The future post-Benazir Bhutto
The tragic death of Benazir Bhutto is the darkest event - by far - in a country where bloodshed and turmoil has become a daily routine; whether it is in the Swat valley or on the crowded streets of Karachi. Ms Bhutto was buried by the mass crowd of Larkana next to her father. It was the same district where – in September 1996 – the crowd that had gathered to bury her brother, Murtaza Bhutto, pelted stones at her car forcing her to leave. (She was Prime Minister at the time). It seemed though that the people of Larkana had forgiven her as hundreds of thousands mourned her death.
Some people criticized her, not least because of the approval of her husband's exploits, but also due to the feudal system she represented, her political opportunism and her autocratic party rule (of which she was chairperson for life). But she was loved by many. She promised to root-out religious extremism and so was the darling of the West. She persisted that she represented the poor, and lately – and most importantly – her anti - establishment and Musharaf stance gave her much support amongst the masses. Her death, on the other hand, is being increasingly attributed to the extremist (religious) zealots, by both people in Pakistan and in the West.
The truthfulness of this is unclear. However the chain-reaction that this attribution has started has made some to ask, has the widely predicted 'clash of fundamentalism' in Pakistan now irrevocably begun? Firstly, the definition of the involved fundamentals is in order. In simple, it is the clash between, liberalism (concerning religion) and religious conservatism (or extremism as is widely used in media). It is also between the ideas of laissez faire (as is promoted by the West) and poverty, the list goes on. The unfortunate aspect of all this is that these fundamentals are badly understood. The Bush statement, that the murder is "… cowardly act by murderous extremists …" is a telling example; if nothing comes to mind, blame it on (religious) extremists and the same applies vice versa.
Critically though, the answer lay not in what the extremists say on both sides, or the identity of the murderer or his accomplices/ masters who were involved in her death, but in us, all of us. This so called clash has - up till now - been restricted to minor incidents and occasional ruptures (Red Mosque and recently in Swat valley) but has remained largely underground. Another limiting factor has been that the huge majority - being moderates- have been uninterested and to a large extent uninvolved. The influence of the two extremes has oscillated throughout Pakistan's history while the majority has remained in a semi-sleep. But has this changed? Have most of us changed? Again only time will tell.
No doubt than – for Pakistan – the crucial question would be, what happens now? What lies ahead? All we have heard so far is from the Western politicians, save Imran Khan who has called for boycott to election. On Thursday Bush called on Pakistan "to honour Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life." Gordon Brown, similarly, asked Musharaf to "stick to the course he has outlined to build democracy and stability in Pakistan." He further said that "the international community is united in its outrage and determination that those who stoop to such tactics shall not prevail". Others have been less optimistic. John McLaughlin, former acting director of the CIA, predicted that the chaos would last for weeks at least if not more. The western political pundits have also wasted no time to blather on their fantasy of a jihadi finger on a nuclear trigger.
Our politicians, on the other hand have decided not to (publically) dwell on it - probably rightly so as well. While we have already started to see the blame games, the speculations, the conspiracy theories already grappling many, I see no reason to participate in the same. Doing so would be fruitless and wasteful -for now - because it surrounds too many uncertainties. If politicians use it, it would be nothing but playing with emotions and political cheapness.
On the news of Bhutto's death, vandalism and arson attack started. Trains have been burned and businesses destroyed. People were –understandably – outraged and so the chaos continues. Unfortunately, we act before we think. It is high time we reverse that. There is no other time for greater need for calmness, than now. It is time for flexibility and tolerance, more so by the politicians themselves than anyone else. The decision not to contest election by the Nawaz Sharif's PML-N was probably too hasty and therefore did not help the situation. What is needed is careful reflection on the events with guarded action. I pray for the safety and betterment of everyone and Pakistan.
