The funny thing is that the Faujiz(Army) have divided the house so much, they can't put anything together now. The degree to which people despise this government- specifically the Faujiz - is quite remarkable.

Just go down the list, these Faujiz have given red-carpet receptions to every criminal politician as long as they lick Fauji feet. Sherpao is now the water minister, Ishratul Ibad the man who personally enjoyed torturing his adversaries by drilling holes in their knee-caps is the Governor of Sindh, Shujaats and Elahis have been forgiven for their numerous corruption cases, Manawar Manj, the former MNA from Sheikhupura – the biggest narcotics smuggler in the country who’d been sentenced to death – is released with the help of his son who finally manages to strike a deal with the government if he switches loyalties to the Faujiz…and the list of bribed MNA’s and MPA’s goes on and on. We’ve always had corrupt politicians and turn-coats. But I don’t recall when there was such a set-up where the politicians had been so effectively divided and where each of these criminals was totally sure that political life depended on not what the people chose but on how you licked Fauji feet as those are the real people engineering the outcomes of elections.

We have multiple layers of powers and no one knows who is to do what. Whereas the federal and provincial level politicians are bribed into supporting the Faujiz, the nazims and local level representatives elected on a non-party basis have taken the country backwards by appealing to the medieval ‘biradari’ system- which is bound to happen when you take away national political parties which despite all their faults actually help bring people of different castes, religions, and ethnic background together.

Despite ruining what little political process this country had, it’s mind-boggling how ineffective and totally disoriented the current Fauji-lead government is. It is only a matter of time before they go back to their barracks licking their wounds after drawing a face-saving compromise with the politicians. The sad thing is four years were wasted. Once again the country’s political development will begin from ground zero and the shenanigans of politics will leave much uncertain as the various political parties and decaying institutions try to once again find their own respective spaces on the national scene.

Institutional development needs the security of a continuing process- no matter how messed it may be.
(Izzah)