By: Ahsan Waheed
Lemmings are creatures best known for their mass suicidal urge—something programmed into their genes. Pakistan has its very own Lemming-a politician who heads the main opposition party and is ensconced in most comfortable semi-rural settings just outside the historic city of Lahore. Right now he is ranting and raving against the military and security agencies in a desperate bid to align himself with the religious right-his most favored partners. No one, not even his own party understands his strategy assuming that he has one. The general feeling is that having been outwitted at every turn by the head of the ruling party and having seen the writing on the wall about his chances in the next election he has decided to commit hara-kiri-Lemming style.
This is not the first time he will be doing so. The first time he became Prime minister he picked a fight with a much respected President whose only fault was that he was constantly advising him to mend his foolish ways. The result was that a thoroughly fed up Army Chief with no political ambition had to reluctantly step in and asked them both to leave. They did and Pakistan lost a fine President. The next time around he came in with a heavy mandate that became a mill stone around his neck. This time he picked confrontations with the President, the Chief Justice and the Army Chief. He forgot that this Army Chief had supported democracy, wanted no part of the political system and had actually helped him in his foolish fights with the President and the Prime Minister. They all left in disgust to save the system. In a moronic bid to have his man own heading the army, he picked one far down the seniority chain thereby creating divisions within the Army. When his man did his own thing in Kargil he had to go with his tail tucked in to Washington to save his skin and the country. Then came a time when he again tried to replace the Army Chief with another hand picked man setting off a disaster that landed him in jail and brought in a decade of disastrous Army rule. He used his rightist religious orientation to get to the Arabs who bailed him out and then in a wider political change he returned to contest elections and thus became what he is now—an outwitted, out maneuvered and rudderless leader of the opposition party. He is venting his frustration in rabid senseless attacks on the government, the army and the intelligence agencies completely forgetting that these are Pakistan's institutions and that he is himself a Pakistani.
He has many hare brained schemes to his credit but by far the most memorable is the 'yellow cab scheme'-a plan to bring New York style cabs to Pakistan. A variety of cars were imported from the national funds and not all were for cabs. Some rotted at the ports, some were sold before they rotted and some just disappeared to appear on the roads of Kabul. You can still see an odd one trying to move. Next he moved on banks -forcing them to dole out loans that they knew would never be recovered. He brought in sharp shooters to carry out selective focused accountability mostly against opponents and to create clout and made one such person the head of the much suffering cricket control board even though this man did know a bat from a bowl. The list is endless but the point being made is that here is a man who may be many things but he is not someone known for intellect and vision. Instead of analysis he does confrontation and even forgets his benefactors in the process. He takes credit for Pakistan's nuclear tests and so he should because he was the Prime Minister but surely there were others who need to be acknowledged. What he does not admit is the orgy of celebrations that he manipulated to celebrate an event that really was nothing to crow about but that is asking too much of the man.
Where will his current confrontation with the military take him? If he is a Lemming he should know. While his party men-except for a few clinging to his coat tails-cringe and shudder he goes his merry ways—just like the Lemmings. Good bye-may flights of angels take you where you want to go.
--From:
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