Pakistan, since day one of its life, has been ruled by the mullah-military-feudal alliance with absolute power. Lately, the capitalist has also emerged as a claimant to state power and entered the fray with a love-hate relationship with the former ones. In combination, these are the forces of the status quo since they are the beneficiaries of the existing system of governance. In order to save and safeguard the system based on discrimination, domination and exploitation, they collaborate, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, with each other to confront and contain the forces of real change. In a country like Pakistan, nationalist movements and class struggles of the downtrodden masses are the real forces of change since they are the victims of this unjust, exploitative and discriminatory system. In their endeavour to mislead the masses, the status quo forces stage false and fictitious encounters to stave off the real threat coming from the forces of change. The latest of such ‘encounters’ was the one recently staged in Islamabad with the men of a maulana (Tahirul-Qadri) and a congregation of feudal lords (the PPP-led government), and depicted as opposing armies though both belonged to the same alliance. The way events unfolded and the happenings were handled revealed that everything was going according to a script. In fact, some people described the scenario in these very words. Just a cursory look at the rulers’ attitude towards the actors of real political, economic and social change i.e. the nationalists and socialists/communists, compared with the Qadri phenomenon, will suffice to prove the point beyond doubt. Communists, who have been facing and enduring criticism for their support to the creation of Pakistan (on the basis of the two-nation theory), have been barred and excluded from the political process for most of Pakistan’s life. Their party has been banned and their leaders arrested, incarcerated, tortured (to death in a few cases) and exiled (within and without the country). Their properties have been confiscated and their publications banned. All this for their ‘crime’ of asking and struggling for breaking the status quo and changing the system in favour of the majority toiling masses. The treatment meted out to the nationalists of Bengal, Sindh, Balochistan and Pakhtunkhwa has not been much different either. And their crime? They wanted to make Pakistan a true federation, a voluntary ‘union of autonomous, socialist states’. They tried to make Pakistan a secular country with equal opportunities for all citizens without any religious discrimination. They asked for peace in the region and friendly relations with the neighbours. They called for preservation and promotion of their respective cultures and languages. They claimed the first right over their resources. And the state response was that they were declared traitors, anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan; they were branded enemies of democracy and agents of ‘enemy countries’. They were subjected to all kinds of suppression and oppression (the details would need a separate book, perhaps more than one). And all the state institutions were the culprits. Governments framed policies and made decisions, courts (mis)used the law to sanctify them and the military used gun to implement them, while the press/media used their pen to justify all this. In Dr Tahirul Qadri’s show, all these actors came in different colours and played a different role. Whatever he said and asked for was ‘illogical, illegal and unconstitutional’, according to all organs of government, all political parties and all media (print and electronic). In addition, he was a citizen of a ‘western country’. Yet none of these ‘patriots’ called him anti-state, traitor, enemy of democracy or agent of a foreign country. On the contrary, he was made a ‘hero’ out of nothing. First of all, despite all his threats, warnings and deadlines, Dr Qadri was given a safe and secure passage to come to Islamabad. Not only to Islamabad but to the place of his choice adjacent to the ‘Red Zone’, including parliament house, the Supreme Court and the seat of government, which is otherwise considered the most ‘sacred’ even for a bird to fly. There he threatened to occupy the parliament house. But neither parliament was moved nor the Supreme Court — the custodian of the constitution — took notice nor the army — the guardians of the sacred land — came into action. On the contrary, the government sent a big delegation comprising ministers and senior leaders of all the allied parties for talks that resulted in an agreement signed by the prime minister and the ‘Allama’ as the two opposing parties. The agreement was described as a victory of democracy by the same ministers/leaders who had, just a few hours earlier, ridiculed the maulana. It was an agreement with a person who had already declared the end of the government and the beginning of ‘revolution’, calling the president, the prime minister and the ministers as ‘former’. Now the question is what made things change so abruptly within 18 hours that the ‘belligerent’ parties were hugging and honouring each other with democratic credentials? What motivated the government party to go to a ‘rogue’ person and find a hero in yesterday’s villain? What inspired Dr Tahirul Qadri to ink an agreement with ‘thieves, dacoits, looters and plunderers’ and erase the line between the ‘armies of Hussain and Yazid’? This ‘metaphysical’ force is widely believed, nationally and internationally, to be the third partner of the ruling alliance: the military. The later entrant of the ruling clique — the capitalist — stayed at a distance from the stage. The last but the most important question is what is the centripetal force that brings these people of ostensibly divergent views and varied ways so close in the twinkle of an eye, turns ‘foes’ into friends within no time and what is the reason behind the contrasting attitude of the rulers to the two sets of people? The answer is short and simple: vested interest. The mullah-military-feudal combine has a vested interest in the existing system. Since they are its beneficiaries, they want to maintain the status quo. And for that purpose they need to restrict and restrain the forces of change (nationalists, leftists and democrats), oppress and suppress them and, if possible, defeat and destroy them. To avoid and avert the impending real clash (of interests) they create such ‘encounters’ with the people of same interest. To take steam out of the wrath of the people and divert their attention, they manage to stage such high-profile dramas. This story cannot be completed without a word for our ‘’beloved’ media, who also play their role to promote such engineered ‘battlefields’ and project such artificial warriors instead of real issues and true struggles. The writer is Chairman of Jeay Sindh Mahaz and can be reached at khaliquej@hotmail.com