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Who Will Be Pakistan's Real
Leader?
Pakistan is going through, or has been made
to go through, leadership crisis for the last 58 years. Since
Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, no leader emerged, or was
allowed to emerge in Pakistan.
Pakistan Army made sure, the people of
Pakistan do not identify themselves with any leader; because,
the whole problem starts from peoples’ identification with one
leader. Once they identify with a leader then they follow him
and take the country to the level where they can achieve their
national goals and fulfill their national aspirations.
After Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the
people of Pakistan identified themselves with Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto. They listened to him, stood by him and followed him.
Pakistan Army hanged him as it had the first opportunity to do
so.
Then, people of Pakistan identified with
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. They listened to them, they
stood by them and they followed them. Pakistan Army made example
out of both of them. They can go anywhere in the world, but as
adamant general Musharraf says, they cannot come back to
Pakistan.
For the last 58 years, this hide and seek
game is going on between Pakistan Army and the people of
Pakistan. People of Pakistan offer their love; respect and
reverence to a leader and Pakistan Army make sure that leader
disappears from the surface of soil or at least from Pakistan
for good.
This hides and seeks between the people of
Pakistan and Pakistan Army has left Pakistan almost a leaderless
country.
Who benefits from this scenario?
Of course, the Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces of Pakistan benefits from this scenario. He remains
in uniform and jumps up and down like a joker in political
gatherings too. He tries to copy the same political leaders who
he coerces and eliminates.
Many army generals played this drama in
Pakistan. Generals Ayub, Yahya and Zia played this joker’s rule
in the past, general Musharraf is playing this role now.
Sometimes he addresses these political gatherings in his
abominable military uniform and sometimes he wears Shalwar Kames
to look like a larger than life leader. In either case, he looks
less like a leader and more like a joker in a circus.
Anyhow, what should Pakistani nation do to
get rid of these jokers? The clear cut answer is: the people of
Pakistan should find a leader and then stick with him until he
cleans all the mess and make Pakistan a real country—a country
which Pakistanis should be proud of.
Who is going to be that leader?
Anyone who promises to restore 1973
constitution in its original form tries all those military
rulers who violated the constitution, all those politicians who
stood with those generals, all those judges who authenticated
the rule of those generals, and all those so called
intellectuals who provided any kind of support to those
generals.
Other than that, the leader should be
determined to make Pakistan an equitable country for all
Pakistanis, provide the best possible and equal educational
opportunities for the people of Pakistan, develop modern
transportation system in the country which should facilitate
peoples’ travel from anywhere in Pakistan to anywhere in
Pakistan within minimum time and the most comfortable way,
rebuild Pakistan with modern amenities and make Pakistan look
like a developed country, and arrange all fundamental facilities
of life for all the people of Pakistan.
It is the leader’s job to do all this. And,
the people of Pakistan should provide him all the necessary
support as a nation to fulfill these goals. They should also
make sure the leader does not drift away from these objectives.
If anyone is out there with the courage and
wisdom to do all this, the people of Pakistan should follow him.
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