Pakistan Needs Navigational Change

Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

“Nations are built by proactive visionary thinkers, intellectuals and leaders, not by the military dictators or the bootlickers of the foreign masters, uneducated and egomaniac neo-colonial stage actors pretending to be politicians and pursuing their egoistic political agendas.”

Pakistan desperately needs a navigational change to return to its original roots of participatory democracy and a new foreign policy disconnecting its coercive partnership with the US-British led bogus war on terrorism. For Pakistan’s sustainable future, a non-partisan government of national unity under new leadership should be the immediate action replacing the corrupt and illegitimate Zardari gang, and ceasing the confrontational strategy in North Waziristan and demanding immediate withdrawal of the American and British troops from Afghanistan.

The Western strategic drawing boards envisage the planned destruction of the Islamic Pakistan from within rather than from the outside. The external linkages are publicly known that the US has installed the most corrupt political regime under Zardari replacing General Musharaf who was fast becoming a liability on the CIA sponsored ongoing wars against Islam. Because of Pakistan’s nuclear capability and unique position in the Islamic world, long before the 9/11 incidents, the Western strategic mythologists were articulating scenarios of Pakistan being “the most dangerous place on earth”, “the rouge state”, and the “hub of Islamic extremism” to threaten the Western political interests and strategic presence in the Arabian gulf region. After the 9/11, the American and British political lobbyists zeroed-in on Pakistan as the epicenter of “Islamic terrorism.” The American leadership and the neocons needed this escape from reality to reinforce “fear” as strategy in the hearts and minds of the America masses and to implement the PNAC ( Project for the New American Century), Plan for political domination of the oil-gas rich resources of the Middle East and Central Asia. Ignorant Pakistani military rulers like General Musharaf and cheap politicians were bought and bribed by foreign powers to make Pakistanis look-like terrorist enabling them to remake the global crusade against Islam. The mainstream Western news media was one of the innovative weapons used by the US-British political strategists. The NYT front page headlines (July 2007) reaffirmed that “Pakistani Generals are paid to do the job.”  The Washington Post characterized General Musharaf in cartoon as “dog” that Commander Bush trusts as an ally. Was it an insult to Muslim Pakistan or was it a real world reflection how America sees the bootlicking General Musharaf standing before his Master. Musharaf was not a leaders but a stupid and timid soldier coerced by George Bush, Candeelica Rice, George Tenet (CIA Director) and General Powell to wage war against the Taliban run Afghanistan. The military dictator had no sense of the national interests of Pakistan. Musharaf did what no other responsible and intelligent could have done to join hands and allow Pakistani territory and facilities for the US warmongering. Consequently, the country is stampeded, its economic and social life ruined and so are its peace loving and simple people with destroyed social and natural habitats. While Pakistan and the nation is strangulated by the foreign powers, Musharaf lives happily in London $1.4 million flat, protected by the British security force. The end goal is chaos and destruction of the Muslim nation. The US used the same blueprint to enlist the allegiance of the Iraq Generals (22-24 or so) before and after the downfall of Saddam Hussein regime. Most were flown out of Baghdad, the day Iraq fell to US-British aggression in March 2003.

Ignorant military Generals, Bhuttos, Sharifs, Zardaris and few nameless feudal landlords and assembly rubber stampers always keen to change sides in political horse trading with one political entity or another called members of the National Assembly or the Senate - the misplaced people known as bogus agents of influence to carry on the usual political business in Islamabad. There are wrong people in the assemblies and political governance, and there are wrong people out of the governance and political assemblies devoid of reason and people’s representation.

Over the decades, if you want to be an active politician, you must have membership in some crime syndicate or a kind of political mafia gang specializing in looting and killing of the masses and doing what no civilized people could imagine to be fair, rational  and tolerable in this age and time. Then, you will be a successful politician in Pakistan. The net outcome of this phenomenon is the Pakistan’s primitive dirty politics overwhelmed with military dictators consuming more than forty years of the national lifeline and its precious time and resources and producing Bhutto family, Sharif family, the obedient civil bureaucrats and few splinter groups to combine the mafia run governance of Islamic Pakistan.  The nation MUST assume the responsibility for the time and opportunities lost and the current political extremism. The Generals, Musharaf, Bhuttos, Zardaris and Sharifs could not have done it alone. There are hundreds and thousands of their accomplices actively engaged in stealing the national financial resources, precious time and opportunities of the nation. Institutionalized corruption is not a one man job. Perhaps, these figures should be seen as corrupt leaders but not as absolute persons responsible for all the existing cruelties, mismanagement and stolen wealth and future of the nation. When people live in constant fear over certain period, they lose self-respect and sense of direction and start getting use to the oppressor and living under conditions to strive for the survival of the fittest.

Pakistan faces multiple problems.  But there are no real world public institutions or leadership to THINK of the viable alternatives, conflict management and conflict resolution. After more than forty years of the military rule and continued political corruption of the few ruling elite who have endangered the very foundation and integrity of our homeland. For its survival, Pakistan must be re-connected to its ideological foundation of Islam as a system of life. Otherwise, its people have no other credible identity. Viewing the bigger picture from North America, we see an emerging collaborative understanding at work between the current corrupt and criminal political elite (PPP and MQM), the US and India to encourage and instigate internal political disruptions and bloodbaths and to dismantle the physical body of the nation over certain period of time.

Pakistan is politically chaotic, weak and torn apart between foreign dictated conflicts. It is not operational from a position of strength but extreme weakness and vulnerability to foreign dictates and ultimate self-destruction. Pakistan needs a NAVIGATIONAL CHANGE in policies and national priorities to regain political institutions, different military role and intelligent and accountable political governance. But where would this change come from?  Who would THINK and PLAN for the change?  The US and Britain are fighting against Islam and Muslims, not friends of Pakistan or Afghanistan. Their strategic plans include annihilation of Muslim Pakistan to restore supremacy of India and secularism.  A different course of policy and action is needed to stop the emerging internal militancy, daily bloodbaths of the civilians, destruction of the social and economic lifelines of the nation. After decades of martial laws (rule of the jungle) and established political institutions of corruption across the board, how do you imagine to plan and devise strategies for sustainable change?  Zardari is not a leader or thinker but an indicted criminal and has no capability to think of change. The Generals can only march left and right, cannot THINK of the nation-building. They failed miserably to defend its national interest and are bootlickers of America and Britain, the colonial masters. There is no defined systematic mechanism for political change. Since its inception, and shortly after the death of Mohammad Ali Jinnah - Qaide-Azam, power was not transferred peacefully to any elected officials or political establishments. There were military coups and backdoor conspiracies to assume the leadership role. Most of the time, by ignorant and arrogant ex-colonial politicians or families, not the enlightened and responsible new generation of educated Pakistanis who could have, for sure taken a different route for change and development of the nation. They have been denied all opportunities for participation except through coercion and political disruption. How could the problem of much needed change and political reformation be addressed under the present circumstances?  There is no single remedy or diagnostic pill to cure the sickness but many non-violent and peaceful avenues to further the goal of change and reformation.

The common citizen could make the difference as did the Italian masses two decades earlier against the institutionalized corrupted politics run by mafia gangs. A new strategy of open public marches/demonstration for unity and Islamic solidarity will be helpful in short terms. It could discourage the blood baths engineered by extremist groups and send-out a strong message of national unity organized by the people. Non-violent and continued peaceful public demonstrations could reverse the thoughts and strategies of the enemy of Islam and Pakistan. We are of the opinion that Pakistan URGENTLY needs a non-partisan government of national unity to deal with the current emergencies and to evolve institutional capacity-building for change and reformation of the neo-colonialism and a promising future based on the Islamic system of life. Pakistan needs a non-partisan government of national unity replacing the PPP self-proclaimed regime. Pakistan needs a major policy shift asking the US and Britain to immediately withdraw their military forces from Afghanistan. The overwhelming presences of foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan have catastrophic impacts on political, economic and social life in Pakistan and its future. For change to come into force, Pakistan needs a new leadership and a new foresight way from the military engagements and self-destined destruction pursued by the stupid military Generals and the Zardari regime. It can be done by a non-partisan visionary, educated and intelligent leadership. There are number of pertinent issues to be addressed for clarifications:

1. The current PPP government was not elected by the people of Pakistan but is an outcome of the ambiguous arrangement undertaken by the former military dictator with active foreign sponsorship. Its legitimacy is questionable as are many other individual acts of General Musharaf. Pakistan as it stands does not have a democratic government representing the will of the people.

2. Pakistan must devise a new foreign policy to disengage its affiliation with the US sponsored bogus War on Terrorism. It should demand an immediate withdrawal of all the foreign forces from Afghanistan and its border regions.
   
   
   3. The current rulers are simply wasting the precious time and energies of the nation for nothing else except for their personal survival. For Zardari, Gilani and the gang, the right place is a court of law on charges of corruption and dishonesty to the interest of the people. Pakistan is vulnerable to all kinds of mishaps. The Bhutto-Zardari family based PPP has a treacherous history of manipulations and failure. Pakistan must detach itself from this coercively glued relationship.
   
   4. The incoming non-partisan government should set up a commission of competent intellectuals, lawyers and professionals to devise a new political system and encourage new generation of educated Pakistanis to participate, lead and build the political future of the nation.

 5. There should be learning opportunities for others to pursue change and reformation goal by holding legal trials of General Musharaf and his colleagues, Zardari, Gilani and many other associated with the institutionalized corruption. Those civilians who were victimized by theses gangsters must be compensated.

6. Pakistan has lost the operational capacity to endure any more emergencies.
Its essential energies of positive thinking and producing the things and national resources were wasted by the stupid and corrupt rulers. The nation has LOST too much over the years: half of Pakistan, rationale for Kashmir, public institutions of originality of THINKING and ACTION, opportunities to have educated people lead the 21^st century developed Pakistan. The Generals and the military sponsored so called politicians have sucked out the positive energies of the nation, leaving behind a skeleton under the IMF debts of $60. Billions or so without any accountability. The remaining skeleton could be further broken by the on-going conspiracies and warmongering of the enemies of Islam and Pakistan actively pursuing their plans from within and externally. To safeguard the present and future of Pakistan, change is the best strategy to ensure a sustainable future for the nation.

“Allah does not change the condition of the people unless first they change themselves.”