Outside powers have turned Pakistan into a powder keg

The slaughter in Karachi is a brutal symbol of a nation blighted by political opportunism and western interference

by Ziauddin Sardar - Oct 20, 2007

The dreadful carnage in Karachi is a bloody but perfect metaphor for the politics of Pakistan. The country has shown once again that political opportunism, home grown and nourished by foreign interests, is deadly for ordinary Pakistanis.

The media hyperventilation over the return of Benazir Bhutto is a clear indication not only that nothing has changed - but that no meaningful change is intended. An army general is entrenched as president for another five years. If the promised elections are held, they would be anything but fair and free, given that Bhutto is supposed to win and provide a democratic front for a military ruler. The Pakistani Taliban - whom many are blaming for Thursday night's assassination attempts - continue their reign of terror in the northern provinces of the country, complete with suicide bombings and beheadings, with increasing impunity. The vast majority of Pakistanis feel utterly impotent and the poor and the innocent suffer the brunt of the violence unleashed by the fanatics.

Bhutto, the twice-failed prime minister, talks an impressive line about moderate Islam, development, and democracy. Her rhetoric is music to the ears of the White House, which has engineered her deal with General Musharraf. It allows her to evade the outstanding corruption charges which otherwise would have impeded her making another tilt for power.

None of Bhutto's rhetorical qualities - liberalising Islam, genuine development or empowering democracy - were much in evidence during her previous administrations. The father of the Pakistani bomb, AQ Khan, whom she is now willing to hand over to international authorities, was diligently at work developing his weapons while she was in power. The opportunities to tackle endemic poverty were frittered away in corrupt feathering of the fortunes of favoured citizens, most notably her husband. Not a single development project, not even a motorway, was completed during her two administrations. And the morass of religious fervour fuelling political agendas was left to take its own toxic course.

Over the six decades of its existence, Pakistan has functioned not as a nation but a geo-strategic utility. It has been picked up and put down as dictated by the proxy interests of outside powers. The latest Bhutto/Musharraf alliance enhances Pakistan's utility in the global war on terror, and more specifically acts as the base from which to curb the activities of the Taliban in Pakistan's northern provinces and Afghanistan. Thus, democracy has little to do with her return.

As a consequence, Pakistan has suffered from all the unintended yet predictable effects of being a sideshow to other people's strategic interests. Its good-guy/bad-guy lurching has taken little account of the genuine interests of its citizens. Military dictators and elected politicians have been interchangeable, each accepted or rejected by the US and Britain without recourse to what their governance of the country actually meant for its citizens.

Almost all financial assistance the country has received since the inception of the "war on terror" has found its way to the military to maintain the very problem that is the intractable heart of the country's nightmare. In Pakistan everything is owned either by the military or the feudal magnates - notably among them the Bhutto clan. Sustained investment in fostering the economy, creating employment, enterprise and hence hope for the majority, has been notable by its absence. In these bizarre conditions, the religiously inclined poor have proved to be an excellent recruiting ground for the Taliban. In the land created to be an Islamic nation, both the military and the politicians have used the murderous Taliban fanatics as pawns to further their opportunistic goals. Now the Taliban has turned on both.

Pakistan contains some of the most articulate, literate and thoughtful critique and analysis of Islam. It also nourishes mindless fanaticism. It is both the problem and the solution. But the solution requires empowering the middle classes, the voices of change. To date, all forms of political opportunism entertained by western interests have signally failed to engage with, listen to or empower the mainstream of Pakistani middle class. Not surprisingly, they dream only of a green card to America, entry points to Australia, and the riches of the Middle East.

The political opportunism of Bhutto is the shortest route to civil war and the break-up of Pakistan. Those who feel most powerless to affect the fate of Pakistan are the Pakistanis themselves. Until the capacities and interests of its own people set the national agenda, then hope, reform, change, moderation and new direction will never materialise.