Daily Times

There is a saying in Punjabi “ek boti laye bakra mar ditta”. It translates as “killing a whole sheep to eat one piece of meat.” That is exactly what happened in Pakistan. Sharifs and Zardari wanted to end accountability. PM Shahbaz Sharif and CM Hamza were on the verge of indictment for money laundering. It is a well-documented case that would have led to convictions. They rushed to become pawns in a conspiracy to bring down PM IK. The country is damned they had to save their skin.

It is a tragic chapter in our chequered history. The last time we faced such a life and death situation was when Pakistan was truncated creating Bangladesh. Foreign intervention backed by domestic politicians led to that disaster. It was fueled by incapable military leadership. History has repeated itself. All the three actors are in play. This time around it is not a military debacle; it is going to be an economic meltdown.

Our strategic location is our strength, yet it is also our greatest vulnerability. Efforts have been made to castrate us militarily since the end of the first Afghan war. Blocking the sale of weapons, economic sanctions, and subservient dictators and politicians were the tools deployed. They all failed to pierce the impregnable defence shield. Chinese assistance and strategic moves by our military leadership contributed to maintaining our capabilities. We were able to circumvent all barriers and roadblocks.

Efforts have been made to castrate us militarily since the end of the first Afghan war.

When it became evident to our detractors that this strategy was not working, they switched to plan B. Economic enslavement. Rather than a frontal attack, they intensified efforts toward penetrating our ruling elite. The speed with which they succeeded must have surprised them too. Our national debt during Musharraf stood at 4 billion. Within a decade it jumped to 28 billion. After eliminating a nationalist leader, Benazir Bhutto paved the way for Zardari to take over PPP. The London agreement called “Misaak e jumhuriat” was reached between the two mainstream parties.

They agreed to take turns in ruling Pakistan with the sole purpose of enriching themselves. President Musharraf facilitated them by giving them NRO 1. First to Nawaz Sharif by letting him flee the country, after wiping his slate clean. Second to Benazir Bhutto, allowing her to re-enter the country. His sole purpose was to extend his own rule. He failed miserably and saddled us with the most corrupt rulers this nation has ever endured.

While the duo plundered the nations’ wealth, the detractors must be laughing as the country moved at a supersonic speed of putting a noose around its neck of sovereign debt. Who are these detractors? India and USA lead them along with the Western Powers who share their goals. Pakistan lags far behind India when viewed from the size of both markets. However, it jumps to the forefront when viewed from the lens of containment of China. India is the strategic ally that always gets a boost when Democrats are in power.

The downward slide of Pakistan stemmed when PM IK came to power. He embarked on a trajectory that did not suit India and the West. He took matters to a new level in exposing the Hinduvita agenda of PM Modi. He raised issues like Islamophobia and attempted to unify the Islamic World. Topping it all, he made serious inroads towards economic independence. These efforts had begun to bear fruits. The figures given in recent financial reports were already known to those wanting to push Pakistan away from China and improve energy ties with Russia.

Plans were hatched to remove PM IK. One is confounded by the recent statement of DG ISPR. Do our intelligence agencies have inroads into conspiracies hatched behind closed doors in far-off capitals? Really? I urge our powerful Establishment to stop embarrassing themselves by taking such untenable positions. Who did they replace the IK regime with? The most corrupt, self-centred and incompetent regime that has nose-dived our economy.

The recent budget has no basis, all its numbers are termed as provisional. They have let loose a price hike that will make life a living hell for the poor and salaried class. Progress made in three-plus years has been frittered away in less than three months. There is no respite in sight. PM Sharif embarked on fruitless trips to seek loans from friendly countries. He was too embarrassed to reach out to China, so the Army Chief went there as a proxy. Why would China support a regime that has been expressly brought in to further its containment?

It is no longer about politics. It is the survival of the country that is at stake. The Sharifs and Zardari fulfilled their personal agendas by crippling NAB. All the stand-up officials investigating the corrupt are either dead or headed for that fate. In this age of social media, all the actors within Pakistan stand totally exposed. Since Z A Bhutto, it is for the first time that the public is united and has seen through this unholy alliance.

All was not well under PTI. I have been critical of PM IK for saddling us with Buzdar. However, the people have gone past his failings and have united against the bigger evil. In this dangerous game of attempting to dismember Pakistan, only the masses can prevent this unholy matrimony from being consummated. They must turn out en masse to force the hand of those in power to hold free and fair elections for Pakistan’s sake.

The writer is the director of CERF, a non-profit, charitable organisation in Canada.