Common masses and a land of confusion by Senator A. Rehman Malik

Pakistan has become land of confusion where a normal Pakistani passes through a phase of confusion irrespective of his social status. The confusion and fear have become integral part of our system. Either we are confused or we are dealing with a confused situation on the other end. Our government servants are confused as to whether or not they should take a decision in a matter before them for the reasons that if bureaucrats take the decision on merit then their political bosses may get annoyed and if they take decisions as per the wish of their political bosses, then they may invite the wrath of NAB or FIA eventually landing them in the jail and when they see many of their colleagues in trouble they get more worried and confused. This state of confusion eventually contributes towards delay in the disposal of official matters at the cost of miseries of the general public and the efficiency of the governance. The government functionaries are confused and sandwiched between their political masters and fear of accountability. As we speak, most of the government departments are almost shut down as far as the important issues are concerned, where a decision is required with application of mind with prudence.

Policy makers and decision makers are being seen as crippled. There is no doubt that the fear of accountability is the best yard stick for good governance but governance works on system and strong foundations of any system are dependant on the performance of the institutions. The system has been deteriorated and is suffering from a virus of nepotism and corruption, and few law enforcement actions can not rectify the situation unless the system is overhauled as a national priority.

What we see today is that public dealing offices have continued to indulge in corruption and despite the fear of NAB and FIA, the level of corruption is the same and many continue their activities with immunity. When general public faces this treatment at the hands of corrupt government servants, they turned more confused as to whether these government servants are responsible for providing relief to the general public or the other way around. Pakistan is today ranked 117th in the list of 180 corrupt countries. There has been an estimated $3-4 billion flight of capital from Pakistan to Gulf States in last two years in addition to serious brain drain.

A petitioner enters the court with great hope to get relief but he has to face the same state of treatment from everyone who is connected to his petition in any manner like lawyer, the ‘munshis’ of the lawyer and the officials of the court. The petitioner gets confused over the working of the judicial system where rather than getting any relief, he is put under more stress in terms of his time, money and mental tension. His confusion forces him to say goodbye to his claim to get relief and many have died while waiting for justice whereas justice is the key to prosperity and progress of a nation. The question needs to be examined is: if the criminal justice system has multiple confusions or the justice seeker is confused. It is the high time to sort out this national tragedy.

A strong political system is guarantee to the real democracy and democracy gets stronger by the implementation of the Constitution.

Now we have yet to see that our political system is free of multiple confusions and present time is displaying worst model of confusion. The Government, opposition, political parties and institution are unable to deliver to the masses. It is an era of blame games to each other and every leader is talking of bringing “Tabdeeli” (change) but none wants to bring Tandeeli within himself.

What tabdeeli are we talking about and what good have we – the politicians and institutions – brought so far? Response is ‘none’. Can we claim that we are a nation of unity? No. Or as a nation do we have consensus on our major policies, the response is again no. Have we rectified our economic parameters? Have we stopped begging from others? No. Have we set a course to retire our debts to get our coming generation debt free? The answer is again No. Have we given a doable action plan to alleviate the confusion of the masses? The answer is no. Have we done some improvement in our policing and criminal justice programme? No. Have we given the people a national health programme? Again, no.

If a leader believes only in furious speeches and abuses, and makes tall claims then one rightly questions as to what the leadership is giving in terms of relief to a common man? Can the political slogans give food to the poor and can these slogans get good education and health to the children? Can the paid and sponsored big public gatherings bring any relief to the masses? When the common man hears the tall slogans in rallies or on the TV screen he gets further confused, as there is no qualitative change in his life as he continue to suffer the hammer of poverty and poverty continues to multiply his miseries. Pakistan is ranked 53rd among top poorest countries of the world and still we boast of improvement in the economy but doing nothing to improve it. 2017 brought a decline in exports by 3.3pc from $25billion in 2016 to $20 billion. Currencies value to dollar shows we are even worst than Bangladesh and India: 1 dollar = 83.09 BD Taka and 1 dollar = 65.04 Indian Rupees.

This growing poverty is driving Pakistan below the poverty line and the poor man under false promises once again votes for the politicians with the hope that perhaps this time the vote may bring changes to his life. He is confused between vote and change and it adds further to his confusion and miseries. These continued miseries and disappointment of masses can create non-ending conflict between rich and poor and that would be a dangerous situation, which needs to be averted in the national interest. According to 2016 analysis report, nearly 39 per cent of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty, with the highest rates of poverty in FATA and Baluchistan. 29.5 (55 million people) per cent of country’s population is living below the poverty line.

Now is the time that planning should be done for the poor and produce at least two budgets to alleviate poverty. Currently, the elites are the masters of the politics in the country and imagine the scenario when the poor masses decide to grab the power politics eventually making the elite political forces to cry “ Hamain Kiyun Nikala”.

These are my personal feeling as close observer of human behaviour in the country. I have dealt with many people from junior civil servants to senior most positions and then interior minister and now dealing as a parliamentarian and I find a kind of dissatisfaction in the eyes of a common man and the common man is now clearly feeling the gap between the elite class and poor. Will our policies ever narrow this gap or it will further widen the gulf of discontentment to the disadvantage of the country. The State has to think why a poor family is forced to sell a child to be used as a suicide bomber and why a father kills himself and his children. This is all due to poverty driven episodes in our society. 2017 statistics have shown that 22.6 million children (44pc) in Pakistan are still out of school and this reflects on our education policy.

An unofficial survey conducted over a period of two years in 2017, reported over 300 suicidal deaths in Pakistan from 35 different cities. The findings showed that men outnumber women by 2:1. The reasons include unemployment, health issues, poverty, homelessness, and economic depression. Pakistan is ranked as 4th unsafe country in the world and in this given situation who is going to invest with us?

This is called communal confusion. The nation has a right to ask as to why are we behind the developing world when we have rich natural resources and vast land for cultivation. The nation has also right to ask as to why we have failed to properly explore our rich natural resources to the advantage of the people of Pakistan. Are we waiting for divine help, which will make Pakistan a prosperous country? Even “God helps those who help themselves”.

Let us all work together to get the nation out of this state of confusion.

The Article has been published in “THE NATION” on April 09, 2018.

Link to original Article:- Common masses and a land of confusion by Senator A. Rehman Malik

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto – a visionary leader by Senator A. Rehman Malik

4th April is a black day in the history of Pakistan; that witnessed the judicial murder of a great charismatic public leader Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1979 – a day that was actually the death of humanity and the voice of the masses.

History will neither forgive nor forget the murder of a leader who wanted to make us progressive and peaceful, take us towards national integrity and prosperity by empowering the masses, and by making Pakistan the first Muslim nuclear power in the world. He had feared that Pakistan will be exposed to external danger by the neighboring India therefore announced “we (Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb), we have no other choice”.

Bhutto refused to succumb to the international pressure to roll back Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Gerald Feuerstein, who was a witness to the meeting between the then Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and then US secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Lahore in August 1976, had admitted in an interview that Bhutto rejected the warning to roll back or compromise over Pakistan’s nuclear programme.

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had pain in his heart for his people, country and Muslim ummah, and he made history by bringing the Muslim ummah on one platform during Islamic Summit Conference in Lahore in 1974. He was not only a distinguished national leader but also an unparalleled statesman who revived a broken nation after the disaster of the fall of Dhaka by bringing back 90,000 prisoners of war.

The public must know that the enemies of Pakistan decided his elimination after refused the rollback of the nuclear programme despite the numerous pressures and threats of making him a “horrible example.

The CIA hatched a plan to block communism, using Islam through General Zia ul Haq. He preached his own brand of Islam wherein he promoted extremists, terrorists and all kind of criminals under the name of Jehadis. These extremists and criminal elements were brought and nourished by USA in Pakistan for launching them in Afghanistan to operate.

The then director CIA W. J Casey has disclosed the details of the meeting in his memoirs where, inter alia, CIA Director W. J Casey narrates as to how Gen. Zia was recruited while he was specially posted in Jordon for operation against Palestinians. Interestingly, it is same era when Air Commodore Khaqan Abbasi was also posted as the advisor of Royal Jordanian Air Force and both Zia ul Haq and Khaqan Abbasi remained under the command of Army Chief of Jordon and became good friends. Today’s Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, grew under the legacy and with the children of General Zia Ul Haq. The legacy continued where General Zia ul Haq raised his team consisting of anti-Bhutto politicians, which included Chaudhary Zahoor Elahi, Khawaja Safder, Ghulam Dastgir Khan, Raja Zafar ul Haq and Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Once I got an invitation for an official function in the Army House, but it was the unfortunate black day in the history of Pakistan as on the same day the Chief Justice of Pakistan had upheld the death sentence and was smartly dressed with his grey hairs and was receiving congratulation for his judgment. General Zia ul Haq standing next to the Chief Justice was also receiving greetings from his own created politicians and his senior colleagues. Shamelessly they all had no feelings for remorse and were celebrating the death of a charismatic leader who had dreamed of Pakistan leading the world.

I had seen another shock episode in the said morning when Ch. Zahoor Elahi called Justice Anwar Ul Haq asking him to send the pen which was used for writing the death sentence to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. This call was made from Westridge House, where the old building of Supreme Court was situated. I saw that pen and the barefaced happiness in the Zahoor place on the announcement of that unfortunate judgment. Finally, I heard that the Army aviation has done a rehearsal to carry the body of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. It was shocking and unbelievable that next morning when I heard Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged and buried quietly.

They killed and buried Bhutto mysteriously but hid bravest daughter, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of the Muslim world, marked the political rebirth of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s legacy. She suffered the most in the hands of Zia ul Haq and his remnants but eventually she witnessed the crashing of C-130B Hercules aircraft where even remains of the body of Zia-ul-Haq could not be found. The wrath of Allah also fell on Justice Moulvi Mushtaq who had awarded death sentence to Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Honeybees attacked his funeral and the mourners had to flee from the graveyard leaving his coffin unattended.

As Director FIA, I had taken upon myself to look into the old files of the judicial murder of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, where I had found some tampered documents and would soon write a book detailing the conspiracy behind Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s ‘judicial murder’, which was carried out with a premeditated plan. General Ziaul Haq’s government changed the documents but the entire world declared it a ‘judicial murder’. I appreciate the honesty of the then Director Law of FIA who had clearly stated the shells of the bullets were replaced, witnesses were tampered, and Masood Mahmood was tutored under duress.

General Zia ul Haq tried to eliminate Bhuttoism by killing Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto but he still rules the hearts of the people while Zia ul Haq was made a disgrace for the rest of the world. We know almost all those Muslim leaders who participated in the Second Islamic Summit Conference held from February 22-24, 1974 in Lahore died unnatural deaths. Undoubtedly, the killing of all these Muslim leaders cannot be a coincidence but an operation to punish them and to give a message to the Muslim world.

I, in my humble capacity, will soon expose those facts, which are buried in files and from those who are mum. We, PPP workers and President Asif Ali Zardari, filed a reference to Supreme Court but the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary did not proceed on it. I, therefore, appeal to the present the Chief Justice to take up this case to vindicate position of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a distinguished leader in the history of Pakistan who gave a lesson of peace and humanity to the rest of the world and gave voice to the poor and oppressed people of Pakistan and empowered them to stand for their rights. I had the honor to work with three Bhuttos, first with Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and thereafter Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto - my leader, mentor and sister, and followed by Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – the only hope for Pakistan’s future. And, I feel proud to have personal and political association with the Bhutto and Zardari family. Like Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who carried on the Bhutto’s legacy more powerfully and bravely, I find the same bravery, wisdom, vision and far-sightedness in Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Bhutto’s ideology was popular throughout the world and he laid down his life but didn’t let Pakistan’s nuclear programme be derailed and didn’t compromise on his towering principles. He could have saved his life if had compromised with a dictator, which was an impossible act for a leader of the people. Today, Pakistan is secure only due to Bhutto’s vision and the future would belong to PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, as he is the only one who truly has the guts to fill in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s boots. “Bilawal is the future prime minister of Pakistan InshaAllah so the people can find their favorite leader Bhutto again among themselves”.

The Article has been published in “THE NATION” on April 03, 2018. Link to original Article:- Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto – a visionary leader By Senator A. Rehman Malik