BY

Pakistan is a country of religious, patriotic, and emotional people. From the mountains of Khyber to the salt waters of Manora, from the beautiful Rawal Lake to the Gwadur Port, and from Hazara to Hyderabad and Pasni to Pindi, the 130 million denizens united as one nation but with their own language, culture, customs, and priorities strive to be a great country.

The Pakistani people have gone thru a lot of tribulations and triumphs in the years from 1947 to 1995. This nation was formed by visionaries and achievers with the intention to safeguard the Muslims of undivided India by providing an identity of pride and an abode they could sincerely call their own. The idea behind all this was to provide a structural system that would be the paradigm of unity, and would also ensure a life of decency, a channel of prosperity, and a society of enterprise.

Throughout the nearly five decades, the dream and the vision began a sinister transformation. The progressive outlook was overshadowed by reactionary machinations. The democratic notions took a back seat to the authoritarian inquinations of dictators and dyed-in-the-wool democrats. The will of the people was brutally muzzled by the rulers, in connivance with the conspiratorial bureaucrats, and with the help of uniformed personnel. The country was sailing in uncharted waters, manned by crews that lacked subservience, and steered by helmsmen blinded by the sycopancy and pomposity, who without fail, over-indulged themselves in the Sauvignon of near-absolute power.

It is this country where the rulers no matter which community, caste, or profession they came from, ruthlessly and brazenly assimilated their grip on the reins of the nation and did their utmost to sacrifice every and all institutions that were percieved as detrimental to their hold on the ruling seat, or that were construed to be bete-noires. The "me-first" syndrome was sacrosanct and the interests of the country or of the citizens were of least consequence to these rulers.

The people in power here in this Land of Pure play a very sinister and black-hearted game. This is the "I-am-patriot-you-are-traitor" pastime, a source of amusement for them but disastrous and damaging to the integrity and survival of this nation. The annals of the country’s history are replete with examples of this macabre entertainment which the people in power so carelessly play. The sanctimonious adherence to the frenzied accusations of treason has now become a regular feature in the lexicon of Pakistani politics. The opposing camps in the political arena use this without fail. Accusing others of treason has become an obsession, an idee fixe.

The country has witnessed at different times the manner in which the elite of the nation, those who rambled in the corridors of power, being hounded out as traitors. The concieved, percieved, or concoted reasons are proclaimed with cacophonous intensity thru the controlled information media. This gives rise to suspicion in the common populace which in turn provides the desired impetus to the accusers to carry out smoothly their planned pogrom. The ensuing result normally is the departure of the accused from the national political scene until such a time when the environment is conducive for that person’s triumphant return. Of course, this return is part of the rehabilitation process enabling that person to convert from a stint in purgatory to habitation in the blossoming gardens of power and pelf. The recent events merit discussion in the light of what has been written above.

One can muse about the case history of alleged traitors like the late Jam of Sindh who vanished into the oblivion of a London apartment, only to make a grand appearance as the demonic ruler of the southern part of the country. He was back with a vengeance and his tenure was considered as the rule of the dark jungles. No one who transgressed his edicts or who dared to confront him were spared. He was a one man judge, jury, and hangman. The brutal scars of his despotic regime will take years to heal.

One can then contemplate the case of the Feudal Lord. Here was one strong-headed person who styled himself as the undisputed Lion of Punjab, though some coulmnists called him, with tongue in the cheek, as the Loin of Punjab, considering his monumental bedroom conquests. Anyway, this Lord was to come and rescue the country from the tentacles of a military regime, riding, a la Don Quixote, on the tanks of the Bharat Army. The treachery cases have now been shoved under the proverbial carpet, and today, this strongman rules over the highly sensitive Water and Power Ministry. He is often seen wearing Army regulation fatigues, even in official meetings. This could be his snooty answer to the dire reminders of his alleged mission.

The younger sibling of the Mohtrama is another case to study. The founder of Al-Zulfiquar spent his youth in exile away from the helter-skelter life under the dictatorial rule of the General from Jullundar. He was the perfect example of a man forcefully accused of treason against the motherland, especially one whose paterfamilia was the one time Lord of the Realm. The action-packed drama of the PIA hijacking, the fiery statements out of his hideouts in Afghanistan, France, and Syria, and his battle-cry for revolution were manna for the General to savor. He manipulated the braggadocio of this turbulent youngman into his malevolent scheme of things and used this in his unending but unsuccessful campaign to obliterate the Bhutto name from the country’s history books. With the advent of Benazir Bhutto back into the driving seat in Islamabad, the thorns and stones in the path of the return of the prodigal son were removed, and the once-pariah is now a respected member of the Sindh Assembly. He moves around with his gun-toting bodyguards and is given plentiful media coverage and is at times provided with the required escorts.

Then there are many cases that can be recollected. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was accused too. So were Khan Ghaffar Khan and his prodigy. G.M.Syed and his merry band. Eminent Balochi leaders and their kin were cast into this opera of treason. The list can go on and on. Of course, the top echelons in the bureaucracy and armed forces (thanx heavens) have been spared this ordeal. But what about the Big Three in today’s political scenario in Pakistan ?

The story is very familiar and takes on a different course when the J’Accuse is so wantonly volley-balled from the court of the Premier to the bastion of the Opposition top honcho, and thru the vitriolic blasts of the Prime Minister all the way to the well- secured London sanctuary of the resident of 90, Azizabad, from where another round of allegations in the form of sermons are relayed back. Or as the Germans say: Heute mir, morgen dir. (My turn today, yours tomorrow).

It is therefore obvious that this "treason culture" is now a vital part of the national political scene. The word is now seemingly used in a rather care-free manner and the feeling is evident that there could be some truth in all these insinuations and blames. Afrter all, these are from respectable people who rule over the country. So then, who else is a traitor ?

Well, the rulers consider each other one. The minions, well-versed in the traditional art of sycophancy and flattery echo the accusations, going two steps further. The followers of the rulers, the jiyalas and the other kind (can’t think of specific terms for them ), are all in the game. The media highlights the claims and counter-claims on a daily basis. The readers of newspapers and magazines who go thru this everyday. The viewers who watch all this with bored intensity on the government propaganda networks. The man on the street, the diffident homemaker busy with her household chores, the teenager in school or college. Are they all part of the game and are really into believing that this nation is ruled by traitors ? If they all are, then please forgive me too. For . . . . . . .