Daily Times

The two governments, Punjab and federal, both find it convenient to divert attention from their colossal failures. This time, once again, they have looked for a diversion. Pakistan’s political history is marred with mismanagement, corruption, ethnic strife and incapability of the governments to handle issues and make plans to take the country forward. But the current government in Islamabad and the one in Lahore have beaten all previous records of incompetence and mismanagement.

Recently, they were confronted with the Raymond Davis issue. Both the governments looked at the issue in a state of stupefaction. The issue started to grow. Of course, the rightists grabbed the opportunity to push the government onto the back foot. The Khadim-e-Aala found it convenient to leave the baby in the lap of the federal government. The federal government, to get a breather, found it convenient to involve the courts. This suited everyone, this running away from responsibility.

But this is not the only crisis the two governments are facing at this time. Power, expensive food, rising prices, law and order, corruption and a financial crisis are part of a very long list. So they need to look for scapegoats for their failures. The usual method is to declare the cause of all failures to be the problems ‘inherited’ from the past — the past when Musharraf was in charge. Unfortunately for them, the mud they threw at him did not stick in most cases.

There is another difficulty for the PPP. The Benazir Bhutto (BB) murder investigation has been delayed beyond any reasonable limit. There were obvious efforts to divert attention with propaganda and reliance on the UN investigation. It is not the function of the UN but it liked the fat fee and submitted a useless report. The report provided the PPP with nothing more than a few months of waiting time. One wonders why they were looking for delays as there were investigations in progress already! Baitullah Mehsud’s terrorists were under interrogation and the case seemed fairly straightforward. The president of Pakistan stated the involvement of Baitullah Mehsud. This was a credible claim because Benazir Bhutto could never have been acceptable to the terror outfit. All the more lethal would have been a Benazir-Musharraf combination, which was in the offing! For the vested interests, both needed to be eliminated. BB was eliminated through terror and Musharraf escaped all attempts. So the interest of some could be served if they involved Musharraf in the murder of BB. This is the ugliest political manoeuvre in the history of politics in this country. But it suits the PPP in power at the Centre and the PML-N in power in Punjab. This is how it fulfils their agenda:

The PML-N can mobilise its right-wing supporters against Musharraf and divert attention from their own failures, including the mess up of the case of Raymond Davis. Additional benefit can be obtained if Raymond Davis is handed over to the US authorities in compliance with the Vienna Convention. Then a further campaign of rallies will help weaken the PPP government. Plus, in the background of the demands of the PML-N not being fulfilled, a massive agitation can be launched to bring the PPP government down. Finally, the PML-N chief’s burning desire to take personal revenge from Musharraf will have a chance to be fulfilled. So it suits them to get Musharraf on the accused list for the BB murder.

On the other hand, the physically tall prime minister has proved to be a pigmy in the management of national affairs. Has he done anything right? A television channel on Tuesday counted 17 U-turns in his decisions since the PPP came to power. His favouritism in appointments, the exposure of his family and friends in massive corruption and his inability to make timely decisions, are only part of an endless list. His ministries have tried to survive by putting the blame on Musharraf for everything that has gone wrong. This mud did not stick because the masses knew for a fact that the eight years of Musharraf’s government were better, and life was not as difficult as it is now. They also wonder that, if the situation was potentially so bad, then why did the PPP take responsibility and not allow Musharraf to continue to handle it?

A good number of people in society also suspect some key figures of the PPP as being involved in the BB murder in one way or the other, covertly or actively, or at least they let it happen. BB, in her wisdom, agreed to work with Musharraf because it was the need of the hour. This arrangement did not suit those who are the beneficiaries of the power bonanza after her murder. They must have been looking for an ‘approver’ and may have tortured or enticed someone to accept that notorious and shameful position that Masud Mahmud accepted in the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Zia’s regime of terror. So, after almost four years of delaying this case, another element is required to divert public attention away from the real issues. Now, again, ex-President Pervez Musharraf is being made a scapegoat. A lower court in Islamabad has issued his warrants of arrest in the BB murder case.

However, what the PPP government is forgetting is that they are falling into a trap by the rightists, fully supported by elements in the PML-N who are in collusion with them. The only sensible thing for the PPP government is to pick up the courage and get out of the PML-N slavery that is championed by the prime minister. This slavery is good only for his own perpetuation. The PPP must try to regain its progressive commitment and not live by compromises, even if it has to sit in the opposition at this time. The PPP’s only raison d’être is its commitment to progressive thought. People accept its shortcomings because of the party motto. It has, in the recent past, let down hardcore party supporters. The PPP/PML-N combine can keep blaming Musharraf but the end of the current governments is not likely to be delayed by these tactics.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor