Kings of Shreds and Patches

When beggars go out begging, they have the basic common sense to cake themselves in dirt and put on filthy, shredded clothes to assume a wretched look. A photograph on the front page of almost any newspaper on Oct 21 shows Zardari and Gilani meeting a delegation of the "Friends of Pakistan" consortium at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. The table at which they are seated, in plush leather chairs, is lacquered walnut wood. The awe-striking Aiwan-e-Sadr, with its massive crystal chandeliers, exquisite marble floors, expensive rugs, silk covered walls, fine paintings, no doubt provided a breath-taking backdrop to this meeting. Is this any way to beg? Who in their right minds would want to offer handouts to beggars who live in such lavish, over-the-top luxury? From this brazen display of opulence, how could the donors possibly feel the sense of financial desperation in which the nation finds itself?Ah, but therein lies rub; it is the nation that is bearing the brunt of the financial crisis. Not the rulers, who live like kings. Do you think President Zardari even knows how many hours of load-shedding there is every day in some of the country's major urban centres? How can he be aware of such things unless the electricity goes off in Aiwan-e-Sadr too? At a time when people are committing suicide out of desperation or have to sell their children to make ends meet, the first step he reportedly took after taking oath was to order the refurbishment of the private living quarters in the Aiwan-e-Sadr, which he found to be "unliveable." One has to really stretch one's imagination to comprehend how any part of that palace can be unliveable. Useless foreign junkets that cost the nation millions of dollars succeeded only in making our prime minister a laughingstock in Washington and revealed the president's infatuation with Sarah Palin. As soon as they took over, many of the ministers and advisors went about refurbishing their official homes and offices, acquiring new official vehicles and patronising their cronies, costing the public exchequer billions of rupees. On the one hand the country is on the verge of default, and on the other, the new ministers are being inducted by the dozens in the already useless federal cabinet, to become a further burden on the exchequer. Because of their elegant simplicity, no wasteful expenditure and wise economic policies, China saves nearly one-third of its GDP, as a result of which the Chinese repeatedly have surplus budgets and their foreign exchange reserves have soared to several trillions dollars. They are now even talking about bailing out the world from the current economic crisis. On the other hand, when beggars try to pretend to be kings, it is no wonder that this People's Party government has achieved the mindboggling feat of more than doubling the national debt while depleting foreign exchange reserves from eight billion dollars to three billion within a span of seven months.Our rulers have been all over the world with their begging bowl, only to return empty-handed, which is not just a personal failure on their part but a national disgrace. In 1996 we had less than 350 million dollars remaining in our foreign exchange reserves. Yet the Chinese came to our rescue back then. The difference is that in 1996 Benazir Bhutto was prime minister, whom the Chinese felt they could trust, but in 2008 Zardari is president, whom they can not. The Zardari government has received the same cold shoulder from every country it has approached, including Saudi Arabia, which first declined to give us oil on deferred payment and then refused us fertilizer as well. It may be one thing to sneak into power, on a tidal wave of sympathy and emotions rather than on the basis of any personal achievement, but quite another to operate on the international plane without a modicum of credibility and stature. Mr Zardari can only hide behind Benazir's photograph so much. Sooner or later he has to stop pontificating about his assassinated wife's sacrifices and produce results on his own merit. Having failed to earn the confidence of world leaders in this hour of need, he has delivered the nation to the IMF which, like Shylock, will want its pound of flesh, plunging the country into further crisis.The fact is that the task of governance has proved to be well beyond the administrative and political skill of this People's Party government. They have already lost control and there is no one in their ranks with the ability to tackle the mountain of crises that looms over us. In his inaugural press conference, Zardari promised the nation that it would hear good news about Kashmir within a month. The promised "good news" came when he labelled the freedom fighters as terrorists. The in-camera joint session of Parliament was a futile joke, with only fifty or sixty members, mostly from the opposition benches, attending the sessions regularly, out of the about four hundred and fifty. But with that world renowned "expert" on strategic and security affairs, Sherry Rehman, conducting the briefing, who can blame them for not turning up? The National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution on Oct 22 recommending a phased withdrawal of the armed forces from the northern regions and the initiation of dialogue. This comes just a day after American assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher warned against any dialogue with the militants. We will have to wait and see whether parliamentary supremacy can stand in the face of Realpolitik. Already, in the wake of this resolution, we have seen the military operation and American bombing of the northern regions continue unabated. This is perhaps a continuation Zardari's declared policy of violating commitments because they are not ayats of the Holy Quran. So, then, what was the point of passing such a resolution? Jiyalas have wasted no time in setting up shop, even in Aiwan-e-Sadr, and the few jobs that are being given are being sold to the highest bidder. The Benazir Income Support Scheme is already a flop with all funds finding their way into the pockets of a handful of jiyalas in each district, as expected, rather than the public.Perhaps the crowning glory of this People's Party government came on Oct 22 when Sindh home minister Zulfikar Mirza held a press conference in the middle of the night. Seated beside him was one of the most notorious criminals in Sindh, Sultan Shah, who is wanted in numerous cases of murder, abduction and dacoity. It was revealed by Sindhi newspapers that Sultan Shah's "surrender" to the police was orchestrated by some high-ups within the People's Party with whom he has close affiliations. The home minister announced at the press conference that the Sindh government would pay all legal fees for Sultan Shah's defence and would also pay all other costs incurred by him and his family. Having withdrawn subsidies on oil and electricity, and thus make life miserable for everyone, this government seems to have taken it upon itself to protect, assist and rehabilitate notorious bandits and unleash them once again on the public after wiping their criminal slates clean.It never ceases to amaze me what appetite for punishment our nation has. Even in far less painful conditions than these, enlightened nations rise up and force change. The people of Georgia and Nepal sent their rulers packing in a heroic display of the irresistible power of the public's will. But the worse conditions get here, the more our people bow down. Our rulers find encouragement in this sad fact and see no reason not to continue in their crooked ways. Hordes of people clutching applications throng at the gates of the offices and residences of our rulers as a daily ritual, even though they are beaten, shoved and humiliated every day. One sees burqa-clad women sitting in the dirt under a blazing sun outside these gates with infants in their laps, hoping to receive government patronage. Imagine what might be achieved if these people were to throw away their useless applications which get them nowhere and get angry and decide to make a stand for what is rightfully theirs? The roar of a 170 million people would cause an earthquake. But the problem is that we have forgotten how to roar. The IMF may temporarily drag us, kicking and screaming, out of our current economic mess, but unless the people can learn to seize the day and be masters of their own destiny, the future holds no hope.