By
Sattar Rind
Pakistan is bursting with natural resources and enjoys all weathers on earth. The country is rich in resources but poor in leadership.
The policies and governance approach of its leadership in running this country has pushed it into turmoil. The civilian and military rulers who ruled over it since 1947 could not turn it into a progressive country in each area of human society. The country was ruled by mostly Army Generals who coped and were controlled by the government. General Ayub Khan was the first army general who imposed Martial Law in 1958 and began in politics by supporting a political party called the Convention Muslim League.
This illegitimate regime was challenged by the public at a mass level that resulted in public protests across the country. After the public agitation General Ayub, instead of giving the government to civilians, handed it over to another General, Yahya Khan.
General Yahya conducted an election in which the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won the majority of seats in the Nation Assembly in West Pakistan, with the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sweeping East Pakistan and the majority seats putting him in a position to form his government.
The army however was reluctant to hand over the government to Rahman. As a result, agitation broke out in East Pakistan with the army, despite having an alternative political solution for the issue, began an operation to avert the confrontations. Again the results of such an operation somehow ignited the war between India and Pakistan in 1971, the former nation losing the war by the side of East Pakistan which became Bangladesh.
This made the public of Pakistan hostile towards the Army which brought into being no other way but to hand over the government to the elected people of the remaining Pakistan (the existing one). From this, a charismatic individual known as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, ruling the country for four years.
One further coup took place by General Zia-ul-Haq on July 5th, 1977. He arrested Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with the result of him being hung, in a false murder case on April 4th, 1979. Despite this, Zia-ul-Hag still ruled the country for eleven and a half years, creating all of the existing evils in Pakistan. He changed history, from that day, giving Pakistan the feeling of a collapsing country. He was the pioneer of open hypocrisy and bribery, allowing smugglers to make Pakistan a route for heroin trafficking to USA and Europe.
General Zia-ul-Hag also increased the number of weapons in cities, in particular Karachi, extending the fear and uncertainty in society. In addition to this he supported the killing of poor and innocent people in semi rural and urban areas at night by the use of hammers. No clue had ever been found to this day; who were they and why did they begin killing people with hammers while they were sleeping? Obviously, the purpose was similar to that of terrorising the country’s population and extending insecurity.
The General was also the person who Islamised the country and left almost no room for the religious minorities to live in peace. He was the initiator of numerous sectarian terrorist organisations in which Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was the worst, known for killing Shia Muslims in Pakistan.
General Zia-ul-Haq also supported the ‘Mujahideen’ in their fight against the Ex-USSR in Afghanistan, later becoming the Taliban and Al-Qaeda or ISIS, with the support of Saudi Arabia and USA.
Though this culminated in the Soviet Union’s defeat and withdrawal in 1989, it also led to the proliferation of millions of refugees, with the heroin and weaponry business moving into Pakistan, particularly in Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi and Quetta. To this day Zia remains a polarising figure in Pakistan’s history responsible for weakening democratic institutions and passing laws encouraging religious intolerance. He was killed in an air crash, his death however not bringing peace to Muslim countries, the centre of attention remaining on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Democratic parties Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Group (PMLN) and the PPP won the election three times, their leaders becoming Prime Minister, but they hardly succeeded bringing any positive change to the country; both parties failed miserably to do so.
Therefore, when General Musharaf toppled the PMLN government on October 12th, 1999, almost all of the people and political parties against the government welcomed this coup. Musharaf became Chief Executive of the country, later selecting the title of President of Pakistan through a referendum similar to Zia-ul-Haq.
In his tenure 9/11 took place and shook the world. The United States had started the war against terrorism and Pakistan joined it.
This war continues to go on. Pakistan has lost around 60 thousand civilians and more than 5 thousand army personnel in retaliatory action. During this, General Musrharaf attempted to remove the then Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. This action elevated the lawyer movement in the country, his close ally George W. Bush losing an election. Musharaf became so weak and ultimately resigned, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari replacing him. He left no stoned unturned in terms of corruption, for a country facing terrorism at its peak he went onto a yet higher peak in bad governance, malpractice, looting and plundering public money.
The PMLN replaced his government but the people of Pakistan look as if they have nothing to do whatsoever with what is going on, all hope of something positive developing seemingly in vain. The government and other powerful establishments have though decided to crack down in a grand all party conference following the killing of 150 Army Public School pupils in Peshawar, a capital city of the Pakhtunkhwa province, by the Taliban. The nation however has not seen any progression.
The Mullahs are the leading force in terms of brainwashing Madrassas pupils (religious Schools), being run with the support of oil rich Arab countries of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, used as raw material for recruitment of the Taliban force. Their numbers are in the hundreds of thousands all over Pakistan.
This of all things has enhanced the migration tendencies in Pakistan. In the last few months people of Karachi, following the incident where 45 Ismaili Shias were killed, have rendered 300 billion US Dollars to be flown out and dumped in the Dubai Real Estate business.
Many intellectuals are predicting the collapse of the country. Nevertheless it is difficult to contemplate, but no one has any doubt that society has collapsed.
There is no employment for 3.5 million graduates and post graduates. No safe drinking water for almost 80% of the people out of a population of 20 billion in the country.
Law and order issues are in their worst ever condition. Merit does not exist, the miserable peace and security situation, in addition to the lack of health facilities for the largest populace or education for the huge number of children all further factors for despondency. Four million children are roaming the streets having never been to school.
Human rights violations are in their extreme. For years now, youths of Balochistan are being killed in the name of Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agents. They are tortured and killed, their faces cut off so as not to be to be recognised.
Throughout the country, no electricity or any reasonable infrastructures exist but all of kinds of corruption do.
As a result, the silent majority of people in Pakistan with a heavy heart look for another coup to rid them of the civilian governments, though know well that the establishment does tend to add more issues at the end of their rule as an after effect. During the Army’s rule however, people had a sense of security and, to some extent. peace. The people of Pakistan feel as though they are trapped in this vicious circle with no hope in sight of it ending.
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