President Musharraf’s strong-worded rejoinder to the US regarding ‘the nuclear issue’ as well as the frequent threats of American leaders to take unilateral action against terrorists in the Pakistani territory is quite heartening to those all, who happen to harbour national pride and sovereign longings. But I do not think the US is likely to show much concern over our President’s show of verbal muscle.
Those who shape, control, and run Washington’s policies are thoroughly aware of the kind of vise-like grip America happens to enjoy on those ‘processes’ and ‘functions’ of our national life on which is dependent our sustenance as a viable country.
These Washington-based navigators of our destiny happen to know that the policies and the way of life we, as a state, as a government and as a nation, have adopted ever since the 9/11 thunderbolt hit the globe in general and our region in particular, do not permit much room for manoeuvre and even token intransigence.
It is not just ironic, but also tragic that not a long time has passed since we were being congratulated by our rulers on being citizens of a country on a huge ‘rise’ – and now suddenly we find ourselves caught up in a web of scarcity in almost every area; scarcity of Atta (flour) scarcity of gas, of electricity, and most alarmingly of trust and confidence in the government’s ability to cope with the multi-faceted and multi-directional challenges virtually pouncing on us.
Our ill-wishers seem to be determined to build up a convincing case in favour of denouncing us as a failed state (which cannot be trusted with the possession of nukes).
And we seem to be losing sight of most of our well-wishers. Cynically speaking we, by our actions, are making thunderingly clear to the world that we ourselves happen not to be our own well-wishers.
In our latest move to dub ourselves as our own worst tormentors, we have made it clear to the world that the State of Pakistan can not be run smoothly with a Justice named Rana Bhagwandas moving around as a free citizen. Meaning thereby that, if any optimist is dreaming of the emergence of an unshackled democratic Pakistan from the prevalent chaos, he should better consult a psychiatrist.
But I have not lost hope. I continue to keep my pessimism crushed under the weight of glaringly bright and beautiful expectations that President Musharraf will one day wake up with a transformed mindset, and will seek to establish on his own, a genuine one-man one-vote democracy in the country for the success of which, a landslide in favour of his protégés will not be deemed indispensable.
That probably will be the kind of rejoinder that Washington will be forced to pay heed to.
18-5-2014
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