A Pakistani Psycho Circus

Nawaz Sharif favored his daughter. Iftikhar Chaudhry his son. The less said about Zardari the better. And the political squabbling continues even during the height of the Mumbai drama that still has the potential to spark off a full scale war. We see this all the time and still wonder why the military has to take the reins again and again. Shakespeare once said that the entire world is a stage and the men and women merely players. Let’s see how this scene unfolds in a star studded setup. In Pakistan.

By HAMZA GULZAR

Tuesday, 13 January 2008.

LAHORE, Pakistan—How ironic is it that a country that was born out of the blood of martyrs has significantly degenerated into a crowd least bothered about its own fate.

If seeing your milkman selling adulterated milk in Ramadan or witnessing people who would knock on the mosque’s door 5 times a day but would shrug off their covenants without any remorse isn’t enough, take a look at the current ‘Psycho Circus’ being played out in the Republic Of Pakistan.

Isn’t it criminal of us to apply a higher standard of morality to those we dislike but lower the bar for our own selves?

The former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry who had allegedly gone to great lengths to get his son inducted into the police in spite of failing his medical tests became a hero for ‘standing up’ to Gen. Musharraf.

The only crime that the former President seemingly committed was calling on his Chief Justice in military uniform. We objected to a military leader chiding a chief justice but forgot that the chief justice was guilty of impropriety, not to mention that he was WILLINGLY SERVING under a military-led government.

The present Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar is being criticized for using his influence to get his daughter extra marks. Putting aside the philosophical nonsense that Abid Sher Ali, Imran Khan and Co. might throw at you to justify their cause of ‘strengthening national institutions’, one should simply ask if Farah Dogar’s crime is any greater than Arsalan Ifthikhar’s?

Why should one be punished and the other’s father made a national symbol of justice?

Is Mr. Musharraf the only real criterion for deciding the fate of Dogar and Iftikhar?

Justice Dogar too took suo-motos against the PPP’s decision to commute death sentences of criminals nationwide, let’s give him another 5 years to see if he’ll rectify his mistakes and throw out Asif Zardari and his CIA imposed setup.

Sounds naïve doesn’t it?

Those who champion the cause of institutionalism include both Nawaz Sharif and Zardari. While I am a proud ‘Zardari hater’, let’s not forget that Sharif’s own government supervised an attack on the Supreme Court, embarked on such a spree of plunder and personal vendettas that it undermined the most critical of national security issues.

So when you hear our military personnel complain about the technological inferiority the Pakistani armed forces have in comparison to the Indians in the conventional field do note that Sharif and Bhutto rarely had the time to indulge in such important affairs when they had more ‘personal’ agendas to lay claim to. Add Nawaz’s enrollment of his daughter Maryam into an institution she couldn’t have legitimately entered and the charge sheet against Mian Nawaz Sharif becomes complete. Any sensible man would therefore advise Mr. Sharif to look into his own house before wildly rampaging against Musharraf, Zardari, Dogar, PML or anyone else.

The political squabbling continued even during the height of the Mumbai drama that still has the potential to spark off a full scale war. We see this all the time and still wonder why the military has to take the reins again and again. Shakespeare once said that the entire world is a stage and the men and women merely players. Let’s see how this scene unfolds in a star studded setup. In Pakistan.

Mr. Gulzar is a Pakistani college student based in Lahore studying LLB (Hons.). He can be reached at hamza.gulzar@gmail.com

Also See:

Nawaz Sharif, India & The ‘Daughters Game’

Nawaz Sharif, Kamran Khan & National Interest

Is Maryam Nawaz Sharif Better Than Farah Dogar?

Video: Nawaz Sharif Exposed!

Chaudhry Iftikhar & The Benazirization Of Pakistan

EXCLUSIVE: The Conspiracy In Pakistan

In Pakistan, A CIA-Picked Setup, Almost!

The Great Game Continues

The Plan To Topple Pakistan

Is It PPP & CIA Vs. The Army In Pakistan?

Musharraf’s Pakistan Had True Potential

Musharraf Era Performance

9th Anniversary Of Gen. Musharraf’s Coup

Pakistan’s Economic success: Mercy of 9/11 or Macro-Economic Policies?

Overall Economy under Musharraf

On Musharraf, In All Fairness