Beware of the snakes in the grass

Lately there has been a well-orchestrated media blitzkrieg against PPP its Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari. Even some senior journalists have started painting doomsday scenario regarding PPP’s future obviously casting doubts on its present. The overall picture has doubly confounded the confusion. As a detached observer sitting half the world away from Pakistan I have reasons to assume that everything that is being churned out is overly linked to divert the attention from the ramifications of the murder of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the larger conspiracy behind the dastardly deed to obliterate PPP from the body politics of Pakistan-a long standing objective of the establishment and vested interests.
The other day a PPP minister in the Frontier Coalition had expressed his concern over the activities of some of the old Trojan horses in the party trying to destabilise it or undermine it perhaps to promote their own selfish interests after having been sidelined in the larger interest of the party in the post-BB assassination period. His statement has definitely become relevant in view of the recent moves by Amin Fahim, Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi and host of others. They virtually took over the party in the period of BB’s exile and long incarceration of Zardari. While BB denied enough care to her children while her spouse was in jail - to keep the party intact, those who styled themselves as her so-called trusted aides did everything they could possibly do to weaken the party.
Attempts to destroy the PPP and undermine its strength have not been new. Ever since its populist ascendancy and acquisition of a permanent unchallenged position in Pakistan’s politics under the leadership of its founder Shaheed Bhutto and later under Mohtarma Benazir as the sole challenger to the establishment’s power troika, the party has successfully braved all storms, machinations and internal conspiracies by leaders who have either tried to take it over or break it.
When Zia staged a coup against ZAB the majority of the PPP leaders and workers remained loyal and stood steadfast by him. A few quislings did try to break or hijack the party. Though in prison ZAB had seen through the game and was aware of Zia’s conspiracy to take over the party, he chose his his brave wife Nusrat Bhutto to lead the PPP with the help of his dearest daughter. And when Begum Sahiba’s health deteriorated following an unhealed head injury inflicted on her by Zia’s storm troopers in Lahore, Benazir was passed on the mantle of leadership through a consensus of ZAB loyalists. Benazir’s ascendancy as party leader was not aimed at continuing Bhutto family’s hold on the party but to protect and preserve ZAB’s political legacy.
Some who had ambitions of their own sought to establish their own brands of fake PPPs (such as Progressive People’s Party, National People’s Party and later more so as Shaheed groups) only to be shown boot by the masses. The moment these leaders deserted PPP betraying the Shaheed Baba, the masses rendered them into political dwarfs. Expelled by PPP many of them remain political orphans to this day more or less like Leghari. Had ZAB not handed the party leadership over to his dauntless wife to be succeeded by his courageous daughter the PPP by now would have been rendered into yet another PML-Q.
I can claim with least fear of contradiction that preservation of Bhutto-iite identity of PPP and through it service to the people of Pakistan, preservation of the federation, alleviation of the sufferings of the downtrodden masses, empowerment of less privileged including women, minorities and children - were more dear to her than her life. At the same time she was overly conscious of the attempts that were made to hijack the party in the past and had remained apprehensive of imminence of such attempt to her end.
What had shaken her confidence in some of those people in her party who owed their political careers to her was the betrayal by Leghari. I am privy to a hand-written letter from him to BB soon after her father’s execution assuring her that as a Baloch he was honour bound to stand by her through thick and thin like a brother and even to give his life for her.
I wish Sardar Sherbaz Mazari had published his memoirs earlier. One would have learnt about the “other side” of the character of the Tahajudguzar Tamundar of New Choti. It would have made Bibi think twice before nominating him for the presidency. It is indeed divine justice that the person who once was the president is a political pariah.
When 2002 elections were called we knew that BB would not be allowed to contest. Her assessment was absolutely right. Benazir-specific laws were introduced to keep her out. Not only that, such a mechanism was contrived that she could not be in a position to lead the party and if PPP had to contest it had to get registered with a new chairman. In such a situation Makhdoom Amin Fahim, being the senior vice president would have taken over.
Bibi’s case was once bitten twice shy. Besides, she had an excellent network of eyes and ears that kept feeding her what was being conspired in the corridors of power in Islamabad. I was summoned early in the morning to her flat to discuss the situation. I knew it must have been something important that made her call me that early. She said: “Wajid Bhai, advise me what to do. I think there is a conspiracy to take over PPP from me. Since they won’t register it with me as Chairperson we won’t be able to contest.”