Leaderless: government, lawyers movement

Astute analysts on Pakistan are generally astonished that despite the lapse of four months since the February 18 elections, there is no substantive change in the federal governments outlook, image or composition. Indeed even major policies, both domestic and external, remain the same. The NYT in a recent powerful expose on Pakistan dated June 24 says quite accurately that there is “a leaderless drift in Pakistan four months after the elections.”

To begin with the country’s top officials are unchanged; attorney general, an arch supporter of the Musharraf dictatorial elements, is still there as have been the Governor Sindh and until lately of Punjab as well. All the premier Ambassadors of the country like that at UN in New York and in Geneva are still unchanged; indeed the former Ambassador in Washington has just moved a step closer to the seat of power in Islamabad by being made the National Security Advisor. With same faces, little can one expect of true index of a representative government in harness in Islamabad.

Politically, Nawaz and his PML-N despite being a coalition partner of the PPP led government has no clue about what is going on and admittedly is never consulted on any major issue. More recently both the ANP and indeed the JUI said they were considering withdrawing from their participation in the coalition. Even the PPP does not really know what is going on. All the real and established PPP leadership did not have much rapport with the current supremo Zardari until the untimely passing away of Benazir thereby creating a strange kind of consequence. No one in the government, including the PM really is in a position to take any decision since that prerogative ostensibly only vests in Zardari who is often abroad when crucial decisions are needed within Pakistan.

The same is true seemly sadly, of the lawyers movement; neither could they achieve any tangible concrete result and their main leader, by now the well known president of the SCBA, is was in the US reportedly making speeches to audiences already converted. Lawyer bodies elect their leaders to stay in the country at such crucial time and not proceed to other capitals to make contact with powers that may be.

What is the raison d’etre of such visits and such engagements at this pivotal time? His publicly orchestrated taking the CJ to condole with Zardari was for whose benefit? Though he along with several stalwarts of the PPP are sidelined by Zardari, scepticism remains if his 40 year old association in the party has something to do with this volte face  when he refused a sit in after the Long March seemed to bear fruit. No wonder a leader of the British Pakistani legal community Amjad Malik who like many of us have given huge sacrifices said, poignantly in a piece recently, “He (president SCBA) caved in meagrely, called off his moot and went to United States where all leaders go once they are tired…” In his self belief he called it a day without taking any public statement in response to his million March, in fear of unrest without proper consultation leaving the nation in shock and lawyers in dejection. How will he ever gather 5 lakhs in future, only he knows?”