Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

Sometime I think we need Pol Pot solution when it comes to our ruling elite. They all deserved to be put in gas chambers. :frowning:

Hypocrisy of Pakistan’s ruling elite
The BBC Urdu service’s Masud Alam says a contempt for the law has always permeated throughout Pakistan’s ruling class.

Senior government functionaries in Pakistan are fond of complaining, in private, that the nation they are serving is averse to following the dictates of law.

Pakistani parliament
The laws are broken by those who made them

That if something does not work in this country it is because the common man does not follow the system.

Lack of education, lack of discipline and lack of respect for the law are just some of the misdemeanours on the part of a populace that hampers the pace of progress.

A section of Pakistanis - the so-called educated and those living abroad - also subscribe to this preposterous notion.

But in truth, things could not be more different.

‘A few drops’

It is the incompetence of the bureaucracy, the ignorance of lawmakers, the greed of the military for power and riches - combined with a glaring contempt for the law on the part of all three groups - that has created and then compounded the social anarchy that everyone is now forced to live in.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
[Nawaz Sharif] was eager to please the Americans at any cost - in this case the cost was trashing the judicial system of his own country

There is no law in this country that cannot be or has not been broken by the very people who made them, and those whose job it is to implement them.

Take the law banning alcohol, for instance. It was introduced by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected prime minister and the modern, liberal and democratic face of Pakistan in the 70s.

Bhutto is also the man who publicly admitted that he did not mind downing a few drops after a hard day’s work.

Another prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, took the oath of office that emphasises the protection of life and property of every citizen.

He then proceeded to allow a team of American security men to raid a hotel in a Pakistani city, kidnap a Pakistani national, drive him to Islamabad, put him in a plane and fly off to the US.

Auto-rickshaw in Pakistan
Law-abiding Pakistanis see the law catching up with its breakers

The suspect, Aimal Kasi, was wanted by the Americans on charges of killing two CIA officials. The US wanted to bring him to justice at any cost. And the Pakistani PM was eager to please the Americans at any cost - in this case the cost was trashing the judicial system of his own country.

The same prime minister sent a team of party officials, including sitting parliamentarians, to storm the Supreme Court building and break into the court room where a petition against the PM was being heard.

The so-called National Accountability Bureau has in the past few years apprehended several high ranking politicians on charges of corruption, but if they agreed to join the military government - and almost all of them did - they were not only conveniently forgotten, some were made federal ministers.

Passing the baton

Three times in the history of this young country, the army chief has led a coup against a civilian government. The constitution was on each occasion trampled under military boots, even though it defines such actions as acts of “high treason”.

Each military dictator seeks to pass on the baton to another, much like handing family treasures to the next generation.

President Musharraf
President Musharraf yielded on the chief justice issue

The message that reaches the masses is: there is no law of the land and we have no rights, except what we can grab for ourselves.

The rulers, their coterie and functionaries, are the law. They will apply the writ when they see fit and they will overlook when it is wise to do so.

The people of this country have learnt to live in a system heavily skewed against them. They look for short cuts, they bribe their way, they use friends’ and family’s influence, they lie through their teeth, they plead and they threaten because there is no straightforward way to get things done.

To label these people “law breakers” is then adding insult to injury if the labeller is from the ruling class. Because in this country, laws are not made “for the people”, more often than not they are made to be used “against” them.

It’s the ruling class that routinely breaks the law and considers it a privilege

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It is therefore only natural for people to break these laws whenever they can get away with it.

Conversely, if you provide an environment where the regulations aim to provide comfort and protection to the users, and the laws they produce are clearly communicated and fairly and firmly applied, the people of Pakistan will be as law abiding as any other people in the world.

This is the background that explains the relief and joy of the common man at the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry as the chief justice of Pakistan.

Protesting lawyers in Pakistan
People power forced the reinstatement of Mr Chaudhry

For the first time the law has not sided with the law makers. For the first time, a powerful government headed by a serving general has failed to subvert the judiciary. And for the first time, people have come out on the street, in their hundreds of thousands, in support of the rule of law.

These masses were not motivated by some charismatic political leader. It was the unity of lawyers all over the country, and their objective of upholding the law, that got the attention of the people.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision, striking down the presidential charge sheet against the chief justice, is indeed a watershed in the history of Pakistan.

It has proved conclusively that the people of this country want justice. They believe in the need for laws, and they are capable of respecting them.

It is the ruling class that routinely breaks the law and considers it a privilege. These are the people who, for a change, are now fearful of the application of law under an independent judiciary.

The people of Pakistan do not expect an overnight sea change in their circumstances at the hands of a born-again judiciary. It is the prospect of law finally catching up with the real law breakers, that they find so irresistibly sweet.

If you would like to comment on this column please use the form below.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan’s ruling elite

Bro, I am with you on this. I think this line of thinking should be propogated and a few politicians sent to the gallows. The concept of the rule of law in Pakistan is a joke. Large segments of the country are stuck in the middle ages. The politicans are out to make money, destroy their rivals, and the last thing they care about is the people.

I would not mind wiping the slate clean, bringing in new faces.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

I think they consider it their right not privilege.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan’s ruling elite

BBC’s Masud Alam has a right to say whatever he wants. Freedom of expression must be practiced everytime someone wants to dump $hite on Pakistan.

However it boggles my mind when ingest that $hite without even blinking.

Why is it so? Pakistan is the most unappreciated country in the region. This is all thanks to our own “Nashukra Hazrat” (Thankless people).

Mr. Khan you even know what Pol Pot did to his own people? Even when you lap up all this revolutionary garbage, Pol Pot system was an utter failure.

Did his country become the #1 economic power house in the region? Heck no!

In fact Cambodia even now is at best, in the league of Jannats (heavens on earth) like $hite holes of Afghanistan or Bihar.

Cambodia’s budget is not even $1 billion and the population is 14 million that mostly lives in poverty stricken sewage infested areas.

If Cambodia is your role model, please take it to some other place, as we Pakistanis do not want to be Cambodia (Kampochia), or Afghanistan, or Bihar. As that famous saying goes: Be Billi, chooha Landora hi Bhala [trans: Pakistanis are much better off without Pol Pot, or Karazai, or other despots].

Thanks to Pakistan’s army, our mega-farmers, and our hard working industrialists we either match or exceed the economic + Law and order situaiton in our region.

We had extensive discussion on this in a separate thread. Here are the links for your reference.

Pakistan’s comparison with neighbors (empirical analysis)
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/showpost.php?p=5163696&postcount=6

Pakistan’s comparison with neighbors (analysis based on budget numbers)
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/showpost.php?p=5163696&postcount=10

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

What's the point of this thread? Whether Sharief or BB or Musharaf - they're all the same ultimately. they all have their repspective support base and play their innings until either caught (Nawas), bowled (BB) or Retired Hurt (ZB, Zia). May be Musharaf will get LBw for a change.Now, who's the support base? The same people you talk about. The same sheep that either follows the goats or worse. Until some honest leader with personal and public integrity surfaces there is no reprieve.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

u can count me in too, but will i get a chance to beat them up before dumping them in gas chamber:D

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

I think that is a resonable request. We shoud also have the families of the victims of these politician's terrorism take part in this cleansing.

For these politicians, their loyalty lies in their pocket books.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

He was referring to the Pol Pot solution for the ruling elite.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

How do you select the people for this purge? Will it be by seniority, who has ruled Pakistan the longest?

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

Easily. Starting with those who have been PM more than once :D

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

First I never said anything about killing our own people, but thats whats happening thanks to American dictation. Our armed forces who should be protecting our frontiers are killing our own people on behalf of the US.

2ndly, our military is in fact, Military Inc. Also, can you disagree with this?

[quote]
It is the incompetence of the bureaucracy, the ignorance of lawmakers, the greed of the military for power and riches - combined with a glaring contempt for the law on the part of all three groups - that has created and then compounded the social anarchy that everyone is now forced to live in.
[/quote]

All these groups are like termites. Eating our nation from inside out. :(

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

" killing our own people on behalf of the US. "
So, on who's behalf are terrorist taliban killing our own people?

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

Its funny they were mujadeens when they were fighting for us, but now they're terrorists b/c they're fighting us. BTW, dont get me wrong I'm not supporting Taliban. Taliban were created, supported and funded by govt of Pakistan and thats pretty well known fact. So, who should we blame?

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

Lot of people can be blamed, nasrullah babar, zia-ul-haq etc, right now important thing is too defeat them.

Re: Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite

Is there a diff between Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite and Hypocrisy of Pakistan's elite...?