 Politics is a funny thing. In time, even in a most contrived set-up, those that become allies start behaving alike. Even the strangest of bedfellows if forced to cohabit do in time learn to accept each other if they wish to use the same bed. After the elections in 2002, the government that came into place was cobbled together by pulling disparate groups under the same umbrella. The ultimate symbol of that government was the vote case by the late Maulana Azam Tariq — the leader of arguably the most sectarian of organisations — that put it in place. The alliance thus created survives to this day. However, some of the dysfunctional aspects of such a diverse grouping are slowly becoming apparent.
| I'm actually surprised it's lasted as long as it has. Anna Comnena is impressed. |
On account of persistent external pressure, this government would now very much like to present a moderate and if possible a secular face to the rest of the world. The unfortunate fact is that in spite of some cosmetic changes the alliance that runs Pakistan today is still very much the alliance that came into being more than two years ago. Its main component is a centre-right group that believes neither in secularism nor in religious moderation, enlightened or not. Moreover, the only political party that was relatively secular and moderate has been systematically dismantled during the last five years.
| There were a number of reasons for that, starting with the fact that the PPP is (usually) opposed to the oligarchy, but also including the fact that they were just as corrupt and ineffective as any other Pak political party... |
Recent political missteps might suggest that the existing alliance is undergoing some internal readjustment.
| That's what it looks like from here. There have been the tentative approaches to Bhutto, and a large amount of behind the scenes work to set the various components of the MMA against each other. I'd guess a lot of money's been spent on Fazl, since you never know which side he's going to be on from one day to the next, and a lot of oil's been spent greasing Sami's ego. And I'd hate to think what the machinations have been within the military oligarchy itself... |
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