The Severely Retarded

By Aik Awaz - One Voice

A columnist known for her humor coined the epithet ‘Im the Dim’ for the Kaptaan’ who is currently swaying the masses with his oratory and regaling them with personal anecdotes and revelations about those in the government or those opposing him and his revolutionary ideas for a ‘new Pakistan’. There is no doubt that his charisma and the catchy tunes and slogans are pulling in the crowds but so far there has been nothing said that could indicate that the title of Im the Dim was inappropriate and that actually a great intellect is at work. In fact the talk is of bulldozers tearing down walls, masses confronting those in authority, billions coming back to the country and so on ad nauseum. Except for two or three the other faces on the stage with the kaptaan do not inspire confidence.

   

Fortunately for the Kaptaan those he is railing against are beyond dim. They seem to be retarded. Instead of choosing a team that could govern and gain them credibility they opted to sideline the few talented people they had and brought in mouth pieces to trumpet their nonexistent achievements. No one was surprised when these morons talked themselves and their leader into ridiculous situations. Instead of delivering on governance they totally ignored the grievances of the masses and set about mega projects that boggled the mind. Neither the declining economy nor the precarious security situation fazed these people and nor did they deem it necessary to consult with others-- even ignoring the voices being raised against them and highlighting their follies. Into this widening breach between the government and the people stepped the gallant kaptaan and the result is before us. 

Unfortunately what is visible to all is still not understood by the retarded. Their minions make fools of themselves when they call a clearly visible crowd of hundreds of thousands something ten times less. They raise themselves to foolish levels when a scion of their dynastic political ambitions keeps a crowd of young people waiting for three hours and then starts talking about irrelevant things. Is it any wonder that he was booed off the stage and had to beat a retreat via a back door? How can the leader of a country go abroad without an agenda to justify the expense of his visit? Instead of muzzling their mouthpieces and pushing those into the wood work where they should be, these three nightmares are still doing everything possible to destroy their leader. Not learning from their disastrous intervention in Model Town they let loose a bloated Neanderthal in Islamabad whose fat red face and bulging neck veins will be forever imprinted on the mind as the image of the police top leadership. 

Neither the military nor anyone else needs to move a muscle. The dim and the retarded are exposing the political institution as never before. In fact everyone needs to lie low and let the drama unfold. The trouble is that a nuclear power is getting the image of a politically and economically unstable country with a massive security problem. Many are working to maintain and magnify this image to the world. The feeling on the street is that between the dim and the retarded something has to give and they hope and pray that it is not Pakistan. There are, of course, the optimists who think that democracy is being strengthened without pausing to consider why no one ever took this road to a strong democracy before.

Democracy’s savior: The Military?

Ever since Islamabad was taken hostage by the two rallying political parties namely PTI and PAT, speculation about the military’s involvement in the situation has arisen on many occasions and through various channels. Not only has it boiled down to speculation but baseless allegations have been leveled against the military as well.

The add is that the nation’s historic paranoia of the military and its coups, will always be confused when evaluating the military’s intentions on taking control of Islamabad and turning Pakistan into an unruly dictatorship as seen in the previous decades. However, this time, even though the military was in an over-watch role it has made it clear time and time again that it does not intend to meddle in the affairs of the state. On numerous occasions it has asked the political parties to converge in a form of table dialogue which will end the stalemate overpowering Pakistan currently. It is vital then to configure that for the first time in history, the military is upholding the rights of a civilian government and seeing democracy through. Despite the media and general public opinion claiming opposing theories, the argument on the military wanting to use its professionalism in security apparatuses rather than the state affairs has begun to ring true. How so? Well, the coup would have taken place by now. What the public opinion seems to dismiss is that the army has been called in by the civilian government to take affairs into their hands and even though this act has been deemed as a soft coup by many it remains safe to claim that the military has been pushed into politics by the government itself, in which case again, the army works on saving its image by emphasizing the need for democratic rules.

The hypothetical military take over for the fifth time would cause an international outcry that Pakistan is in no position to bear. Not only will it be a death-blow to democracy at home, but it will also harbor ill feelings towards Pakistan, a country that is in a strategic position when it comes to the war against terrorism. Not only will it set Pakistan back, but will aid in maneuvering a widening gap in comparison to its rival India, next door. India and Pakistan have now initiated steps in trade but with a military take-over; it will isolate Pakistan in the region. Not only will India hold back, but allies such as the United States which gives supportive aid to Pakistan will have to impose sanctions under its laws. Again, a situation that, Pakistan cannot afford at this point in time.

The military in Pakistan is conducting Operation Zarb-e-Azab to save Pakistan. With natural disasters such as the floods that have taken over certain regions in Punjab, the military is focusing on rescue operations there as well. Keeping this in view, the military simply cannot get side-tracked into disastrous political involvement unless there are extraordinary circumstances that warrant such a retrograde step.

Tacstrat Analysis