Of the Sindh government, the lesser said the better. Dominated by Zardari’s cronies and feudals, it sat back and watched them breach canal embankments to save their lands at the cost of the lives and meager holdings of the poor.
Prime Minister Gilani was ridiculed by the media for knowingly visiting fake flood relief camps set up just for media coverage. And while poor affectees were going hungry, newspapers reports talked of scores of cartons laden with luxury goods arriving at his Lahore residence from the London’s Harrods. As for Mr. Zardari, he chose to visit his chateau in France as flood waters were wiping out millions back home. His staff defended him by saying: ‘he could not stop the flood waters, even if he was present’.
The only institution that quietly and efficiently undertook rescue and relief operations was the military. General Kayani’s men went to work immediately even without directions from the federal government.
Under these set of circumstances General Kayani had little room to maneuver. His best option was to extract commitments for improvement of the government’s performance without disturbing the existing set up, but keeping the sword of Damocles dangling over its head – the threat of military intervention. He confronted the president and the prime minister over incompetence and corruption in the government during their meeting, while the Supreme Court was hearing the case about non-implementation of its judgments a few hundred yards away from the scene of the meeting.
If indications that Mr. Zardari has agreed to changes demanded by the general are correct, certain key figures of his establishment and some hangers-on who evoke public disgust might be shown the door. A close confidant of the president has already fled to avoid judicial scrutiny. Some key ministries and departments are likely to be given to technocrats to begin the herculean task of economic recovery.
If Mr. Zardari and party now drag their feet on reform, they will risk their survival in coming days. Any risk to the country might force the military’s hand.
That the economy is in critical shape, was made clear by Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, the finance minister, who informed political and military leaders in a meeting last month that there would be no funds to pay salaries after two months. The economy was “teetering on the brink” before the floods but was now headed for the “abyss,” warned Dr. Shaikh. He called for drastic measures to rescue the economy, including an end to extravaganza by federal and provincial governments, a plea that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
While the military demands overhaul, the Supreme Court, pursuing judicial activism, is keeping the government on a tight leash, questioning and throwing out most of its malafide actions. In the last few days the government’s confrontation with Supreme Court reached its peak mainly because it fiercely defends Mr. Zardari and the cronies who surround him.
Mr. Zardari and his cronies were beneficiaries of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) – a dubious law enacted by President Musharraf to hold on to power during his last days. This infamous law was promulgated under a deal with the Americans to wipe out corruption cases against Benazir Bhutto and others to enable her to share power with Musharraf. The law was challenged and thrown out last year by the Supreme Court, thereby exposing Mr. Zardari, a host of PPP stalwarts, and thousands of others to prosecution in a chain of corruption cases.
By defying Supreme Court orders to reopen corruption and money laundering cases against Mr. Zardari, the government exposes itself to the danger of a collapse, as it could be convicted of contempt of court. On the other hand the PPP leadership is fearful that if it reopens the cases this might lead to stripping of president’s immunity from prosecution by the court, which it insists is guaranteed by the Constitution. This could send the entire Zardari establishment packing and land him and his partners in crime in prison.
To blunt the pressures he faces from the military and the judiciary, Mr. Zardari has solicited US support by way of seeking statements in support of democracy. But this is in vain. The US support for democracy impresses no one. It is widely known who the US is trying to protect in the name of democracy.
The failures of successive ‘democratic governments’ have given rise to an intense debate in the country whether democracy in its present form and shape suits the temperament and the genius of the people or is there a need to completely revamp the system of governance. People are sick of being exploited by politicians and now want fundamental and meaningful changes in the system. The consensus seems to be emerging that parliamentary system after all does not work in Pakistan.
There is a growing fear that the Zardari establishment is pushing the common man towards anarchy by making his life impossible. The prices of basic food items have almost tripled ever since this government came to power. From 9% in 2008, the inflation is predicted to rise to 25% in the coming months. People are desperate. Unable to keep their body and soul together, they express their frustration through demonstrations, street murders and suicides. Religious extremism is feeding on this frustration.
The government is decidedly not capable of dealing with this chaos. This can snowball into a directionless movement, a revolution of sorts, with disastrous consequences. That will wipe out everything, including the PPP stalwarts who mostly belong to the feudal class, which exploits the very people in whose name the People’s Party was founded by Mr. Zardari’s father-in-law, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Is this guy advocating a takeover from the military or what? He certainly seems quite fond of it …
pakistan chief minister is corrupt allright, where is he getting his millions
from and is he spending dollars or pakistaki rupees, it does make a difference to people .
As expected, Siddiqi conveniently forgets the corruption of the Pakistan Army and its ultimate responsibility for most of the country’s ills. The ‘politicians’ he so deprecatingly mentions are directly or indirectly actors from the army’s long-running soap opera. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, ‘son’ of Gen. Ayub Khan, and Nawaz Sharif, ‘son’ of Gen.Ziaul Haq. President Zardari is also a product of the National Reconciliation Ordinance forced down our throats by the army’s chief at the time, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. All of this is of course conveniently forgotten by those who favour Pakistan’s ‘most powerful’ institution, especially when they come from a branch of this institution. It is also overlooked that this institution became so powerful because it has been consistently provided with the lion’s share of the country’s resources, and for which it has got little to show but a history of occupying its own land and ceding land to enemies. All one can say in this situation is, spare us the sermon.
Let me remind you that military is composed of Pakistanis who come from the same society as I and you are. Having an effective and well equipped army is your requirement for country’s defence. When you are maintaining such a large force you shall have to spend on them. Why to cry over it then? Reduce the armed forces and save your budget. And then the problem of taking over by army. Army take over is a bad thing, but man, we are a corrupt nation from day one, our politicians and even you and I are corrupt. What outcome do you expect then. No one can stop army take over until your politicians are honest. Please tell me the name of atleast one honest and patriotic politician in the country. Fake degrees case has proven the worth of ethical value our politicians carry. A General is a General and comes in power at the age of 19 years when he becomes an officer in Pakistan army. He is never power hungry. These are our mis-doings and those of our great men that Generals have to come in, and hopefully, this job will be done by the judiciary this time. Unfortunately when Generals came into power, they proved “GANDOO” and did nothing for the country as they are also from the same corrupt nation. The got surrounded by the corrupt politicians which helped them earn a bad name, if not money.