Pakistan:Revolutions cannot be triggered

[Ray]

The Dr Qadri episode

Revolutions cannot be triggered as Qadri is trying to do, nor can revolutions be stifled as the Punjab government has tried to stifle them. The Punjab government overkilled on the issue and is now in trouble

A person who can appeal to religious sentiments can stir up the masses to achieve any objective in Pakistan. This is the message stemming from Allama Tahirul Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). On Monday morning, at Lahore airport, before abandoning the plane that had been diverted from Islamabad, Qadri said unequivocally that he would not compromise on anything less than a 'revolution'. He also revealed that he had come back to Pakistan with his bag and baggage to bring about a 'revolution'. He also publicised that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in Pakistan, one of the testimonies to which is that (as he said) he did not leave even his socks behind in Canada.

Along with all his socks, Qadri has brought his Canadian nationality to Pakistan. Now, he enjoys the benefits of dual nationality. It is heard that he wants to bring a 'Green Revolution' to Pakistan. No one has yet claimed the copyright of such a revolution in Pakistan. The slot is open to the early bird. Retrospectively, the Arab Spring might have done justice to the Arabs but it has become a headache for Pakistanis. The Arab Spring has somehow inspired all those Pakistani aspirants who dreamt of entering the corridors of power through the back door. Having predicated on the youth, every (aspiring) leader wants to give his version of the Arab Spring a whirl (in the context of Pakistan) to see if it is rewarding. The only back door available in Pakistan is (created and) manned by the military for which past martial law regimes are evidence. Qadri has also shown faith only in the military and has placed reliance on the youth incited through religious sentiments. However, Qadri has not so far revealed the role the military will play in the revolution he is hell bent on introducing.

Qadri might not be interested in becoming the prime minister of Pakistan but what about those who are keen to be so by treading the path paved by Qadri? Similarly, waiting in the wings are those who may not get a chance to be the premier of the country but they yearn to pull down the incumbent government. Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has said that he is not joining hands with Qadri's PAT but it is obvious that he will be the first one lashing out against any effort of the government to neutralise Qadri's bid to undermine the parliamentary system. Khan is openly siding with Qadri (and his party) for two reasons. First, Khan is taking care of the openly liberal tinge of his party and does not want it to be polluted by the conservative religious colour of Qadri's party. This is the image problem. Second, Khan wants to seek the benefit of Qadri's effort to weaken the moral standing of the government and does not want to play second fiddle to him. This is the ego problem. Some also call it opportunism. If these problems had not been there, Khan would have greeted Qadri at Islamabad's airport.

Nevertheless, there are two other kinds of politicians who are devoid of such hindrances and are openly siding with Qadri (and his party). The first are the Chaudhrys of Gujarat and the second is Sheikh Rasheed of Rawalpindi. They have nothing to lose by joining hands with Qadri (and his party). They are already at the fag end of the political break phenomenon and have been looking for the opportunity of a political make affair.

The actual conflict is not between the central government and (the rhetoric of) the PAT to create a revolution. The real battle is between the central government and (the aspirations of) the opportunists who instigated Qadri into coming back, taking the masses to the streets and making space for their relevance. In this context, Qadri is just a front man doing someone else's bidding. In order to snub behind-the-scenes players, both the central and provincial (Punjab) governments have suppressed the PAT. All those saner voices that were criticising the undue Green Revolution of Qadri are now criticising the Punjab government on its causing, needlessly, the Model Town incident, which took 11 innocent lives. Revolutions cannot be triggered as Qadri is trying to do, nor can revolutions be stifled as the Punjab government has tried to stifle them. The Punjab government overkilled on the issue and is now in trouble.

The Gullu Butt phenomenon was interesting. This one-man army dented the reputation of both the police and the Punjab government. The sabotage actions performed by Butt with impunity indicate that the police had its plans in place to tackle the PAT in its own way. If Butt had not been caught on camera, the damage done to all the vehicles parked in the vicinity of Minhajul Quran — the headquarters of the PAT — could have been laid on the PAT workers. The Punjab government did to itself the damage that its detractors could not collectively do. One point is still not clear: when the efforts of the police to remove barriers from the road(s) leading to the PAT's headquarters had been ongoing since early morning (1:00 am), what prompted the police to resort to violence after nine hours (10:00 am)? What went wrong in these nine hours is yet to be known.

As is apparent, Qadri has taken upon himself to decide the timing and the manner of the kind of revolution he wants to introduce in Pakistan. He thinks that he has the mandate to do so. He also firmly believes that the military is supportive of him. On the other hand, the central government thinks that its detractors are promoting Qadri from behind the scenes to destabilise it. Qadri, with all his foibles, stands between the central government and its opponents. Nevertheless, by confining Qadri to Lahore and especially in the PAT's headquarters, half of the crisis is over.

The Dr Qadri episode
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Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is a Pakistani politician, former law professor and Islamic scholar of Sufism.

He is a PhD in Islamic Law (Punishments in Islam, their Classification and Philosophy) in 1986.

He founded a political party, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

On the validity of the constitution his view is - "a constitution is a man-made law and by no means it can be declared superior to a Allah-made law."

In December 2012, after living for seven years in Toronto, Canada, Qadri returned to Pakistan and initiated a political campaign which called for a "democratic revolution" through electoral reforms. Qadri called for a "million-men" march in Islamabad to protest against the government's corruption.

On 14 January 2013, a sizable crowd marched down the city's main avenue. Thousands of people pledged to sit-in until their demands were met. When he started the long march from Lahore about 25,000 people were with him. He told the rally in front of parliament: "There is no Parliament; there is a group of looters, thieves and dacoits... Our lawmakers are the lawbreakers.".

After four days of sit-in, the Government and Qadri signed an agreement called the Islamabad Long March Declaration, which promised electoral reforms and increased political transparency. Although Qadri called for a "million-men" march, the estimated total present for the sit-in in Islamabad was 25,000 according to the government.

Critics have charged that the protests were a ploy by the Pakistan Armed Forces to delay elections and weaken the influence of the civilian government, citing Qadri's close ties to the military, dual nationality (he is also a Canadian) and suspect foreign and Pakistani sources of funding

Another disruptive element to add to the chaos and confusion and lawlessness in Pakistan.

Pakistan is indeed an unique country. Because:

(a) They have the official power centre - the Govt, the quasi Power Centre.
(b) The Quasi Power Centre but in actuality the real Power of Pakistan - the Army.
(c) The Organising Chaos Centre through Selected Terrorist Organisation - the ISI.
(d) The Self Righteous Power Centre - the Mullah men and their political affiliates.
(e) The Vanguard of Islam Power Centre - the Taliban and the various terrorist organisation under the guise of 'charitable' organisations.
(f) The Separatist Power Centres - like the Baochis and others.

and then they have the coots like this Qadri and Imran Khan who think they are demi Gods by themselves and the new messenger of the Allah, a shade below their Prophet.

And each one is a khalifa by itself and constantly at loggerheads and creating mayhem, carnage and wanton killing, massacres, extortion and all the crimes one can think of.

And surprisingly Pakistan still exists as a Nation.

One has to grant it to the Pakistani citizen for their stoic!