For years now we have known that the slogan “more democracy” is a euphemism for no democracy, no governance, maladministration, more plunder, and no accountability; and the general criminality of those sitting in our parliaments, their indentured civil and police servants, and their appointed front men. It is a system designed to gouge out every last penny from the county’s assets, and the breaking of every last sinew capable of holding the country together.
And though all this was known to us, none of us really knew the horrifying extent of this criminality, before the operation in Karachi began uncovering events and exposing the perpetrators, along with furnishing proofs of the criminality, in which our “leaders” indulged, each according to his ability, every one of them doing so with total assurance of impunity.
And this assurance came from a mutual commitment of “honour” with which thieves of pedigree are known to invest their word, when given to another thief.
At bottom, this is the bedrock upon which the foundation of our democracy was built, and indemnified against accountability by the destruction of the police, the bureaucracy, and the legal system, while amendments were made to the constitution to ensure that the baton of state will for eternity remain with the two most renowned thugs of the country.
And because the words “democracy” and “constitution” are supposed to be so very sacred, those throwing them at our faces, expected us to lie prone and accept our interminable helplessness without a whimper.
And probably, it would indeed have been this way, but for the Fata Operation, which extended into the Karachi operation, and which then started to broaden out into an operation against economic terrorism.
Had the Karachi operation not taken place who among people like us would have known the sheer extent of the daily plunder by MQM and PPP: or of how many people were killed at the direct orders of Zardari and Altaf Hussain and his cohorts? How would we have believed that over 250 men women and kids had been roasted alive in Baldia Town because the owner of a certain factory had refused to give extortion money?
And now we know for certain that MQM was being funded RAW, and that most of the targeted killings done by its hitmen was part of an Indian operation to destabilize Pakistan. Treachery indeed seems to have become the norm. We have all heard about Memogate, but few know about treachery committed against the country by Zardari, when Hussain Haqqani was ordered by him to issue 5000 Pakistani visas to undercover U.S servicemen. There was at the time a requirement that one of the offices which had to vet such visa requests was that of the Joint Chief’s Secretariat, but Gen Tariq Majid put his foot down and refused to accord his sanction for this visa request. And Zardari, in collusion with Kiyani short circuited the vetting process, obviated the requirement of vetting by Joint Chief’s Secretariat, and ordered Haqqani to go ahead and issue these visas. And this was an action directly against the national interest as judged by the senior most officer of the Pakistan armed forces, whose views were not even solicited in this matter, as he was side-lined.
And it is short cuts like these which allowed the likes of Raymond Davis to walk in and operate unmolested in the country. Those who made this possible, obviously had neither a shred of pride, nor shame, nor patriotism. God only knows how much more damage Zardari has done to earn his pound of flesh. And by now of course it is well known that Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the “friendly” opposition, were, and are still, operating hand in glove.
People who can strip their struggling country of its meagre wealth should be expected to do precisely this. Indeed, it is people who have no loyalty to any entity beyond themselves who are precisely the sort whom recruiters of foreign intelligence agencies target when hunting for agents. It is our ultimate misfortune that there is no dearth of willing recruits who will gladly sell themselves and their grandmothers to do the bidding of any foreign paymaster.
From the little I know, I have no doubt that the army authorities are simply aghast at the evidence of the sheer scale of criminality which they have thus far uncovered, and which has become the norm with most people exercising power in Pakistan. And if the current operations had not been initiated, our country could not have withstood the ravages of such naked and unchecked criminality for too long.
The people of Pakistan ardently hope and fervently pray, that the army will not let the momentum of the present operations slacken. If this is allowed to slacken, it will peter out, and if it peters out, it will die; and with it will go to dust any hope there might be for the country to be put back on the rails.
All the Generals holding the august ranks they do, must decide as a body, that their ultimate commitment is to the interests of Pakistan, and that they will not allow any intrusion in the fulfillment of this sacred commitment by any consideration which may divert them from this. The army must now expect roadblocks in the way of furthering their operation and taking it to its logical conclusion. It must understand that if Zardari is to return, it will only be so, if he has some assurances from the government, and indeed the government will have by now reached an understanding with the courts. It is therefore vital for the army to let it be plainly known to both the politicians and the judges that it does not intend to impose martial law. But that if it is the country at stake, and it is not left with any other option than the imposition of Martial Law, it will have absolutely no hesitation in doing so, and that the ball is therefore in their court. All should know that the country is much more important than the arrogated right to plunder it assumed by those who consider themselves “elected” to do so.
This should be made clear to all, so that BEFORE these forces partner together and create an obstruction in the way of the army operation which a large majority of the people whole heartedly support, their partnership already stands annulled.
Unless the army makes its intentions very clear, its deterrence value will stand eroded. Thus before Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, and a few judges get together to create a complication for the army, they should be very clear where such a course of action will take them.
And as the army moves ahead, it should never forget why it is enjoying its current surge of popularity–the people believe that it is standing with and for them, against their oppressors and those who are committed to the destruction of Pakistan by keeping the fire sale going.