Are Karachi &
Hyderabad RAW’ Stronghold?
So for the 167th time in last 25 years,
establishment of Pakistan and Punjabi intelligentsia is convinced and trying to
convince the rest of the country that MQM is RAW’ B team. This is troubling
because during this same time frame, MQM has continued to enjoy mandate of
Urban SIND. It is also interesting that Pakistan’ Army was at helm of affairs
for all intent and purpose from 1999-2007 and during this tenure MQM enjoyed
unprecedented relevance in the power corridor. So we are left with dichotomy of
sorts and its high time some honesty is accorded to people of Pakistan.
There are five thousand and one problems with Pakistan, like
any other country of 200 million. But a fundamental issue in my opinion is not
that of terrorism or corruption. It is that of confusion. Confusion on who
should be ultimately in-charge? Don’t take me wrong, I understand that there is
‘democracy’ in the country and that there is constitution of Pakistan. But
seriously, let’s not Kidd ourselves, we know who is ultimately in-charge on
important matters. And when we have one thing for the show, and another for all
practical purposes, it creates confusion and brings a country to a debilitating
halt like it has Pakistan for decades on.
So now, what is the solution? My solution is that we go back
to the people of Pakistan and have them vote for a new social contract. What does
that mean? It means that we put ourselves thru a referendum. Question should
be; Who do you think should govern Pakistan moving forward? 3 options are:
1) Army thru hardcore martial law.
2) Civilians thru an all-powerful parliament, with final say
on EVERYTHING (defense, economy, real estate, foreign policy..everything).
3) Continue with the status quo of Hodge podge that we have
right now.
I am convinced that option 3 is the worst. I am also
convinced that we have never tried option 2. If we as a nation were either
respectable amongst the fraternity of nations or at least we were on a course
which would eventually get us there, I would say since we are familiar with 1
and 3, lets just persist with it. But since we are abysmal in every sense of
the word, why can’t we throw a hail-merry and try something crazy like option
2?
But listen, I am just one person. Let’s put this up to people of Pakistan and
see what they say. I see no other way for us to move towards any semblance of
progress. It will always be one step forward and 2 back until we settle this
fundamental issue as a nation once and for all. Truth will set us free.
