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Does Pakistan have a death wish? The disconnect between challenge and response in Pakistan is truly alarming.
An impartial election was expected to bring democracy to Pakistan. It seems to be bringing disintegration. Not a single Pakistani leader appears to recognise the dimension of the challenge facing his nation. Not one leader has risen above narrow self-interest to meet a challenge that threatens the very existence of Pakistan.
Pakistan today is the hub of international terrorism. Al Qaeda feeds on local disaffection to recruit terrorists in both the NWFP and Baluchistan. The Pakistan government and its army have crucial ties with America. There is war between America and Al Qaeda. The mishandling by America and the Musharraf regime, and the clever exploitation of this by Al Qaeda, has turned public opinion against America.
However, neither the government nor the army, until recently, dared openly to oppose the US. But America’s shooting down of Pakistani soldiers compelled a strong official reaction. Ending or reducing the American presence in Pakistan would be worthwhile only if Pakistan devised its own credible peace formula to separate local insurgents from the internationally led Al Qaeda. When Ghaffar Khan’s grandson assumed power in the NWFP, hopes rose for some such formula. But little seems to have been done apart from creating a new name, Pakhtunwa, for the province.
As under Musharraf, the government and the army have been reduced to walking the tightrope between the US and Taliban. The world is increasingly restive over terrorist presence close to nuclear weapons. Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud continues to lord it over the NWFP. The government cannot vanquish him or placate him. Meanwhile, tensions with Afghanistan mount. Cross-border infiltration into India escalates.
Nawaz Sharif is busy consolidating support for a future poll by marching with protesting lawyers to reinstate sacked judges. Anti-Indian and pro-jehadi sentiments resurfaced. "Hang Musharraf," the crowds chanted. Asif Zardari is busy defending the new judges and the new legislation that helped dismiss the pending court cases against him. General Kayani does not know which way to turn. He is squeezed between US pressure and restiveness in his own army as it confronts inflamed public opinion. All these remind one of frogs in a well: none perceives the world outside. And time is running out. How long will the world remain passive?
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)