Right from the start, I want to clarify that I am not writing this analysis from the point of view of a partisan political loyalist. All my loyalties fundamentally are for and towards this country— which I have always regarded less of a country, and more of an embodiment of an idea, a dream and a mission. There was a time, several decades back when I thought that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto would transform the face and character of this state in a revolutionary way— a way which would ensure administration of social justice enshrined in Allah’s last message to mankind.
It was not to be.
I turned against ZAB during his reign. Then years later I returned to my political longings in the hope that ZAB’s daughter would make some difference in the way that this country had been governed. But a shrewd and determined opportunist named Asif Ali Zardari hijacked BB, and on December 27, 2007 she was eliminated from the political scene, leaving behind a country in which political power was to be shared between two avowed money-makers.
That in nutshell is my story. Not just my story, also the story of Pakistan.
But great hopes were revived by Imran Khan in the years that followed. The surge in his popularity and the popularity of his party has been phenomenal. It can be ascertained from the scenario that has emerged in the just-concluded byelections in Jhelum and Burewala. The PPP stands virtually obliterated. And the challenge to the ruling party— the party of the status quo—- has come from the PTI. Whatever the results of these elections, the fact remains that the PML (N), despite its total control of the electoral process, apparatus and dynamics has escaped defeat quite narrowly.
I should not hide here my leanings towards Imran Khan’s party. I have infact been a key member of its core group for atleast 3 years. And not very long time back. IK had entrusted me the task of creating an ideological cell for the party. The reasons I couldn’t make myself act in that direction are quite simple. Ideology in my view is nothing but an organized convergence of ideas around which a movement is raised. I realised right away that IK was heading towards building a political PARTY, rather than a game-changing MOVEMENT.
And I don’t harbour any political ambitions. I want to die in pursuit of a Pakistan of the Vision of Iqbal and the Quaid. I have no ambiguity in my mind about the characteristics of that vision.
Pakistan of today stands dangerously divided and polarized. And I don’t think any of the three major political parties has the ability (or the intention) to forge even an atmosphere needed for unity. What is worse, the battle for power has turned into a battle between mindsets too. Look at the alliances that are emerging. Imran Khan, Tahirul Qadri, Chaudhries and a segment of the PPP on the one side, and Nawaz Sharif, Mahmood Achakazai, Maulana Fazlur Rahman and the MQM on the other side!
Can Pakistan afford a head-on collision between the supporters of each camp? With the Indian threat looming larger than ever!
Who will make a move in the direction of forging sane unity?
