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“The goal – the
great hope of militants – is a collision, an explosion between the
values of the West and what the extremists claim to be the values of
Islam” – Benazir Bhutto
“Pakistan under
military dictatorship had become the epicenter of an international
terrorist movement that had two primary aims. First, the extremists’
aim to reconstitute the concept of caliphate, a political state
encompassing the great Ummah (Muslims community) populations of the
world, uniting the Middle East, the Persian Gulf states, South Asia,
Central Asia, East Asia and parts of Africa, and second, militants’
aim to provoke a clash of civilizations between the West and an
interpretation of Islam that rejects pluralism and modernity. The goal
– the great hope of militants – is a collision, an explosion between
the values of the West and what the extremists claim to be the values
of Islam.”
This was Ms. Benazir
Bhutto’s ideology to fight extremism, rising militancy and how to
reconcile a modern Islamic state with the West where Pakistan would
emerge as a modern, stable tolerant state. She expressed these
sentiments in her book Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West.
Her love for
Pakistan
was unquestionable, even moving and inspiring. While she raised her
hands in prayer on October 18th, 2007, hundreds of thousands welcomed
her and prayed for her success, with her. In her own words “..as my
foot touched the ground of my beloved Pakistan for the first time
after eight lonely and difficult years of exile, I could not stop the
tears from pouring from my eyes as I lifted my hands in reverence, in
thanks, and in prayer. I stood on the soil of Pakistan in awe. I felt
that a huge burden, a terrible weight, had been lifted from my
shoulder. It was a sense of liberation...I knew what I had to do.”
And that she surely
did. She had to pull the country out of chaos; she had to clean the
mess created by General ® Musharraf and to lead it to the path of
moderation and tolerance. She was aware that the land of pure has been
corrupted with extremism because of eight long and dreary years of
dictatorship - the dictatorship during which militants had gained
grounds of her beloved soil inch by inch.
Today, US’s Vice
President-elect Joe Biden admits that terrorism has flourished and
grew during Bush regime. President Bush and General ® Musharraf,
undoubtedly, were two sides of the same coin. There is an uproar in
international community about the terrorist camps and non-state actors
in Pakistan. Wasn’t the international community aware of these camps
and militant elements when General ® Musharraf was the head of
Pakistan.
The root cause of terrorism, that has taken lives of thousands of
people in the South Asian region, is support of dictators in
Pakistan
by the US and the West. In spite of its knowledge about army’s role in
the northern and tribal areas of Pakistan billions of dollars were
poured into
Pakistan
that fortified Musharraf’s military rule.
Can the mess
created in eight years be cleaned and be done with in a few months? Is
it right to expect it even if there are disagreements within the
country about how to tackle the situation? 66 per cent Pakistanis are
against terrorists according to the recent IRI poll. Isn’t this the
stance Pakistan’s diplomats should be taking to present their case to
international community at a time when India is testing grounds to
launch surgical strikes in Pakistan? Unelected officials, who lack
the support of masses, when put in the position of power do not care
much for the aspirations of people and make decisions that they cannot
sustain.
The country is at
the brink of war with its traditional rival that has the world support
and more resources than Pakistan can muster. According to IRI’s recent
polls, people’s satisfaction rate with the government is 67 per cent.
19 per cent blame President Zardari for falling apart of coalition, 83
per cent people want judiciary to be restored, and only 19 per cent
people favor President Zardari’s leadership. This is almost the same
approval rating that General Muhsrraf had in his final days of
presidency. And this is a wakeup call for PPP government to start
working for its people. With unelected people at forefront and elected
popular leaders left behind in running the affairs of the party and
the country, people are bound to be dissatisfied. General Musharraf
was thought as
Mikhail Gorbachev of
Pakistan,
now President Zardari is believed to be
Pakistan’s
Gorbachev. The slogan of roti, kapra, makan seems to be a far cry now.
People who had
admired Mr. Zardari’s canniness in getting all parties together after
February 18th elections have been turned off by him now. Furthermore,
the senior members of party are embarrassed when they are asked how it
feels like to have a 20-year-old Chairman after 40 years of dedicated
service to the party.
The intellectual
circle of Pakistan that was in love with Benazir Bhutto and accepted
her as their leaders is frustrated to know that the PPP’s own
government has not taken the right steps to bring Benazir’s murderers
to justice. The kind of government for which Benazir Bhutto has given
her life is nowhere in place in Pakistan. In the Parliamentary system,
all powers remain in President’s house. The Prime Minister’s office
seems to be a mockery of the parliamentary system in Pakistan. 17th
amendment and 58 2(B) are intact. And Mr. Zardari is hanging on by
hair to powers that General Musharraf possessed.
This brings us back
to Benazir Bhutto. She probably did not have solution to Pakistan’s
entire problem, but she had a clear vision of how to keep eradicate
extremism; she was the one person in Pakistan who could have brought
all political parties together. It was her intellect and tactic that
had allowed Mr. Nawaz Sharif to be in Pakistan. Whatever faults she
might or might not have had, she had charisma to present the united
Pakistan at the face of religious extremism and militancy.
A year after her
assassination, one of the greatest loss Pakistanis and the world could
suffer from; Pakistan has surfaced as anything but stable. Pakistanis
miss her and remember her as “a leader” and not as a politician. She
had sacrificed herself for the cause she believed in. She knew all the
dangers and risks she was putting herself in by holding rallies.
Regardless of these risks, she went out among her people - the people
she was forced to stay away from for more than 8 years.
Benazir Bhutto was
the only leader Pakistan had who could have kept the federation
together in a reasonable manner. People who knew her and admire her
vow that she was larger than life and was the most capable one to
fight rising militancy and extremism in Pakistan. Some would argue
that she was not capable enough because of not too good working
relationship with Pakistani army and intelligence services. Rumors are
that that army had asked for Pakistan Peoples Party in the government
devoid of Benazir Bhutto.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
and her daughter have given Pakistan what every Pakistani is proud of.
Her father had initiated the Pakistan’s nuclear program in spite of
warnings from the
US
and the West. The Daughter of the East has strengthened the defence of
Pakistan by authorizing purchase of missiles from
North Korea.
She knew the
language the West; she understood it and knew how to counter it. At
the same time she was also aware of how to protect national interests
of Pakistan in the international community.
With all the
criticism on how she had ruled in the first two terms as a Prime
Minister, people were willing to give her a chance to prove herself
once more. This is what democracy is all about and this is what she
stood for.
However, was this
the Pakistan
for which Benazir has so passionately returned to the country. All
those in circles of power, now, were in backdrop when Benazir was
alive. She must have a very good reason to keep them there, and all
those who have served the party loyally in Benazir’s absence have been
put on the back burner. Her murder’s investigation is of interest to
everyone except those who should have interest in it. In her book she
has clearly laid out how she sees the clash between the East and the
West and how we can move towards its resolution. She challenged the
Muslim world to look into its practices also. However she has left
thousands and thousands of admirers who wish her to be alive for them.
But life moves on, only questions remain.
Will we ever find
out how the leaders of Pakistan die, starting from Quaid-e-0Azam to
Benazir Bhutto?
Her fans get some
solace in the fact that she is not alive to see all that has happened
to her homeland and continues to happen to Pakistan. |
