Daily Times

The formation of PNA at the behest of some powers and its no-holds-barred offensive election campaign poisoned the political landscape of the country. With insinuations and innuendos that Bhutto was an illegitimate son of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto from his Hindu keep was the extremity of the political and moral waywardness on the part of certain PNA stalwarts. The PNA leaders were deluded by their big public meetings in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar into believing that their victory in the elections was around the corner though all the nonpartisan political analysts had given a clear edge to the ruling PPP over PNA. What did the outcome of these elections bring in its wake is the most bitter and controversial part of our political history.

With the advent of dictator Zia-ul-Haq, the country lost what semblance of honesty and integrity, dignity, secular convictions, and religious tolerance we have had in our national life. Gradually engulfing the society were corruption, sectarian bigotry, political fragmentation, institutional degradation, suppression of expression and assemblage. The labour and student unions were disbanded and political activities were banned transforming the country into a concentration camp.

Slowly, the nation sank into stillness and apathy. It was not the stillness that precedes a tempest. It was a despondency that leads to resignation and suffering. The Frankenstein’s monster of the religious and sectarian bigotry and jihadi spirit once let loose by the General defied all the subsequent attempts to rein it in. We have watched our subsequent generations grow in a frightful atmosphere of violence and insecurity.

It is generally believed funds were appropriated by people in power instead of improving the roads and streets of their constituencies.

Unfortunately, the offensive language making inroads into the political lexicon in 1977 – followed by the tyranny perpetrated by the ruling military junta on the PPP workers – did not undergo any positive change. The post-Zia general elections witnessed intensive use of foul language and electioneering tactics to discredit the Bhutto ladies. Even this offensive language echoed in the National Assembly. Being a highly educated lady and a scion of a world-famous political family, Muhtarma Benazir could not answer to her opponents in the same coin and had to clear her tear-filled eyes at least three times in the 1990s.

Another political waywardness in the national politics dating back to the Zia period was the ‘lotacracy’ and the official encouragement of corruption in the form of heavy financial dole-outs to nonparty MNAs and MPAs for development works. This political bribe was simply aimed at controlling the loyalties of the so-called public representatives elected on a nonparty basis. This ominous practice soon became the norm of our political life. There has since been no audit of these funds. It is generally believed the funds were appropriated by these people instead of improving the roads and streets of their constituencies. Anyhow, it was not the job of the MNAs and MPAs to undertake development works to the peril of their mandatory duty of legislation.

The violence in our society dates back to the past military governments. Balochistan has borne the brunt of this violence. This has enormously weakened our federal bonds. This should have long ago come to a negotiated end in a democratic state. We can also do it if there is resolve and sincerity to learn a lesson from the earlier unwelcome blunders. The adversarial forces from our eastern and western borders have been taking advantage of the division in our house aggravating our national insecurity.

We had pinned hopes on Dr Malik’s administration in Balochistan to address this issue of missing persons and find a negotiated solution to the decade-long insurgency. Dr Malik had sound credentials as a nationalist student leader and could have initiated dialogue with the nationalists to arrive at a compromise within the constitutional framework to end this violent struggle. He was not given the needed leeway to play his role in this chronic insurgency by the powers that may be. His administration was replaced by the more pliable PMLn government under Sardar Sanaullah Zehri. The PTI federal administration failed to take any initiative to resolve this imbroglio though Imran Khan had once expressed his desire for reconciliation.

The foul language in our political discourse we complain of it today pales into a trivial if contrasted with the offensive political discourse of the mid-1970s and onwards against Bhuttos which was more spiteful, disparaging and personal.

With the advent of dictator Zia-ul-Haq, the country lost many traits of our earlier national life – politics of modesty and integrity, honour and dignity, secular convictions, and religious tolerance. Gradually engulfing our society were corruption, sectarian bigotry, political fragmentation, clan loyalties, institutional degradation, suppression of expression and assemblage. The labour and student unions were disbanded and political activities restrained transforming the country into a concentration camp. Slowly, the nation sank into stillness or apathy. It was not the stillness that precedes a tempest. It was a despondency that leads to resignation and suffering. The Frankenstein’s monster of the religious and sectarian bigotry and jihadi spirit once let loose by the General defied all the subsequent attempts to rein it in. We have watched our two generations grow in a frightful atmosphere of violence and insecurity.

The violence in Balochistan has greatly weakened our federal bonds. This should come to a negotiated end. Can we do it? We can do it if there is resolve and sincerity to get past the earlier unwelcome blunders in our brief history. The adversarial forces from our eastern and western borders have been taking advantage of the division in our house aggravating our national insecurity.

We had pinned a lot of hopes on Dr Malik’s administration in Balochistan to address this issue of missing persons and find a negotiated solution to the decade-long insurgency. Dr Malik had sound credentials as a nationalist student leader and could have initiated dialogue with the nationalists to arrive at a compromise within the constitutional framework and federal bounds to end this violent struggle. He was not given the needed leeway to play his role in this chronic violent struggle by the powers that have been confronting this insurgency.

(Concluded)

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books.