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Smart Thieves of Islamabad
By K. Ashraf
General Musharraf’s political thieves are
smart, slick and master con artists. They have taken the art of
robbing people and looking cool at the same time to sublimity.
No other past ruling clique can match them in their artistry. It
will be cruel not to acknowledge their skill to make bad things
look good and turn ugly into beautiful with their slick
arguments.
And the interesting thing is they howl on one
theme at a time like a pack of wolves
Be it the issue of general Musharraf’s wardi,
term of parliament, general’s reelection through the existing
parliament, rising prices, sugar crisis, peoples’ problems, or
opposition’s criticism, they howl in such unison notes, a
listener almost feels like crying. And, they move back and forth
on their themes with such re-accruing pauses, the issues become
alive or die at their will.
Sometime ago, they were talking about general
Musharraf’s re-election through the existing parliament.
“General will do everything according to the
law and constitution of Pakistan.” One of them howled.
“There is nothing in the constitution that
stops the general from getting reelected from the existing
parliament.” The other responded.
One cannot resist asking these sons of guns:
did general take over Pakistan according to the law and
constitution on October 12, 1999?
Then the theme changed.
They start howling about price hikes. One
says, “Whenever there is development prices rise.” The other
howls in response, “Prices are rising in India too.”
The third one tunes in: “30 million mobile
phones, 900 thousands motor cycles…. There is tremendous
development. We have broken the begging bowl.”
Now a day theme is opposition’s criticism:
“We welcome opposition’s criticism, but it should be
constructive criticism, opposition criticizes us for the sake of
criticism.”
Another pack member howls from another
channel: “We have created 38 national and international
channels. Anyone can say anything.”
While they howl about all these themes, the
people of Pakistan are becoming more desperate, helpless and
frustrated. They are desperate because life has become miserable
for them. They feel helpless because they can do nothing about
their collective miseries. They are frustrated because general
has imposed him upon them and he is not letting things go. He
has become a block between the people of Pakistan and political
change.
Even he has hijacked the electoral process.
The people go out and vote, but nothing changes. Nothing changes
because common denominator, the block, general Musharraf is
always there.
Now, general Musharraf’s wolves are howling
about his next term in the office.
If general is going to be there anyway, why
all this drama; why references to constitution, why the debate
about power of present assemblies or future assemblies?
Why general doesn’t declare him president in
uniform for life? At least the nation won’t have to go through
the frenzy of meaningless electoral process which is not mended for
any political change in the country.
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