The time to sacrifice

The Pakistan Peoples Party has now entered the self-destruct mode. Once the champion of the poor people, of the underprivileged, founded by the charismatic and brilliant Zulfikar Ali Bhutto - it now faces a humiliating trust deficit, brought about by the leadership that was wrested in the aftermath of the tragic assassination of Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto. Events moved so quickly that all were left aghast at the emergence of Mr Asif Zardari as the new strongman of Pakistan. In our minds the result reflected the peoples' grief, and was acceptable to all. Notwithstanding the murky machinations of the US and British hands in the background. However, subsequent events have shown that the PPP chairman has chartered a course which is disastrous for the party and far worse, will damage the federation of Pakistan of which he is president.
The sycophancy syndrome that seems to afflict all Pakistani leadership has shown itself manifestly in the Zardari Cabinet, with equally disastrous results. From the Musharraf Cabinet, which included the 'slapper' and the 'liar', the mantle of the liar has shifted to the minister for water and power who has promised time and again to light up our lives, while we grope on in the dark. In reality these promises are promised delays. The basic flaw in the Cabinet as in Musharraf's is the inability to perform. This abysmal performance was the reason for Musharraf's ouster, and the incumbent government looks headed in the same direction - only faster. In Pakistan, crony cabinets are the norm, but it seems that the president may have scraped the barrel while picking his lot. Except for the prime minister, none of the insiders carries any weight other than scandals. The president has not sacked any of his cronies, which was done by the prime minister - full marks to him. The PM's steps have resulted in his wife's name appearing on the NRO list! Inaction on the part of the president smacks of complicity. With the large number of scandals surfacing in the press, if the Supreme Court were to take notice then a separate Accountability Court may have to be formed just for this regime alone - and that too in just over a year.