The People's Protest in Pakistan: Will Anything Change?

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Parents presiding over toxic families wield two tools to keep their offspring constantly under their wings. The first tool is fake love combined with emotional blackmail (carrot), and the second is manipulation through gaslighting (invisible stick). The carrot and stick policy produces an excellent result as children lose their agency without even realizing what they have lost. These children grow up under the illusion of being independent and having a say in family matters. Their eyes are so tightly pressed to the perfect family picture hanging from the walls of their parents' imagination that reality gets blurred for them. But an outsider, with the advantage of observing the nuisance from a distance, gets the full view of reality. But children rot in the hell-hole of their parents' selfless 'love.'?

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V.S. Naipaul's book, A House for Mr. Biswas, eloquently spotlights the deep darkness overshadowed by an imagined light at Tulsis' home. Mr. Biswas's in-laws – especially the mother-in-law and uncle-in-law -- run a family where everyone is thankful for the favor. Sons-in-law compete with each other to win the admiration of their benefactors and have no qualms in losing their autonomies to the only sovereign of the home: The Big Hen. Mr. Biswas comes and upsets the apple cart by insisting to 'paddle his own canoe.' However, if we study A Home for Mr. Biswas, we realize that Tulsi's home may be toxic, but it is not only toxic. There is a glimmer of hope. Change is still possible. And change does come in fits and starts. The point I am trying to bring home is simple: love can be deceptive. If love is offered to win loyalty, run for your life.?

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And Pakistan does appear to be running for its life at the moment

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An overbearing establishment has always run the House of Pakistan. The establishment, made mainly of Punjabi jingoists, has since 1957 reimagined Pakistan in its own image. It has a simple message for its children: Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Just give me unconditional loyalty. And, of course, never question my intention. I do whatever I do for your sake. This simple message had many takers for a very long time. From 1957 till 2018 – a good 61 years – no one in Pakistan questioned the intention of the establishment. For a brief period of five years – between 1971 and 1976 – the establishment did lose some of its charms after failing to stop amputation of its east limb, but quickly recovered the lost ground. After all, what would have tall, handsome, physically well-endowed Punjabis done with short, dark, fragile-bodied Bengalis? Good riddance!

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The military of Pakistan came out of barracks in 1957 by taking the smooth highway of Islamism and an imagined threat to it. Fringe political groups took to the streets to force the government of the day to screw the 'Islamic Republic into Pakistan. There was no looking back. The establishment was intelligent enough to usurp democracy, the land, and the people. It gulped the entire nation-state in one go and did not even belch. Uncle Sam was indulgent. The establishment had a cakewalk. A nation carved out to be a refuge for 'Muslims from marauding Hindus' turned into a haven for landlords and warlords. To damn with people was the new hymn for the mullahs and the military.

The status quo continued unabated. But then the establishment made a mistake. It put faith in a man who suffered from neurosis. Imran Khan is not just a cricketer-turned-politician. He is a man who has a firm belief in his invincibility. He believes it is his birthright to rule. History has taught us that no one is more dangerous than those who believe in their infallibility and superiority. Imran Khan has the support of the people of Pakistan. And he has engineered decoupling between the establishment and its serfs.

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Military and the Marketing

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Pakistan's military is a master of marketing. It is probably the only organization in the world that has marketed itself effectively to its people despite having a long list of failures. Benazir Bhutto once taunted the Pakistan military for being the only military in the world that kills its own people. And she was not off the mark. From East Pakistan to other restive areas in Pakistan, Pakistan's military comes down heavily on its people but takes to heel when it comes in contact with an adversary from outside the country. A case in point is its heavy defeat at the hands of India and the regular beatings it receives from the Taliban –a Frankenstein conceived and created in GHQ with much help from the USA.?

?Any organization with a string of failures and a reputation for being brutal to the people it is supposed to protect would have been buried 6 feet beneath the ground. But Pakistan's military is not just another military. It is the manifestation of a promise of the promised land.?

?Generals after Generals – from Yahya Khan to General Parvez Musharaff – pampered themselves with a lavish lifestyle. No one protested. General Yahya Khan was in his comfortable bed with a woman when India was liberating East Pakistan; General Zia-ul-Haq was infusing militant Islamism into the body politic of Pakistan to consolidate his stranglehold over the country and keep PPP away from power; General Parvez Musharraf was busy fraternizing with George W. Bush, the architect of the so-called war against terrorism, and hoarding vast wealth offshores. Gen Musharraf was content with the praise he was receiving from his dollar-deity, Bush Junior. People of Pakistan? To which zoo does this unique animal belong??

?And yet the military remained the darling of the people. Why? Because you don't question people fighting for the dominance of Islam. Pakistan's establishment sold itself to its people like brands sell themselves globally: identifying itself with your emotional needs.?

?The new product in the market

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The days of monopolies are over. Many products compete, and people choose what appeals to them the most. Pakistan's establishment had only Islam to offer; Mr. Imran Khan had Islam, aspiration, west, and sex – not always in that order – to offer. People chose the latter option.

?Mr. Imran Khan talked of Modern Medina, becoming self-sufficient, and the 'moral bankruptcy of the West' in the same breath. He did not talk of sex. He was the symbol of a virile man. He had done it all and walked away from it in search of religion. He had the best of both worlds. He was the epitome of success. He was 'the man' manifest. And people fell for him.?

?The Oligarchs Hit Back

?The more people fell for him, the higher he rose. The higher he rose, the more uncomfortable his benefactors in GHQ grew. The rule of thermodynamics states that you cannot foresee an event. Scientifically it is impossible to predict future events. But Pakistan defies science. As Mr. Khan continued his ascendancy, it became apparent that the establishment would pull him down. And pull him down they did. The story should have ended here, just like it did in the past.?

?Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, and Zaradari never challenged the Patron of Pakistan. But Mr. Khan, infected with a firm belief that he was the Chosen One, decided to challenge the might of the establishment. Pakistan witnessed what it had never witnessed before. The song sung by Iqbal Bano on 13th February 1987 in Gaddafi Stadium reverberated through Pakistan thirty-six years later. Hum Dekhenge, said the people of Pakistan. “Hum dekhenge, lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge, wo din ka jis ka wada hai”, and the Bastille, read GHQ, was stormed. The sanctum sanctorum of Pakistan's sick body politics was defiled. Blasphemy had been committed. The punishment was guaranteed.?

?The punishment came a few days later when the Pope of Pakistan, the establishment, started picking up anyone and everyone who even remotely sympathized with the PTI. PTI's top leadership is being hounded on the filmiest of grounds. Nobody has any doubt the crackdown on PTI has nothing to do with terror and everything to do with politics. The establishment is afraid it is losing ground. To ensure it does not lose any ground further, it has decided to turn Pakistan into a trench.?

?The Road Ahead

?Pakistan is standing at a crossroads. One path leads to the status quo; the other leads to eccentricity. There is not much of a choice for the people of Pakistan. Their stomach is empty, unprecedented inflation has put a matchstick to people's savings, China is not eager to bail Pakistan out of its current economic crisis, and the USA has no interest in lending a helping hand to its old pal. The situation is grim.?

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Empty stomachs and sunken eyes cannot trigger a revolution. A cursory glance at all revolutions of the world will inform you that it is the bourgeois class that brings revolution. Pakistan does not have a middle class. It has an elite class and a poor class. Poverty begets misery, not power. What can happen in Pakistan is this: people vent their frustration for a few days or months by taking to the streets, and the military will sit idle and wait out the storm. If the storm gathers force, there is always the option of violence. Pakistan is caught in the vicious cycle of two steps forward, 22 steps back. Captain has challenged the status quo. Will he succeed? Only the Gods or the establishment know the answer to this question.?

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