Mai Baap!

Almost every day, one or the other, self-appointed or by their “superiors,” or the latter themselves, come out with some bizarre or outlandish statement that has one scratching the now white head in search of relevance. One such recently declared statement was related to the power of truth (such) and the weakness of falsehood (baatil). This means they are powerful because they are backed by truth, and their nemesis (anyone’s guess) is weak because of their falsehood. The reference to power was perhaps their might (and they believe it is their right) to wield any and every weapon that ensures their death-like grip on the rapidly declining resources of this country.

This was perhaps a precursor to the emotional speeches ad nauseam that marked the first anniversary of the famous May 9 riots. Perhaps the speaker had forgotten that the Pharaoh was all-powerful and had stated so, in all his arrogance, as was Namrud. Their claim to power was absolute, but it took a child in a box floating in the Nile River to bring them down. What happened on February 8 could be comparable had it been allowed to proceed: the party that had been nearly beaten and tortured to extremes was coming out on top of the election results. This was both unexpected and unacceptable. Hence the story of Forms 45 and 47: a concocted parable of stealing victory from the jaws, read ballot boxes, of defeat.

The ‘power’ that has produced the current government is neither democratic nor constitutional. It is a corrupt form that has wrested the real power that exists with people and placed individuals who bowed to the false might at senior-most positions so that they may further crush the political aspirations of a specific party and its large base of supporters.

Those who had been handpicked without consideration of experience or political know-how for the caretaker government are back with even greater power to wield and bring the rebels to their knees. No one except the favored few knows how many innocent young people, including scores of women, are languishing in jail without any charges, and no one in the government has the power to release them.

The tragedy is that the judiciary, too, seems to lag when it comes to ensuring the Constitution’s writ in terms of human rights and individual freedom. Politicians who are known to have accumulated unimaginable wealth and stashed it in safe havens hold power and now occupy positions with total immunity from any accusation of wrongdoing.

Both Punjab and Sindh are now ruled by closely knit families who would maintain poverty of below 40% and human degradation of the lowest level if there was even a whiff of weakening of their hold on power. We are regaled by images of police dominance made glamorous by the Chief Minister of Punjab donning a smart police uniform even as women are held for months without trial. In Sindh, which shows the lowest performance in education, our MPA elect from the ruling dynasty declared to a cheering crowd of illiterate women that if they wanted their children to be educated, they should vote for her party. One must remind ourselves too that every time a landlord or a pair (both MNAs of the ruling party in Sindh) are caught for the torture and murder of an environmentalist or a 10-year-old little girl due to the pressure of social media, the story quickly disappears from public view and probably from prosecution as well.