Pakistan ever since its inception, Pakistan has been desperately pining for a perfectly ideal yet persistently elusive government that can cure the chronic and long suppurating miseries of its masses and transform the entire ideals and megalomaniac passions of its potentates into concrete irrefutable realities. These problems unfortunately have defied every government ranging from the early forefathers who struggled for the creation of the country to the democratic leaders and the dictator generals who skewered, punished and maligned the defiant politicians for their mismanagement and corruption. Quaid-e-Azam, the stellar architect, who led the creation of the country, unfortunately died barely a year after its emergence.
The absolute authoritarian decade of General Ayub Khan spawned a simmering discontent and alienation in East Pakistan. General Zia revived the draconian medieval phantoms and punishments of public hangings and flogging to produce his fundamentalist utopia. The dragons of intolerance, extremism and terrorism let loose by him still haunt the nation.
The Musharraf rule dragged the country to the Kargil disaster and into a war against terrorism that exacerbated the ravages of this curse. His spat with the superior judiciary erupted into a mammoth movement for his ouster. The Muslim League faction that he forged by luring opportunists from various parties foundered miserably during the 2013 general elections. About five different courts in the country have already declared him an absconder.
But despite this ignominy, most TV mavens kept inviting him to their channels to recount the deeds of his dictatorship and denounce the democratic system. They actually seem to be disenchanted with almost every step taken by the elected leaders. Their confidence, clamour and the authority to explain the reasons for the failure of the government to win over the world to our perfectly plausible and peaceful policies show that they have the real ultimate magic to cure all our problems.
Added to this is also the virtue that they have never questioned the contradictions and the inconsistencies in our psyche and the strategies to solve the twenty-first century issues with our medieval mindset and policies. It evidently illustrates their faith and devotion to the precision and the power of our beliefs and perceptions.
Still the real impediment would be to bring their government without fulfilling the mandatory election process. The Parliament, however, may find a way to delegate a special assignment to them for a stipulated span extending up to four years. It may similarly also prescribe a working plan for them that could theoretically take the form of a Special National Task Force to revitalise foreign diplomacy and national development. The detailed strategy for implementing of their assignment may be left to the skill and sagacity of the anchors and the hosts. Their sheer number exceeding over a hundred brains is certainly sufficient to make an impressive general or plenary council. The Council in, turn, could elect its Chairman for a stipulated span. A better working model, however, would be not to elect a long-term chief icon but rather a panel of them, that for impressive brevity may be called a Presidium of the anchors.
The Presidium would evidently impart better representation, participation and contentment. Skipping a single President or a sole representative of a larger group, would also stem the sad surreal sagas seething our minds. Making a Prime Minister as an embodiment of the collective national will and volition similarly has always incurred some ominous setbacks. A curse seems to haunt the Premier’s office as none of the 47 icons could complete the stipulated tenure. The Presidium could further create about a dozen special Councils each being invested with the authority exercised by various Federal Ministers. The Councils for the portfolios parallel to the provincial ministries may be similarly elected. These Councils could engage more specialist experts and consultants.
This special term would evidently be the most crucial opportunity for TV titans to demonstrate the real success and sagacity of their spiel. Their installation, however, must also have a redeeming clause; if they fail to actualise their fantasies, they would never return to the screens to spread the same inane content.