Benazir’s death has freed her from all worries, but it has left the nation and the country in a horrific state. The nation is worried about the future of democracy. It is worried about security and it is worried about political and economic stability.
The formidable champion of democracy is gone and the mantle of PPP leadership has been taken over by her spouse Asif Ali Zardari as willed by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. However, Mr Zardari has transferred the chairmanship of the PPP to their teenager son Bilawal Zardari. Surname Bhutto has been added to Bilawal’s name as a reminder to the PPP voters that he is a progeny of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His name now would be Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, BB for short.
Bilawal, 19, would have to wait six years before becoming eligible to sit in the National Assembly. Thus he could neither be a candidate in 2008 elections nor in the 2013 elections. Mr Zardari is not a candidate in the next elections. Does this mean that there would be nobody from Bhutto-Zardari clan sitting in the National Assembly? Yes, but not for long. Suppose, the PPP were to win sufficient seats to head a coalition government. Its leader would form the government.
Zardari has named Amin Fahim as Prime Minister if the PPP won. Mr Fahim may become the Prime Minister but only for a short period. The odds are that Zardari would withdraw a PPP MNA and fill his place himself through by-election. Mr Fahim would then resign making room for Mr Zardari to become the prime minister. That was the route Shaukat Aziz took to become prime minister. Even if PPP did not emerge as the single biggest party, Mr Zardari would still like to sit in the National Assembly to lead the PPP legislators and perhaps may qualify to become the opposition leader.
The PPP has a very difficult journey ahead. The sudden change of leadership inevitably weakens the party, especially the party that draws strength from dynastic rule. When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was removed from the scene the PPP went into turmoil. Its senior leaders, some of them co-founders of the PPP, resented the appointment of Benazir Bhutto as chairperson of the party. They abandoned the party or were given insignificant roles, which forced them to leave the PPP. Luminaries like Mumtaz Bhutto, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Dr Mubashar Hasan, Maulana Kauser Niazi and many others either went into retirement or formed their own parties, which never took off. Benazir Bhutto was 26 when she became the head of the PPP. Being Bhutto’s daughter helped but she won the great political laurels in her own right. Twice she led the PPP to power. She could not regain power in the last elections but her party polled the highest number of votes. She had proved that she was a worthy daughter of a worthy father.
Talking to the nation, the president has reassured the people in very firm words that government was taking stringent measures to keep peace during forthcoming elections. He said the army would be deployed wherever the need was felt, especially in those areas in Sindh, which saw worst kind of mayhem ever witnessed. This assurance has done wonders. The Karachi Stock Exchange, which had plummeted by over 1,400 points in the three days following Benazir’s death, has made a smart recovery and may soon regain all its lost ground.
We have developed a strange but injurious habit of believing whatever is published in the American press. For the last few weeks such newspapers have been spreading despondency in Pakistan. They have singled out President Musharraf for their venomous diatribe. All such articles are reproduced here by a section of the press, which demoralizes the readers. Any adverse study made by an American think tank on the conditions in Pakistan is given undue importance as if it has the blessings of the White House. The claim made by some analysts that PakistanÕs nuclear assets might fall in the hands of terrorists and pose a problem for the US. They foresee that Bush administration would send a force to Pakistan to secure our nuclear assets. This is all humbug and Musharraf rightly thinks so. The attitude of the American press towards Pakistan has recently become very offensive and it has rightly hurt the president and countryÕs image.
President Musharraf showed concern over the reference that Pakistani agencies could be involved in the fatal attack on Benazir Bhutto. It is a ridiculous allegation and demonstrates the naivet? of American analysts. They seem to consider Pakistan a banana republic where every arm of the government has its own agenda. Would any American analyst or newsman disclose the benefits the government could have accrued from the death of Benazir Bhutto?
The elections have been postponed by 40 days. President Musharraf has assured peace during the elections. The political leaders should help the government in the peaceful conduct of elections. It did not help the cause of election peace when Mr Asif Zardari fired the salvo by denouncing the PML-Q as the killer league. The response from the PML leaders was swift given in a tit-for-tat manner. The political leaders should not make the elections a matter of life and death. They would serve the cause of democracy by calling a halt to bad language.
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