STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
President Ronald Reagan of USA is credited for changing the global landscape by bringing down the mighty Soviet Empire. A deep conservative, he was able to rejuvenate the Right by conveying complex concepts in very simple terms. After a distinguished acting career, he used his communication skills to further his political agenda successfully. His presidential opponent had developed an elaborate economic reform agenda which had insufficient facts to demonstrate its viability. Rather than embarking on prolonged debates, he knocked out his opponent’s program in 3 words. “Where is the beef?” It was backed up by showing two empty buns of a burger without a beef pate. He won by a landslide.
Same thing is going on in Pakistan these days. We have a façade of an interim setup filled with incompetent or self-serving cabinet. Their role at best is of a chorus backing the lead singer. The real governance is coming from Rawalpindi. The establishment led fancy forums are selling pipe dreams of 100 billion investments coming into Pakistan imminently. There is nothing substantive on ground except empty promises of future prosperity that begs the question “where is the beef?”
The reality is totally different as highlighted by World Bank. Pakistan is being relegated towards the bottom of the list of impoverished nations; with nearly half its population living beneath poverty line. Our ailments are chronic; the elite mafia controls the parliament, bureaucracy and other positions of power. It has successfully prevented the tax base from expanding. Pakistan’s tax base is one of the narrowest in the world. This coupled with dwindling remittance, declining exports, industrial shutdowns, insecurities arising from political instability, and backbreaking inflation spell disaster. Without massive structural changes brought in by a popularly elected government, there is no hope.
Instead, the ruling Junta’s top priority is to demolish PTI despite its massive support among the masses. They are attempting to implement their plans through a two pronged strategy; resuscitating the political deadwood and bulldozing any dissenters. We saw the public’s reaction to the recent attempts by PML(N) to mobilize the masses for Nawaz’s return. Maryam’s “Jalsi” and Shehbaz’s public insults should open their eyes. Pakistanis are seething with anger. One eye witness described it as “this is just a tester, wait till they come out openly”. What PM Kakar is trying to portray as “State versus Imran” is actually “State versus its own People.”
The sad part is that this Junta lacks any imagination. In yester–years when a dictator usurped power, Army would deploy its officers to direct and train civil administration. This time around it is the Punjab Police training its masters. During the British Raj a paltry 10,000 Brits ruled over 200 million Indians. They had created a database to manage the country through controlling “influentials” amongst the landed gentry, business elite and deal withcrime through police by documenting “Dus Numberis.” To solve a crime the local Thanedar would round up these criminals and beat the daylights out of them till someone spoke up and confessed or provided information to solve the crime.
Police, especially in Punjab, has provided this platform to this ruthless Junta. It started 18 months ago when floodgates were opened against PTI supporters through registering FIR’s and mass arrests. However there was an inconvenience; the courts started to take cognizance and at time gave relief. This impediment has been overcome by simply kidnapping the dissenters and torturing them till they breakdown. After Columbian drug mafia and Somali pirates, Pakistan has become the “Kidnap Capital” of the world. These crimes are not committed for ransom, only for a press conference and now interviews with Junta’sboot lickers to condemn IK, as in the case of Usman Dar.
One wonders at the stupidity of the Junta’s planners and script writers. These coerced confessions and condemnation of IK is having zero impact on the masses. This self-congratulatory group can pat themselves on the back till they get cramps; no one is listening. Everyone has a breaking point when subjected to cruel torture; it may give these sadists some momentary pleasure. In reality, it is feeding an inferno of hate already simmering in the hearts and minds of the masses.
I had written about the relief and sadness felt after the reappearance of Imran Riaz Khan in my last article. His condition was worse than POWs. He was a “Prisoner of Conscience”. A comment from a reader from Baluchistan seared me through and through. He said stop lamenting about his condition; at least he came back alive. It only happened because he is a Punjabi. If he was a Baluchi or Sindhi his family would have received only his remains in a sack. These dangerous fissures and loathing felt within the country need soothing balm not this mindless cruelty.
There is a growing perception that this entire cycle of suppression is being enacted to facilitate the return of Nawaz Sharif to power. The entire Government machinery has been unleashed to intimidate PTI supporters and eliminate IK from the political arena. Does the Chief realize that once Nawaz is installed as a PM, who is he going to turn on? Just look at his history with the previous Chiefs. The scorpion only knows how to bite. I wonder at the mental capacity of head honchos when they have Faisal Wada as the unofficial head of ISPR. May Allah have mercy on our Nation.
