Strategically Speaking
Thy (BB's) will be done
TWO very interesting and politically significant developments have taken place in Pakistan since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto (BB). First, the selection of her son Bilawal as the PPP party chief, and secondly, the call by the PPP to not only participate in the elections but also to have the elections as per the declared schedule, on Jan 8, 2008.
If anything has been as shocking and surprising as the gruesome killing of Benazir Bhutto, it is the anointing of her son as her successor. The succession surprise has somewhat thrown the matter of Benazir's assassination to the background. And, as expected, there has been more criticism of Bilawal's selection than adulation
Although Benazir's will was not followed to the letter, as one can make out of party vice-chairman Makhdoom Fahim's statement that Ms Bhutto had named her husband as her successor who turned it down in favour of his son. The decision was endorsed by the party leadership.
This, perhaps, was the first time that a political succession was effected according to the will of the previous party chief -- what an example of democratic practice inside a political party that professes to be in the forefront of the struggle to establish democracy in the country!!
The very repugnant example of dynastic control of political parties, demonstrated in the installation of Bilawal Bhutto, nee Zardari, epitomises the nature of politics and the functional dynamics of political parties in not only Pakistan, it is also the trade mark of many political parties in many countries in South Asia.
South Asia will have to live with the bane as well as the boon of dynastic politics in the region. There cannot be any argument, per se, against children of political leaders following in the parents footsteps. But assuming the mantle of party chairman as an inheritance makes all talk of democracy and democratic practices sound empty.
Perhaps even the mother's name was added because, otherwise, the inheritance of the leadership might not have gone down well with the party followers.
Some names sell with the public, and some family associations garner more favourable public response than others; experience in the field of public affairs or political wisdom is of little importance, the family name is. That is why a political novice was chosen to replace Indira Gandhi when there were other tried and tested leaders of the Indian National Congress. That is why a Sonia with Gandhi as her surname was chosen to head a 122 years old political party in India, completing the cycle of a party that was founded by a non-Indian in 1885.
Bangladesh had also witnessed in recent times the odious effort by the BNP to prepare the PM's son to take over the party and the reins of the government, violating the constitution of the party. And those BNP stalwarts who are now so vocal about that decision not only gave in meekly to the imperious authoritarianism of the party chief but were also equally vocal in extolling the virtues of the "new Caeser." The Awami League was not to be left behind. A big show was put up when the visit of the party chief's son to Bangladesh was turned into a big political rally; the message -- the BNP has a crown prince to flaunt and so have we. It was also to give the son a feel of the political wind. We do not know what experience he carried back to his country of residence. Whatever it was, we have not heard of his political ambition articulated since then.
Sri Lanka had its fair share of dynastic rule, now discontinued when the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka ruled in 2005 that President Chandrika Kumaratunga must step down by December that year. The Bandaranayke rule passed from Solomon to Srimavo, who became the first woman prime minister in the world, and came to be called by her detractors as a "kitchen woman -- somebody who knew all about cooking, but nothing about running a country."
As for the PPP, it is as if Benazir had a foreboding of her impending death, having written down what actions were to be taken by her party men were her life to come to a premature end. This is more than a mere coincidence, but her fears, expressed to the media and to the government of Pakistan, merely prove that truth is stranger than fiction.
Asif Zardari, known as "Mr. ten percent" and blamed for having a hand in the killing of his brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto, will play the part of Bairam Khan till "Akbar" comes of age. Asif Zardari will be the regent entrusted to run the affairs of the party and, indeed, the affairs of the state as the acting party chief should PPP attain majority in the election and assume the reins of the state, till Bilawal finishes his study and takes over the party chairmanship. This is in true tradition of the feudal arrangement; the only difference is the PPP has been turned into a feudal estate; it has become a fiefdom whose control will pass on from father to daughter to son......
An equally significant development is the major political parties' call to Musharraf to stick to the election timetable. It was not unexpected for Musharraf to find himself in a situation where he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Holding elections on the scheduled date, so soon after the death of the PPP chief, would have appeared to be exploiting the psychological trauma of the PPP as much as it would appear on his part to be diminishing the sympathy factor that is bound to play in PPP's favour, by delaying the election.
It may not be administratively possible to stick to Jan 8, but it is in Pakistan's interest to hold election sooner rather than later, not because the US, that treats Pakistan like other third world countries, as its appendage, wants it to stick to the date. A democratic Pakistan is a better guarantee to handle a political crisis, and is better placed to tackle the issue of religious terrorism in the country than Musharraf has been during his watch.
However, there is still the need for the Pakistan government to find out who killed Benazir. Confusion has been compounded by the government explanation of the circumstances of her death. There are many that she had managed to antagonise by her comments. She had also expressed her intention to audit every bit of the ten billion dollars that Pakistan had received since 9/11 to fight US global war on terror.
There are several interest groups in Pakistan that felt threatened by the possible emergence of Benazir as the next PM of Pakistan. It will be a folly to think that it was only the religious radicals and extremists in Pakistan that felt threatened. There are other groups, too, whose interests would have been at stake if she had came to power.
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