It is strange that even a fortnight after her tragic death; it is difficult to believe that Benazir Bhutto is no more. The constant replaying of her interviews and speeches on TV add to the surreal feeling that she is still with us until it hits like a sledgehammer that she is no more. She was such a part of our national landscape and so much of a presence in many people’s lives that the discordant reality of her leaving will take time to sink in.
The handling of the tragedy’s aftermath by the government has also left a bitter taste. If its hands were clean, what was the need for a rush to judgement on the cause of her death? And why was no attempt made to secure the crime scene? Was this just incompetence, as Mr Musharraf claims or something more? We will never know. One defining feature of a banana republic is that there never is any accountability. That comes with rule of law and supremacy of institutions. We have neither.
We only have a discredited regime that refuses to accept responsibility for anything. As someone aptly remarked, Mr Musharraf sounds like an opposition leader fulminating against the failures of some mythical government far removed from him. He needs reminding that this is your own government Sir. You have been the man in charge for over eight years. If there is lawlessness and insurgency, it has happened under your watch. If people do not get basic foodstuffs like wheat flour (ata) or there are gas and electricity shortages, you are the person responsible.
And if Benazir Bhutto was killed when you were duty bound to provide first-rate security to her, you have to accept failure and not blame the victim as you have been doing. It is not only insensitive, it is dangerous. It will further inflame the sentiments of her supporters and well-wishers for whom this tragedy is still a raw wound. Why pour oil on fire Mr President and then lament when there is a reaction.
I suppose it is in the nature of things that our military rulers should have difficulty understanding the public mood. Running countries or being national leaders is not their business. It is in this context that I take my hat off to Nawaz Sharif. He rushed to the hospital the moment he heard about the tragedy. His expression of grief was obvious, palpable and spontaneous. It was not a political show designed for public consumption. And, in his speech that night, the choice of words, the expression of grief, captured the public mood. It seemed as if he was the nation’s leader and the only one standing by the people in this hour of trial.
Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Naudero two days later to condole Mohtarma’s death also put some balm on raw emotions of the people of Sindh. This helped to bridge the huge divide that had opened up between this province and Punjab. He did what a national leader should have done. He tried to heal the wounds and unite the people. Sadly, this is not what the officials of the government or luminaries of the ruling party were doing.
Mr Zardari also played the role of a healer in his first press conference. He admonished his supporters not to raise slogans against Pakistan and assured them that people of Punjab had given their lives in protecting Mohtarma Benazir. He also had conciliatory tone towards the army. He thus tried to calm the emotions and play the role of a national leader instead of trying to cash in on parochial sentiments. He may have been new to the job but his basic instincts were spot on.
Compared to them, the handling of the tragedy by both Mr Musharraf and his henchmen, the Chaudhrys, has been nothing short of disaster. His statements have been insensitive and theirs positively provocative. What was the need for the official league to run adds that only appealed to baser sentiments in Punjab? Was it deliberately trying to create a reaction so that the elections could be postponed? If it was then it did a good job because there was bloodshed and the election was postponed.
The mayhem wrought on the country and particularly in the province of Sindh is unforgivable and needs outright condemnation but as Shaheen Sehbai wrote, there are strange aspects to it. While every part of the province was affected, the destruction was greatest in places where the PPP has least support. Was this the handiwork of agent provocateurs or is it that the poor just saw an opportunity to loot and plunder when the state effectively disappeared from the scene?
While the culprits need to be identified and punished, someone should also find out why the official machinery of the government vanished when the troubles started. TAs is the usual practice with this government no one is ready to take responsibility. The major effort is directed towards expressing outrage and little towards admitting failure.
After eight years of Mr Musharraf’s rule, we are in dire straits but he has the desire neither to take responsibility nor to leave the scene. What will it take for him to realise that he is now a problem and we will have great difficulty moving forward as long as he is around? The need of the hour is national reconciliation and the coming together of all hues of national opinion. We need to put our heads together and devise a strategy that will get us out of the mess we are in. But, this is not possible as long as Mr Musharraf is in the saddle.
The problem is that no one is ready to talk to him or sit with him and unless there is a way to start a national dialogue, we are doomed. We need to discuss the shortcomings in our constitution and make changes that will ensure a stable political order. In particular, we need to devise a mechanism for a peaceful transfer of power so that we do not repeat cycles of a few good years leading to tempest and trouble. This happens only because there is no legal way to get rid of entrenched regimes.
We also need to identify and build a national consensus on problem of terrorism and extremism. If we don’t, the Americans and others will continue to breathe down our neck and start threatening overt or covert invasions. Our nuclear program is now increasingly under the microscope and unless we sort out our pressing domestic issues, someone will take advantage of our discord and come in to sort out the ‘mess’. These are not my words but of those abroad who are beginning to describe us as a failing state.
While there is great pessimism in the country, it is not too late to take the first steps towards rehabilitation. The road is difficult and the objective of national revival not easy but we will not reach the end of the journey if we do not begin. It is this that the presence of Mr Musharraf makes impossible.