abdul naeem September 5, 2004

Tags: pakistan , politics

href="/tag/1947">1947, we have achieved many such dubious benchmarks, every time raising the bar. But this latest instance of politico-cynicism has made the political theatre of the absurd touch new heights. No Mugabe, no Karimov, no Supramurad, no other tin-pot dictator, no banana republic could challenge our supremacy in the field of political chicanery. Pakistan remains numero uno in the field of "true" democracy and "moderate enlightenment".

The establishment, by bulldozing through the (s)election of Shaukat Aziz has put the 4000-year-old political theories on their collective head. Consider: A duly constituted parliament exists, (never mind how and through what dubious means and feats of statecraft it came into being; including the benign midwifery skills of the omnipotent and ubiquitous "agencies"); but its there. But none of the 342-odd political stalwarts sitting in our August parliament was considered politically capable or reliable to be put up as a credible candidate, to be the Prime Minister of Musharraf’s government. Does it show that all the members of the "king’s party" possess an unreliable pedigree? Well that’s another story and the paucity of space precludes its narration here. Now than what solution does the proponent of the "enlightened moderation" comes up with? A non-political technocrat and a foreign national was selected to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who is not even a Member of the National Assembly (MNA). But that is not a problem for the wizards of political gimmicky and an establishment steeped in the expertise of realpolitiks. The commonsense and time-honoured recipe was to select a "safe" constituency for the anointed persona, get it vacated, rig the by-elections and get him as MNA in the parliament. Indeed a neat solution. The next step was to get the members of the "king’s party" and its opportunistic turncoat allies to vote Shaukat Aziz in. Never mind the cacophonous protests of the opposition, that its unanimous candidate was not produced in the parliament to contest against Aziz; so what? This is "true" democracy, albeit Musharraf-style in action. It’s a grand manifestation of "enlightened moderation" in the field of politics.

To sum it up, a non-political, person who is a citizen of a foreign country, who was not even a member of the National Assembly was selected by the President as the Prime Minister of the country two months in advance; whereas constitutionally speaking, the National Assembly is required to select one of their own as the Prime Minister.

Moreover, the Prime Minister foisted on the hapless nation is representing a constituency with which he has nothing common; he does not even live in that area, nor ever visited it before his "election" campaign. Incidentally, this particular "election", though in a "safe" constituency, nevertheless saw wide-spread and blatant rigging. It was recorded by a person, no less than Asma Jehangir; the head of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
And what has the "thekadars" of democracy has to say about all this rigmarole? Nothing. The US, the EU and the Commonwealth, who never relent of pointing out any deviation from democratic norms, endorsed our display of "true" democracy by their thundering silence.

So, then what is going on?

To find the answer to the above question we need to deviate from the conventional wisdom as dished out by the apparatiks of the establishment, and try to find the elusive truth, entombed under layers of disinformation and demagogy. The truth is that Shaukat Aziz, notwithstanding his proven abilities in the sphere of international banking is our latest import from the United States, a’ la Moin Querishi. Shaukat Aziz did a good job as a Finance Minister, notwithstanding the fact that the post-9/11 environments made his job easy; but nevertheless he resuscitated our ailing economy. But he was never Musharraf’s first choice as a Prime Minister. There were many more puppets available and willing to dance to Musharraf’s tune.

Aziz is the choice of US.

Aziz as Prime Minister of Pakistan fits neatly in the plans, the US has for Pakistan. Despite all what Musharraf has done on the behest of the US, he now presents a paradigm of diminishing returns to Uncle Sam. The US is preparing for a post-Musharraf scenario. And what better way to prepare, than to have its own man at a convenient place, whenever the switch is required? This is the medium-to-long term strategy. Because, the American establishment is increasingly wary of Musharraf’s reliability. The US administration thinks that Musharraf is playing a double game with them. This thinking is gaining currency in the US government and media. The current thinking there is that Musharraf is still not doing enough to control the al-Qaeda-Taliban elements, which are attacking the ISAF and US forces in Afghanistan. Whew! This is despite the fact that 100,000 Pakistani troops are deployed and operative along the Durrand Line; and that the military operations to flush out the militants have created a virtual civil war in Waziristan; and the fact that its fallout is an incipient insurgency in Balochistan; and that fact that the civil and military leadership in Pakistan is under assassination attacks by al-Qaeda militants; not to say nothing of the bomb blasts in all over the country. This state of affairs has badly traumatized and polarized the Pakistani society.

The above American thinking is predicated on their analysis that the Pakistani establishment has not given up its strategic interests in Afghanistan. And that Musharraf is still hopeful to be able to counter the inimical (towards Pakistan) and pro-Indian disposition of the Northern Alliance, by manipulating the forthcoming Afghan presidential elections, through the Taliban. Pakistan according to conventional wisdom favours a Pushtun-dominated and a pro-Pakistan government in Kabul. And for this purpose, the American thinking goes; Pakistan, while apprehending al-Qaeda cadres, has given a relatively free hand to the Taliban ensconced along the southern periphery of Pakistan. The logical conclusion of this thinking is that Musharraf will try to influence/ wreck the Afghan elections in October by use the wildcard of the Taliban.
The second misgiving about Musharraf, in the minds of its American allies is that he has not completely abandoned the strategy of "jihad" in Kashmir. The US establishment thinks that Musharraf is playing a double game: talks with India, which holding the option of reigniting the "jihad" in Indian part of Kashmir, if India reneges its stance of normalization. This Musharrifian strategy is also borne out by a hint given by Musharraf recently on the same lines.

Let us analyze the afore-going a bit more. Dismantling the nexus with the Taliban in the aftermath of 9/11 was a wise strategic U-turn. It was in the strategic interests of Pakistan. Period. Normalization of relationship is in the strategic interest of Pakistan. Period. Extirpating religious-extremism from the state and society in Pakistan is de rigueur for the security and the very survival of Pakistan. Period. And, if in the event, anything, which is done in the strategic interests of Pakistan, coincides with the interest of the United States, it cannot and should not be construed as being done to exclusively further the American agenda. But anything done beyond the parameters of the strategic interests of Pakistan will be detrimental and inimical for the security and stability of Pakistan.

Enters Shaukat Aziz.

Shaukat Aziz foisted, as the Prime Minister of Pakistan is not in the national interests of Pakistan. Wittingly or unwittingly he will become an American instrument. There is a telling incident behind this observation, which amplifies that why is Aziz an American man. Prior to the passage of a bill in the US Congress to give US$ 3 billion aid to Pakistan over a period of 5 years, the Americans sought guarantees regarding the capping of Pakistan’s nuclear program. Who provided the requisite guarantees? You have guessed it right: Shaukat Aziz. Shaukat Aziz, than only a Finance Minister, treaded, where the angels fear to tread, to say nothing of the elected Prime Ministers of Pakistan. Traditionally, the military has kept the Prime Ministers at an arm’s length from its nuclear program. But Shaukat Aziz, acting as an American proxy, inspected Kahuta and submitted the requisite guarantees to the Americans. Now if anybody still harbours any doubts as to the purpose of the induction of Aziz is living in a cuckoo- land, to be charitable.

Pakistan and Musharraf has done more, much more than enough for the Americans. No single country/ individual has done more for the Americans; not even the American poodle Blair/ United Kingdom.

Pakistan, in the process of doing America’s bidding has jeopardized its very survival. As a result of unrestrained service to the US, we are facing insurgencies in two of our provinces; our top "leadership" is in the crosshairs of al-Qaeda assassins; our urban centers are being devastated by bomb blasts; frustration, sectarianism, despair and crime are rampant; and the state and society are unraveling at the seams.

Now is high time to say to the Americans, enough is enough; we have done enough of your bidding: "above and beyond the call of duty" as a faithful ally. We need to draw a line, though we should have done it long time back; otherwise like a virtuoso blackmailer, the US will keep on raising the ante. At the same time we should renounce the use of religio-militant entities, as proxies to further our strategic interests, by creating mayhem and violence in neighboring countries. We should also eschew any delusions of empire-building in our neighbourhood.

So Shaukat Aziz we do not need you, you are an affront on whatever vestigial sovereignty we has been left with, after the machinations of our strategic geniuses and Praetorians. Therefore please pack our bags and return to where you belong: the US of A.