Too sick

Pervez Musharraf's case is neither the first of its kind nor the last of its type

Guess what is more supreme than law, parliament, court, constitution? Believe it or not, it is medical leave. To be declared too sick to be treated in this country has become the ‘Great Escape’ for alleged crime-doers in Pakistan. Becoming sick for certain people is not a moment of fear and sorrow but of happiness and joy. This sickness relieves and absolves you of all obligations, all allegations and all limitations. Pervez Musharraf’s case is neither the first of its kind nor the last of its type. Politicians, criminals and absconders have used this passage again and again to abandon the people of this country in a state of disgust and of strengthened cynicism that change is impossible.

The Musharraf episode is insignificant as far as his inevitable exit is concerned but is significant as far as government’s ability to tackle its personal vendettas is concerned. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has had a history of turbulent relations with the armed forces. The reason given for this turbulence has been the coup that Musharraf did to dislodge the PML-N and the consequent treatment that made its leaders accept exile as an option. With this personal history and the opportunity to use the article six of the Constitution to nail the ex-general, it was a lethal personal and political combination that was sure to succeed. The top leaders were swearing by the pledge that if Musharraf is let go all hell would break lose, many of them would resign, and, of course, democracy will be in danger. However, none of this has actually happened as not only has he gone but seems to be living happily ever after.

Some politicians term the 1980s and 1990s as the decades of victimisation as political parties were done in by dictators who hurt Pakistan so bad that all that is not happening in Pakistan is due to that never ending hangover of the autocratic rule. However, facts show a different story. Globally, when authoritarian regimes take over true democrats take that opportunity to stand for democracy, to sacrifice and to set examples of fighting till the last breath. Examples of such combats are present all around us. The current struggle in Myanmar is a great example of this resilience. Aun Sung Suu Kai’s story of courage truly sets off the hypocrisy of our politicians. Being the daughter of a general and settled comfortably with her husband and two sons in England she returns to Myanmar in 1988 to nurse her dying mother. Moved by the appalling state of her country under the military junta she got involved in the student-led revolt against the generals. She formed her party National League for Democracy (NLG) in 1989 holding massive support rallies but was put under house arrest for endangering the state. Ms. Suu Kyi’s NLD won a landslide victory in a 1990 general election, with 392 out of 485 seats, but the junta ignored the results and imprisoned thousands in a crackdown on all opposition. She did not flee the country and continued her struggle. Her husband who stayed back in England died of prostrate cancer but she remained in Myanmar fighting for many other lives. Of her 21 years of struggle she remained under arrest for 15 years.

For our politicians Ms. Suu Kyi would be termed as mentally unstable, politically immature, a bad wife and more suitable for running social causes in NGOs. However, she has not only won a Nobel Prize but has actually made the generals bow down to democracy as per the latest elections. But to reach that stage she sacrificed her family, her comforts and risked her life for two decades, and all this time, she did not abandon her country. In contrast, most of the leaders, both autocrats and democrats, have used Pakistan as a stopover for their political ambitions, and as soon as they find hands of law reaching them they negotiate and use the ‘sick leave’ to leave Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif, the late Benazir Bhutto and Altaf Hussain are/were masters of this exit strategy. Musharraf arrested Sharif and Asif Zardari, and there were court cases against them when the Saudis came to the Sharif family’s rescue and got them out of the country. In 2000, 18 members of the Sharif family departed with Begum Kulsoom Nawaz saying that Nawaz Sharif is suffering from blood pressure and a heart condition but they would soon be back as and when his health improved.

This is also the story of the leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement who in 1990 fled the country when the operations were carried out by army to combat violence in Karachi. Since then he is in London, and since then we are told how dangerous it is for him to come back to Pakistan given his precarious health issues. Similarly, the late Benazir left for to London when Musharraf came into power while Zardari spent eight years in prison only to be released due to lack of evidence. He found the USA more favourable for escape. Presently too, Zardari fearing the seriousness of Rangers and National Accountability Bureau in Karachi has is ensconced to Dubai due to ‘ill health’.

After this rich history of the leaders’ pursuit for better medical facilities abroad, the Musharraf departure was predictable yet comical. The board of eminent army hospitals declared his spinal problem too acute and complex to be treated in Pakistan; there were pictures of Musharraf in hospital attire looking suitably ill; there was an air ambulance transporting the incapacitated man to the airport; and then a few hours later there was an energetic Musharraf seen in blooming health in Dubai: the land of miracle healing. The beauty of these escapades is that most of these leaders have massive investments in villas, property, palaces, businesses outside Pakistan; most of these leaders have family members with dual nationalities running the show; and most of these leaders have perfected the art of deals and dealing to such an extent that they know when all else fails the failing health succeeds.

The sad part is not that they run away from the country, but the sorrier part is that they keep on coming back as soon as their ‘medical condition’ allows. Their safe passage out of the country and their healthy return back to the country is guaranteed by internal and external stakeholders who treat this country as a pawn in a larger game, helped by illegal and corrupt regimes within. Sick charades are played to promote these games. The recent news of the MQM leader’s demise on social media and then the video showing him dancing are case in point. We may doubt the extent of their physical ailments but the sickness of no-accountability that prevails in all these leaders psychologically, emotionally and mentally is beyond doubt and definitely incurable.

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The lure of more

The similarities all over the world are that the lure of 'more and more' is one of the biggest reasons why the mighty fall from the pedestal

Asif Zardari wants to delete his infamous speech. Maria Sharapova wants to wash away the drug from her blood samples. Volkswagon wants to erase faked reports about the emission level of its cars. Memories may be short but nearly everything we say is archived and google-able. Thus it is amazing how people from the most diverse backgrounds keep on becoming the victim of the age-old human folly of greed. From politics to sports to corporate world the epidemic of getting carried away by your own infinite desire is repeatedly on display. Politics, of course, was always the best breeding ground for this seed but somehow the recent announcements in the game of tennis, cricket and football has really made one debate that does more information and education lead to a more civilised and ethical world or does it lead to more creative ways of dodging the system to get ahead?

The main problem is the definition of wrongdoing. Zardari is aghast at the ‘wrong’ treatment being meted out to Dr. Asim Hussain; Zardari is also upset over the interpretation of his famous speech about teaching a lesson to those trying to corner him and his party. Thus for Zardari, who has got away with every allegation of crime for years, this sudden tightening of the noose is totally ‘immoral’, ‘illegal’ and ‘unethical’. That is what happens when a wrong becomes a norm and right becomes wrong. Zardari is openly admitting that Dr. Asim whom he appointed as state minister and advisor was as he says: “Asim is a childhood friend and my family doctor and is an innocent rabbit afraid of his own shadow.” For him appointing his best friend on a post is not corruption; for him being allegedly involved in billions of rupees of fraud does not make a person criminal.

The other defence that Zardari and his party have is that if the PML-N has got away with all kinds of corruption, why is the PPP being targeted. Thus every time his friend or brother-in-law is held there is a statement against the military/rangers, against government or whoever dare encroaches on Zardari domain. And all this from the safe offshores of Dubai and Washington where he is waiting for these threats to work before he returns. Unfortunately, none of that has worked lately. He has, therefore, now said that his speech was meant for his political opponents and not the armed forces. With the PML-N he has started to say that he does not want them to be investigated. Clearly, the Zardari definition of good and bad is highly customised to suit the situation.

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and the world’s highest-paid female athlete, announced that she tested positive for the recently banned drug, Meldonium at the Australian Open. She admitted to taking the drug but said that she was not aware of it containing a banned substance. That itself is a denial of the truth. The very fact that she is an educated and intelligent female, the very fact that she has a team of over 30 people, including doctors, physio-therapists, coaches and lawyers, who would be constantly advising and informing her about medicines, and the fact that this medicine is not available in the USA and had to be imported from Europe makes these excuses hard to believe. To add to this sad untruth is the fact that she tried to gain sympathy by explaining how sick she has been with a family history of diabetes and thus needed this medicine. However, no amount of explanation will justify this negligence on the basis of ignorance. The problem with a qualified confession is that the qualification will always create more controversy and add more shades of grey on the qualifier.

In the corporate world one of the biggest and most respected names in the automobile industry VW Volkswagen has finally admitted to cheating the consumer by deceiving them through false emission standards. It has been dubbed the “diesel dupe”. In September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had a “defeat device,” or software, in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. The German car giant has since admitted cheating emissions tests in the U.S. The engines had computer software that could sense test scenarios by monitoring speed, engine operation, air pressure and even the position of the steering wheel. When the cars were operating under controlled laboratory conditions — which typically involves putting them on a stationary test rig — the defeat device software appears to have put the vehicle into a sort of safety mode in which the engine ran below normal power and performance. Once on the road, the engines switched out of this test mode. When they were caught they apologised and started withdrawing 11 million cars that were supposed to have been fitted with these devices.

These examples show how the pressure of obtaining maximum with minimum effort has made mockery of the richest, the dirtiest, the most respectable and the most famous. Politicians like Asif Zardari never admit to any crime due to a system both legal and judicial that creates concessions for the rich and powerful in our society. However, in more accountable societies the race for staying at the top in the industry or in the sport has made people crack all codes of ethics. For Sharapova it was knowing that she had limited time left as a top player that made her commit this blunder. For Volkswagen it was the chance to become number one automobile manufacturer that made them resort to such deception.

The similarities all over the world are that the lure of ‘more and more’ is one of the biggest reasons why the mighty fall from the pedestal. The dissimilarities are that while in the west the systems of check and balance ensure minimisation of such instances, in the developing world the absence of these systems ensures the maximisation of these instances. The likes of Zardari are the majority ruling the country, while the likes of Sharapova and Volkswagen are in minority in their respective fields. While what has happened to Sharapova and Volkswagen will definitely restraint many people and companies with similar inclinations, what has happened to Zardari will encourage many aspirants to follow the ‘role model’ in the belief that ‘might rules right’ is the way to go and grow.

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Trump: a bad sell

68 percent Americans believe that Obama has failed to take sufficient action against IS. Adding that disillusion to the fall of the automobile and the banking empire makes an ideal combination of fear, anger and frustration, becoming the fertile ground for Trump to sow his own success

Trump triumphs are intriguing all and sundry. He has become an object of ridicule, an object of study, an object of debate and thereby, an object of reluctant fascination. Perhaps, nobody really expected Trump to be anything more than a nuisance value but his front-running spree as a Republican nominee has taken many, including himself, by surprise. He represents everything that intellectuals demonize: loud money, sprawling real estate, Hollywood jet setting, trophy wives and, now, shock and awe campaigns -a profile befitting many from Pakistani politics. However, in Pakistan, we justify such profiles by blaming the uneducated choices made by the uninformed masses. The question, hence, is that despite the American democracy being, almost, 250 years old with a supposedly mature electorate; how can a candidate like Trump get away with crude arrogance?

The foremost reason is, of course, the fact that he has a story-one that sells. Trump’s slogan of “making America great again” is what is hitting the cords of what most disgruntled Americans regard as the need of the hour. The last decade has proved itself to be very sobering for Americans. The persisting recession, a high rate of unemployment, disconcerting losses in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the resurgence of Russia alongside the rise of China; all has hit the self-esteem of Americans. Trump also posits a great example of America still being a golden land of opportunity, where his immigrant parents despite coming, in rags, from Germany, were able to make their way to the top in this avenue of equality and opportunity.

Another reason why Trump has come this far is because of his interplay between his own as well as the weaknesses of the American public. He has always been rough, raucous and even outrageous; using all of these qualities to dominate the media- with statements that are negative and controversial enough to obtain air time and e-time over the social media. He stands out in comparison to Ted Cruz and Marc Rubio, who both appeared tongue-tied in response to policy statements as ridiculous as banning all Muslims or building walls on the borders. By the time, his two opponents had gathered pace and did start hitting out on him; he was, already, far ahead of them. He attacks with passion and insults, sticking to his own rationale with supreme irrationality. He poses himself as the only straight talking, hard-hitting candidate: an anti-thesis to the proper diplomatic politician.

Aside from building on his own strengths, Trump also pounces on public anger and disappointment. 68 percent Americans believe that Obama has failed to take sufficient action against IS and their terror threat. Adding that disillusion to the fall of the automobile and the banking empire makes an ideal combination of fear, anger and frustration, becoming just the right fertile ground for a dark knight like Trump to sow his own success. Hate words uttered by Trump like choker, loser, joker are first hammered in his speeches and then, in more than 6000 tweets that his campaign manages, resonating with this category of voter. Thus, he has cashed upon this political and economic catharsis that his audience wants. His irrationality strikes a chord in their irrationality. Trump is a shrewd businessman and he knows well how controversy sells. He has spent minimal money on buying ads on television, when compared to other politicians. Despite this lack of advertisement, cable news channels have still given him more air- time than any other presidential candidate. Nine of the top national networks have mentioned Trump a stunning 258,831 times, since June. That’s more than Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and John Kasich mentions put together. In fact, Trump has been mentioned more times on MSNBC alone than any other Republican candidate has been mentioned on all nine networks, cumulatively.

Cashing upon on negative sentiments has paid dividends in our part of the world too. Narinder Modi’s campaign also anchored on the hatred against Pakistan/Muslims. He was selling the same story positing his rise from a tea boy to a Prime Minister. However, he also had an economic turnaround of a province Gujrat to back him up. Similarly, in Pakistan, the rise of MQM was also based first on deprivation, and then hatred alongside fear. Altaf Hussain also represented a man on the bike raising his voice for the Urdu- speaking immigrants to make them count. Later, he became a force to be reckoned in the assembly, using all means to enforce that force. The public was held in abeyance on the basis of the lethal hate-and-fear rhetoric of the leader.

Many question yet are fascinated by the ability of the likes of Trump to create his following to get into power politics. Just like a bad product may sell for a while, but its ability to sustain its market hold can never be guaranteed. similarly, the likes of Trump, Modi and Hussain may gain huge air time and even enter the power echelons, but their ability to sustain this popularity by employing only negativity is not possible. Modi, in India, created this huge uproar of a Hindutva firebrand to get into power, and is now struggling to counter the monster on all fronts. His immediate loss in first Delhi, and, then Bihar were clear indicators of how hate strategies ultimately become self-destructive. Similarly, MQM may have managed to stay in power for 30 years, but they still have not grown beyond Karachi; failing to become a provincial power, leave aside a national party. The recent re-emergence of Mustafa Kamal is a clear indicator that hate and fear are eventually counterproductive as sustainable strategies.

The question that arises now is does Trump know his strategy will not be enough to defeat democrats? The answer is even if he knows, he does not care. At the end of the day, even if he loses, he has made himself count right to the top. He has gotten more publicity and media in these few months than in his entire 50-year career, and, mostly free of cost. When he loses, he will be remembered in political history as the corporate raider who dared to raid the capitol hill. His speaking fee will be so high that he will have to diversify his business into Trump Coaching Inc. He will write a book that will be a best seller, which Hollywood would love to buy and make into an action thriller blockbuster. At the end of the day, the Trump Brand may live richer and bigger than ever.

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Humiliation of religion

The biggest barrier in any initiative protecting the vulnerable part of society remains the oppressive orientation of opinion leaders

What happens to the perception of a religion when the head of a leading religious political party condemns the Women Protection Bill by saying: “This bill is a humiliation of husbands?” This statement itself, in my view, is a humiliation of religion. Does any religion, and especially Islam, promote violence, and that too against the vulnerable, that too against women, that too against family members, and that too against a wife who is the main architect of children and the future of the family? It is beyond any religious, human, ethical, legal, social, and philosophical imagination and justification, yet it is proudly and loudly being declared with a mocking disdain by the so-called promoters of Islam. This statement should have received widespread condemnation by Islamic scholars, analysts, politicians, and promoters of Islam. To the contrary, it has received support from many quarters. And it is not just from religious leaders but from the spokesperson of the chief minister of Punjab, who says that “a resolution for the rights of men should also be tabled and passed in the assemblies as violence against women laws would affect the domestic lives.”

The bill is on violence against women that according to every study is present in almost 70 percent of the households in the country. Domestic violence is one of the biggest reasons for unstable families and for child mental disorders. The first element is that the bill talks about violence against women and not just husbands against wives; it can be mothers-in-law against daughters-in-laws, cousins against cousins, and employers against domestic staff. Thus for our respected leaders to just take it as the protest of wife against husband shows that they have not bothered to read and understand the bill, and that there may be a case of guilty conscience there as well. Aside from the legal aspect, the social impact of the statement given by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman that this law will help in creating henpecked husbands is what is the most disturbing implication. The mindset prevalent is that the more you suppress the woman the more macho you are, and that Islam gives you this right to do so.

This religious garb to hide personal and political agendas is why there is so much polarisation and extremism in thoughts for and against religion. For any educated and balanced Muslim, Islam is a religion based on equality and respect. The life of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is a living example of how he protected rights of every human being regardless of gender, sex, colour and creed. In fact, the rise of Islam itself was protection of violence against women. Before the advent of Islam female children were buried alive. It was the Prophet (pbuh) who gave the message that violence against females was unjust and unacceptable. Thereafter he led his life in a way that emphasised the status of women in the household and society. Islam forbids the concept of forceful subjugation. That is why even at the time of nikah (marraige contract), the girl is asked whether she is willing to get into the relationship.

The status of women in Islam was in many ways elevated to the highest level. The right to divorce is just a column on the nikah nama that is mostly cut out by both parents of the girl and in-laws again under the pretext of saying that it encourages breakups. If we look at the first lady Hazrat Khadija (RA), we have factual evidence of how balanced and progressive Islam was, and how it has been degraded deliberately by people who claim to be its representatives. Hazrat Khadija (RA) was the topmost businesswoman of her time; she was a widow and fifteen years older than the prophet (pbuh) when she, impressed by his character, sent him a marriage proposal. It was she who taught him intricacies of trade, and it she who was his mentor and coach in many matters of his personal struggle. Till she lived he did not remarry. Similarly his love and respect for his daughter was primarily to show how he wanted the status of women to be the most respected and precious. Contrast that to the statements issued by men in parliament and ummah, and you understand what a disservice they are causing to Islam. And they are also the reason why we find many practising Muslims in other religions and countries than within our own society.

The Women Protection Bill that was legislated into Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWVA) itself is a good beginning but leaves a lot of room for further debate and improvement. The PPWVA provides women with legal and psychological recourse in the form of district protection committees. It also focuses on dispute resolution and family unit rehabilitation. However, the law does not directly criminalise the offence. For criminal proceedings the existing laws in Pakistan Penal Code will have to be referred to. Perhaps one of the biggest flaws in this law is that the main implementation structure — the district protection committees — are not funded by Punjab government and will be run by volunteers and donations. This is almost like abandoning responsibility. What then is the difference between an NGO and a government-run initiative? The lack of ownership, accountability, sustainability and effectiveness are going to make this law become a law only in name.

However, the biggest barrier in any initiative protecting the vulnerable part of society remains the oppressive orientation of opinion leaders. These opinion leaders exploit the ignorant minds by enforcing their own decrees and judgments that have nothing to do with religion, laws and values. These oppressors use money, religion and status to overpower masses into believing and behaving their way. Why they succeed is because there is a huge gap of education in general and religious education in particular. Religion is reduced to an Arabic-cramming process. Whatever way these religious leaders interpret the Arabic language is completely their prerogative. People with real and true research into religion are very few and thus are outnumbered by the unbalanced opinion leaders. In the more developed countries religious bigots do exist but the counter viewpoints balance their existence. The lack of education in lesser developed countries puts a greater responsibility on people like us no matter how few we are to stop this religious degradation by raising voice for the true face and spirit of Islam.

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