharifs (GJBS) enjoy the perks of power in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the first PM claimed no benefits and the 22nd has decided to give up what belongs to him. Leadership calls for giving not taking as has been the case since 1985 when the Sharifs were inducted in the pack of the vicious Establishment. In the 1950s and 1960s such an induction was introduced by the first usurper Ayub Khan which resulted in the concentration of wealth amongst the dreaded 22 families.
After the first free and fair elections in 1970 and surrender in the Eastern Wing, the Establishment was in disarray. Bhutto was able to implement his agenda of change as the enemy within was licking its wounds. It proved to be a brief sojourn, by July 1977, the third usurper Zia-ul-Haq not only deposed the elected PM, with the help of the GJBS alliance, he sent him to his grave in Larkana where a mausoleum has been built to preserve his political legacy.
In 2022, the republic is again at the crossroads as it was in the 1960s and 1970s. A leader who believes in giving not taking is leading the charge which has jolted the forces of the status quo. Currently there is an on-going but ineffective campaign to tarnish the image of the Kaptaan.
Currently it is a head-on contest between the forces of: Status quo or Purana Pakistan and Change or Naya Pakistan. The enemy within has been fully exposed by the relentless efforts of the Kaptaan who refuses to throw in the towel. He has decided to fight on till the bitter end. I was inspired when I read the words of Patrick Henry engraved on the Statue of Liberty; “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”, it seems the concept of ‘Haqiqi Azad ‘ has been finally realzsed and understood in the land of the pure. Restoration of our lost purity now seems close to realization after all these wasted years and the unending resilience and struggle of several generations. In the words of Kaptan; “Mera Jeenay Marna Pakistan Main Hai” (My life and death are pegged in Pakistan). Real freedom is now unstoppable and within reach.
Bureaucrats provide the backbone in functioning of this ‘ Evil Empire ‘ as they control the files and the paperwork.
In the checkered political history of Pakistan, before the advent of the Sharif’s of Gawalmandi the politicians did wage a struggle against the hegemony of ‘GJBS’. It was Babu Ghulam Muhammad (Gamma) who crossed the red line by pushing out Khawaja Nazimuddin from the coveted position of Governor General. When Gamma dismissed the legislature, Maulana Tamizuddin, the Speaker, bravely fought the case for restoration of the House.
While the Sindh High Court restored the assembly, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Muhammad Munir upheld the dissolution. Justice A.R. Corneulis the only non-Muslim member of the bench, dissented with the majority decision. Through his EBDO (Elected Bodies Disqualification Order) Ayub Khan sent the entire democratic leadership home. Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy the former PM and stalwart of the freedom movement challenged his disqualification in the Military Tribunal and won his case. For his own safety he went into self-exile in Beirut, where he was later found dead in his hotel room in mysterious circumstances.
Some independent judges have occasionally provided relief to the public but the bureaucracy continues to rely on the Government of India draconian act of 1923 (Official Secrets). All efforts at reforms have been thwarted, including the most recent effort under Dr Ishrat Hussain’s ‘ Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2020 which have been set aside after the removal of the IK regime. The Charter of Democracy (COD) was the brainchild of Benazir Bhutto (BB). On paper it was a good effort to establish democracy and rule of law in the republic but after her demise, the unholy Zardari-Sharif alliance neutralized its impact by indulging in massive corruption.
I am reminded of a famous verse of Urdu poetry “Laikin Achha Kuchh Hua Log Pechanain Gay” (But the people acknowledged something had happened). After over 75 years of existance all players stand fully exposed. The Quaid-e-Azam singlehandedly prevailed over the combined opposition of the Hindus, the right wing Muslims and the British to carve out a new nation in the Indian Subcontinent
The Raj was able to extend its rule by a policy of divide and rule. The same approach was adopted by the Establishment after Partition. In the 1990s both the mainstream parties (PPP, PML(N) fell into this trap till BB came up with the idea of COD which after her demise resulted in Charter of Dacoity.
Currently it is a head-on contest between the forces of: Status quo or Purana Pakistan and Change or Naya Pakistan. The enemy within has been fully exposed by the relentless efforts of the Kaptaan who refuses to throw in the towel. He has decided to fight on till the bitter end. I was inspired when I read the words of Patrick Henry engraved on the Statue of Liberty; “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”, it seems the concept of ‘Haqiqi Azad ‘ has been finally realzsed and understood in the land of the pure. Restoration of our lost purity now seems close to realization after all these wasted years and the unending resilience and struggle of several generations. In the words of Kaptan; “Mera Jeenay Marna Pakistan Main Hai” (My life and death are pegged in Pakistan). Real freedom is now unstoppable and within reach.
