A troubling paradox emerges in Pakistan: rampant political corruption, fueled by the egos of a few generals and aligned judges, leads to increasing disunity, military interference in public affairs, and the perversion of serving the nation's people.
by Mahboob A. Khawaja
The Nation Besieged by Few Generals and Political Monsters
Pakistan for over 76 years lost its essence of national freedom which was achieved by a people-oriented movement for independence from British imperialism. British colonialism indoctrinated the masses of the sub-continent with its own distinct culture of thinking and behavior, public institutions and everlasting imprints of planned subjugation to foreign myths and ethnic superiority. The military establishment is one of those institutions of foreign thinking and actions. While India under Hindu dominated culture evolved its own brand of nationalism and political institutions, Pakistan fell victim to five major military coups and lost its search for national identity and Islamic foundation of the movement for national freedom. Today political corruption, moral and intellectual decadence, inept military domination and embedded uncertainties about a sustainable future are the new normal which a conscientious new generation of educated and intelligent Pakistanis are enduring for a navigational change. Pakistan future is at stake as the Generals and allied political conspirators would see no ending unless held accountable and punished for their crimes.They are the wrong people – Generals do not build a nation, nor develop economy, agriculture, education, public institutions, moral and intellectual fabrics – they destroy all that was built by previous generations to pursue their own egoistic ends. Pakistan lost more than 50 years under corrupt politics. Pakistan does not need neo-colonial generals but Muslim thinking soldiers.
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| Pakistani army vehicles take part in a military parade to mark Pakistan's National Day in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 25, 2021. [Photo by Muhammed Semih Uğurlu/Anadolu Agency.] |
More so, the Feb 8, national elections displayed a highly corrupt systematic scheme of rigging the elections and favoring the most hated – most feared indicted criminals – Sharifs – Bhuttos family and a few corrupt Generals and depriving the new generation to imagine a navigational change to transform Pakistan into a progressive nation of the 21st century. The few Generals led by Assim Munir appear more conspirators to use the indicted criminals to their favor and oust them when they become a liability as it happened during several military coups in the past.
A paradox of unforgivable systematic infested political corruption complemented by the ego of few Generals aligned with higher court judges to a new threshold of emerging disunity, military intervention in public affairs and favorite perversion of evil mongering claiming to serve the 240 million conscientious Pakistanis. Few Generals lacking capacity to think right planned a fraudulent elections to reinstate Bhuttos, Sharfis and Zardari as they were produced by the Generals who stole more than 50 years of the national lifetime, wealth and opportunities for change to buy palaces in the UK, France and Spain and discredit the nation, its honor and standing in global affairs. None of them could return the precious time stolen from the lives of Pakistanis.
Do intelligent people learn words of wisdom even from their enemies? General PNK Choudry (former Chief of Staff of the Indian Armed Forces), who fought wars against Pakistan, narrated that if Pakistan had honest and intelligent leaders, they could have averted the 1971 surrender and defeat at Dakka- East Pakistan. I asked him how? He disclosed that ZA Bhutto had asked Mrs. Indira Gandhi (PM India) to help him become the next president of Pakistan; whereas Sheikh Mujib Rehman ( the elected majority leader) was more a Bengali nationalist aspiring to become the next leader of Pakistan. If the Pakistani Generals had transferred the power to Sheikh Rehman, it would have been the right thing to do and he would not have survived more than a few months as all the official machinery was based in Islamabad. Mrs. Gandhi agreed to help Zalfikar Bhutto but the price was defeat and surrender of Pakistan, and Bhutto was a power maniac to become the unelected leader of Pakistan. Editor Altaf Qureshi (“Skoot-e Dhaka say Purdha Utha Hey” the Urdu Digest), narrated the historic facts: ‘General Yahya Khan stabbed the body of Pakistan and Bhutto did the same.’ Are we not seeing the same story being repeated again in Pakistan after more than 50 years?
Recently, the US media reports Chuck Schumer (the US majority senate leader) is quoted telling the Pakistani Generals: ‘not to subdue or kill Imran Khan for political ambitions.’ Imran Khan (PTI imprisoned leader), in many ways represents the new hopes and aspirations of young generations of Pakistanis for political change. Vengeful and paranoid Generals wanted to keep Khan and PTI out of power so nobody could question their wrong thinking and deceitful actions against the nation. Most dreadful tragedies have infallibly resulted in victimizing the masses. Today, the nation is crippled with catastrophic events of insecurity, mismanagement and socioeconomic and political exploitation.
The few Pakistani Generals view “power” and “Pakistan” as their own property. All Five coups were a stabbing to the body of the nation and ended up in loss of East Pakistan. It is the role and responsibility of a nation to produce intelligent and honest leaders for future-making. Ironically, Pakistani neo-colonial systems have kept old and the obsolete to run the country. After 50 years of corrupt history, Pakistan is back to most hated and indicted criminals – the known traitors as leaders with the help of few Generals. Nations cease to exist when educated people of new generations who could have replaced the old and redundant guards leave the country and never return to build the nation. Young educated generations embark on migrating to Europe or America and never come back.
Wherever Generals bring coups, nations opt to conflicts, deaths and ultimate destruction of civility. Generals and Judges do not develop nations or civilizations but educated, thinking hubs and people of knowledge and vision. Today, the nation is crippled with catastrophic events of insecurity, non-productivity, mismanagement and socioeconomic and political exploitation. They view “power” and “Pakistan” as their own property. They are the wrong people, with wrong thinking and doing the wrong things.
Imran Khan inherited a highly corrupt infested culture of political governance. Although Khan spoke of moral and intellectual values and nation-building, he did very little to support that agenda. Khan could have arranged evidence-based legal prosecution of Sharif brothers, Zardari and others for corruption, killings and stolen wealth but failed to do so. He did not kill anybody nor robbed any banks and political governance was infested with corrupt figures of the past.
Tyranny is Powerless and Nation Needs Legal Justice and New Systems of Political Governance
The besieged and morally inept few Generals using Sharif brothers will curb any open investigation to their alleged crimes and dismantle public institutions of accountability for a fair and just national elections. The few Generals and Sharif brothers are egomaniacs with an overwhelming pathological urge for political power to distort and reject the will and aspirations of the people of Pakistan striving for political change. Tyranny is always powerless and transitory. Imran Khan and some 20,000 of his party supporters have been imprisoned under false pretext of political vengeance and to pave the way for another opening to the crime riddled Sharif family. Is there a hope for justice to the cause of the masses? A reconstruction and overhaul of the law and justice system and non-intervention by the Generals into politics and transfer of political power to the majority elected leader and party. It is a long way to build a working democracy in Pakistan. To safeguard the future of national freedom, the few Generals and top Judges should be tried for violations of the Constitution, human rights, arrests of innocent masses and fake cases against Khan at the ICJ and ICC, The Hague? The possibility is there for public legal accountability including a firing squad to cleanse the stinking garbage.
Pakistan needs an urgent navigational change but few Generals and judges are part of the problem. The current state of Pakistani affairs reflects a complete societal breakdown and march towards self-annihilation. Despite the hollow claims of few Generals, no moral and ethical behavior is seen in the sudden and inexplicable plunge to human wickedness highlighting the affairs of the besieged nation. They would claim democracy at work when the majority winning party (PTI) is being blocked to form the next legitimate government and masses are outraged and oppose the Generals and Judges lacking respect, professional integrity and impartiality to serve the nation. The new generations of conscientious Pakistani will curse a few Generals and the Chief Justice for their alleged conspiracy to dehumanize the Islamic culture of rights and obligations of the masses. All they could get in return from the US covert operation is dry milk, used clothes and perhaps green cards to migrate to the US and keep their identities secret for reasons of pending justice and futuristic legal accountability. Have they not learned what happened to Saddam Hussein, Khadafi, Musharaf and the Shah of Iran?
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution, Germany
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