They were supposed to take of these clowns. Two years passed by in the hope that they would convict the culprits who have stolen the money of the country. Then, we had some hope that the military would get involved in taking care of these corrupt democrats. No matter where you turn to look at the present state of the country, you hear talk and more talk, promises and more promises, threats and more threats, corruption and more corruption, and tragedies and more tragedies, loans and more loans and a bigger smile on Zardari’s face and tears in the eyes of the suffering majority in Pakistan.
By Qaisar Sultan
When the process of decay in Pakistani politics, education and morals corded the state at its core? Few like to start with general Ayuab Khan; some blame Bhutto; many believe general Zia who destroyed the civility of the state; and the younger generation knows only the star of modern politics in Pakistan that started with Benazir and Nawaz Sharif, bringing in the corruption and family politics. Nawaz and ruling party leadership are now pointing the figure at general Musharraf- He was a prince among the thieves. I think that the whole country, including the most leaders of the world, with some exceptions, get clear picture that Zardari is the last straw breaking the camel’s hump. The process of the decay has changed into a lump of rotten body being chewed up by the maggots, the politicians, the military, bureaucrats, office workers, legislators and anybody who is somebody important. Most honest and decent men and women are mere spectators to watch the demise of something so sacred, a nation that was and still is their dream. People are timid or frightened; and do not have the time or courage to speak openly to confront the demons, facing them every step of their lives. The government can do anything to the people at the instruction of their aid donors; they seem to find any other choice, reasonable or not, but to accept it. Then they turned around and tell the nation that the tax on poor and ordinary people is the only salvation for the nation. To tax the rich, who do not pay taxes and the agriculture fat cats, are above the burden of paying taxes. They tell the ill-informed nation that they need to change the constitution to levy taxes on these filthy rich people, and not only the approval from the legislators. The ordinary people have no recourse but to pay the taxes with the money that do not have. They find ways to steal money from poor people; they steal Hajj money; they steal money from education- Existence of thousands of ghost schools are a known fact in the country. From the president to prime minister to ordinary man in Pakistan know this fact that the democratically elected leaders, ministers, members of both houses, have been stealing money from education through these ghost schools and there is nobody to take the case of the people in the parliament or by their elected president and prime minister. They have been poising and killing the future of the country and nobody has guts to stand against it. Who can dare to speak against the powerful corrupt politicians and military; politicians have been voted in by the majority; and the almighty military that is as corrupt as any other institution? The country loves to watch on daily basis the moderators on TV telling them the presence of corruption everywhere; the viewing public has been in-sensitized to the pain of knowing such revolting news that their country has been high jacked by the criminal elements in the country. Yes! We understand that maggots have to eat, but cannot they wait till the corps in the grave? If the people cannot revolt against corruption, they would face inflation, shortages, sickness, illiteracy, and rioting, angry demonstrations, affecting their daily lives, anarchy and possible disintegration of the country. It is time for the good people of the country to stand up and be counted; people should refuse to pay taxes, electric bills and any money owed to the government- The hard earned money should not be shared with a corrupt government.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity – Yeats.
Most of our democrats, elected and selected officials in the government are dangerous and dirty. They are dangerous because they are ignorant and have no knowledge of administering the laws and duties of their respective fields. They are dangerous because they would sell their country for few dollars. They would not care if they stole money from the donations for flooding and earthquake, or the money from Haj funds. Some of the crooks are forming NGOs- They are begging for the donations from the foreign countries, international organizations and Pakistanis living abroad to give them money. They are openly telling people that the government is corrupt, and their only choice to be charitable is to donate money through them. We hear their noble tall tale stories of how they have saved the suffering humanity in Pakistan. The NGO concept and building mosques have become a big business in Pakistan. To raise funds for natural disaster they go to west; and for mosques, the Middle Eastern countries provide them the heavy duty donors- Of course, they also collect as much as they can within the country. If we had an honorable government, the rogue elements would not be able to suggest that they are the only deserving groups in Pakistan to be trusted. Nobody can suggest that all of these NGOs are bad and corrupt; but what do you expect from a country where rich thieves and corrupt officials take pride in their theft. The society gives them respect and they are elected in the assemblies. They have become so bold and shameful if asked why this corruption, they explain their evilness by mentioning others who were dirty.
The debate goes on the virtues of democracy in Pakistan. They say that we should try the democracy till the cow comes home; they mean a slaughtered cow. We have become a country similar to central and South American countries, where the term banana republic was coined- The countries like Guatemala and El Salvador where the corruption and inept leaders destroyed those countries. The solution is not in looking at these great democrats, but in the people who have to say, “Enough is enough”. As long as the people are convinced that they have to wait till things get netter, these democrats would cause irremediable damage to the country. The Supreme Court is taking So Moto actions one after the other; we do not see anything real positive to come out with the rhetoric of the judges.