There has been a lot of glee in the Indian ELM at Musharraf's predicament. Reality is that it does not matter who is at the helm in Pakistan - that 'nation' is too far down the road for anyone to make any difference. Read the first edit in Najam Sethi's paper today to see the Pakistanis admit to their broken society, and slantingly admit to the possibility that it cannot be fixed http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\19\story_19-3-2007_pg3_1
How can Bhutto stop the MMA from 'hijacking' the protest? And with a Chief Justice that is 'non-functional' and TV channels being smashed - is this not martial law?
The 'moral support' to 'freedom fighting' jihad strategy may soon provide the logical end game - blowback. Bhutto cannot support the current agitation and the MMA is on the side of the sharia-waadis anyways (heck they are the sharia-waadis). Nawaz Sharif - well just leave him alone I guess
Why did this happen? Simple - Islam cannot provide the answer to the problems of a modern nation state. An Islamic polity can only create the kind of state the Prophet founded - not in the fevered fantasy of the believers though. Mohammed's state (Ummah) is always at ends with itself, caught in internal strife and endless infighting. Unable to forge consensus and submit to the possibility of institutional law.
In Pakistan it has another dimension. Not being able to create the institutions needed for the running of a country, folks have simply relapsed into the faith. They feel that if only they were better Muslims things would be all right. However, the faith provides no answers. That being the case - they call for a stronger faith. People willing themselves to hell.
Reality is that it will eventually be curtains for them. Pakistan is being held together by the band-aid for foreign assistance. However, foreign assistance does not a country make. The Yanks will eventually realise they have no policy choice in Pakistan. If they support it, it bites. If they neglect it, it bites. Did Basavanna not have a parable for this? Why use Hobson's Choice when the ancients had a better description.
2 comments:
Ghost Writer, very well said.
ghostwriter, absolutely true about musharraf being the same as nawaz sharif or benazir bhutto. the problem is not the dictator-du-jour or the elected kleptomaniac of the day. the problem is pakistan itself. it is a mess, like every one of the post-colonial states the brits left behind: it is based on a random drawing of boundaries by some limey idiot whose main goal was to keep the post-colonial state a client as much as possible.
pakistan needs to be dismembered. then the statelets emerging from it will fight with each other, and mostly all will fight with punjabistan.
baluchistan, sindh and balwaristan (PoK) are likely to have good relations with india. all of them hate punjabistan more than they hate india, at least as of now.
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