We live in a strange land, governed by strange people, who lead this gullible nation using twisted logic. Our Southern Province appears to be the most afflicted by this disease, the symptoms of which are more than apparent. The Head of Government there is an octogenarian, who by all standards should be resting at home, instead of heading the Provincial Cabinet. His age and other symptoms indicate lack of focus and total ineptness in the discharge of his duties. His condition can best be judged from the fact that he forgets the location of his seat in the Provincial Assembly as leader of the House and has to be led to it by a turbaned usher. He forgets, which car he had travelled in during a visit to a venerated shrine in Lahore and has to be redirected to the right vehicle by his protocol staff. His statements and responses to questions by the media and the opposition on the floor, raises doubts about the wisdom of allowing him to continue in his current capacity. He appears happily oblivious of gravity, when countless children die in Thar and a tiny girl breathes her last because her father is restrained to enter the emergency room at a hospital, being visited by the Provincial Chief Executive.
The party that rules in Sindh was founded by a star politician, who stole the hearts of a vast segment of people by his ability to resonate with the masses. In spite of his autocratic and controversial nature, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was not a corrupt individual and during his tenure managed to carve a niche for Pakistan internationally. This mercuric individual also laid the foundations of a deterrence that has served us well. His daughter Benazir Bhutto was much like her father and incorruptible as far as her own person was concerned. She was expected to do great things for Pakistan, if her tragic demise had not prematurely taken her out of the picture. Then began an era wherein Pakistan’s political history became checkered to the point of being shameful. It was indeed heart wrenching to see a popular political force fall prey to corruption of the worst kind. Consequently, what was once a nationwide political force to be reckoned with, became riddled with dissent and disillusionment, losing its vote bank and shrinking to a provincial status.
Pakistanis everywhere heaved a sigh of relief, when the Rangers launched their operation to clean up Karachi, backed by complete political consensus. Trouble arose, when some luminaries from PPP were picked up for investigations into serious allegations. In an act that was in itself an admission of guilt, the Party’s top leadership flew the coop to Dubai and (through a system that ought to be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records), began running the Provincial Government through a remote controlled Chief Minister. Fire and brimstone rained down upon Law Enforcement and the Federal Government culminating in a Provincial Assembly Resolution that was to say the least, unacceptably illogical. Mercifully, the Federal Government stood its ground, much to the Nation’s relief.
It was during this period of confrontation that we began to hear, what I have referred to in the opening paragraph as ‘twisted logic’.
Statements that challenged the ongoing operation (which has in fact restored much of Karachi’s peace) raising the question as to why wasn’t such action being conducted elsewhere in the country. This argument actually implied letting a thief off the hook because thieves elsewhere were not being prosecuted. In other words when seen from the concerned Party’s perspective, it amounted to a condonation of corruption and license to continue.
The good patriotic people of Pakistan irrespective of their political affiliations want to see an end to the ills spawned by rampant corruption, lack of accountability and absence of enforcement. To that end they are more than happy to see accountability continue with even more vigor. They also understand that the process has been correctly initiated from Karachi, underlining the critical importance of this port city within our national scene. The message to those, who are criticizing the ongoing operation in Karachi must be absolutely clear – two wrongs do not make a right.