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Shahbaz Sharif's 'revolution' in Punjab
A 'revolution' may not punish the PPP and bring PMLN to power. It may bring Al Qaeda closer to ruling Pakistain...Three developments must be noted in the move of the PMLN: a gradual reconciliation with the Army, a steady support to the 'independent' judiciary, and a convergence with the nonstate actors of Punjab. Add to this the ingredient of 'revolution' and you have the contours of how the PMLN wants to shorten the days of the PPP in power. Shahbaz Sharif has been known to meet the Army Chief to feel the pulse of any toppling plans. He accompanies this act of nationalism with 'selfless' devotion to the Supreme Court currently busy subjecting the federal government to intense critical scrutiny. The other strand in the strategy comprises change of policy on nonstate actors and banned jihadi organizations and pitting them against the PPP in South Punjab. Jihadi publication Daily Islam (23 Feb 2010) reported that Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah visited Jhang and paid his respects at the tomb of the founder of the greatest banned sectarian-terrorist Deobandi organization, Sipah-e-Sahaba: Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. He led a delegation of the PMLN which also counted parliamentary secretary Iftikhar Baloch and party MPA from Jhang, Sheikh Yaqub. He visited the tombs of other Sipah-e-Sahaba martyr-leaders like Maulana Isarul Qasimi and Allama Azam Tariq. The News (27 Feb 2010) in a report titled PMLN sees no harm in seeking banned outfit's blessing observed: 'Sipah-e-Sahaba is rearing its head again and its leaders' participation in an election rally in PP-82 constituency, along with Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, has sent shivers down the spines of citizens here'. But the 'revolution' may not be to the advantage of the PMLN. In 1999,  Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... nearly got killed through in an bomb reported planted by the Sipah on the road to his residence in Raiwind. Killer Riaz Basra also got himself photographed standing next to him without the latter noticing it. In 2002 after Basra was finally killed, he was buried wrapped in a Sipah Sahaba flag. Today a Sipah franchise Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... is said to be in touch with Tehrik Taliban Pakistain. Therefore the 'revolution' may not punish the PPP and bring PMLN to power. It may bring Al Qaeda closer to ruling Pakistain. Just as no one can convince Imran Khan  ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... that he should not use 'tsunami' as the informal emblem of his party, it is futile to remind Shahbaz Sharif that 'bloody revolution' is an inapt simile to use for the victory of the PMLN in the coming election. His party doesn't have the ideology suited for a revolution; its overtures to the Death Eaters do not transform his party into an organization willing to indulge in mass extermination of the 'exploiting classes'. What kind of order will come into existence after the 'bloody revolution'? The truth is that revolution comes first and then makes itself bloody by killing the enemies of the people. The following is the pattern recognised in history: The state turns authoritarian, producing a utopian alternative among the intellectuals of the coercive state, followed by popular uprising, elimination of the elite through a reign of terror, and the installation of directly participatory institutions. Pakistain is habituated to a pattern of its own. First the politicians fight among themselves and bring the country to a standstill till the people start complaining about being economically squeezed. Then Army - reputed for producing intellectually average officers - starts thinking that it can run the country far better by interrupting the tenure of the incumbent government and grabbing power. We all know what happens for more or less a decade after that. In the present case, the PPP threatens to complete its tenure after four years of pathetic governance. (When was governance non-pathetic in Pakistain?) Strange to say, the Army is no longer quivering with expectation; it is the opposition leaders wringing their hands at the threat of a break in the pattern. Therefore, if not the Army, who? Everybody in Pakistain has his ducks in a row for the coming revolution and they are remarkably identical ducks: hate America and hope Al Qaeda will be appeased by that and somehow go away. In fact, Al Qaeda may see the decks being cleared for its own 'revolution' in two countries simultaneously: Afghanistan and Pakistain. It has the classical ingredients in place: an ideology that has appeal and an indoctrinated cadre willing to kill for the revolution. But revolutions eat their children. The leaders who initiate it usually get killed in the process of establishing a revolutionary order. It is especially cruel to its harbingers. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-06-09 |
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