It is sickening to hear the hypocritical politicians talking of awami (public) welfare. The people of Pakistan are now not as naive and forgiving as they were some years ago when they would not matter in the power equation beyond casting their votes after a zindabad-murdabad electoral campaign. In the past the people were irrelevant, as they then had no platform from where to scream so that their agonising pain could be conveyed to those entrenched in the corridors of power. All that has now changed and the Pakistani nation has, over the past few years, put its weight behind the media to enable it to remain fiercely independent as their voice. Together, the awam and the media, stand behind a judiciary from which the people of Pakistan now expect nothing but justice for all so that this leads to an everlasting rule of law in this country.

Those in government today and those aspiring to be in government tomorrow must register this new facet of our national politics if they want to save themselves from severe grief. The Pakistani people now truly matter and will make their impact on the future of the country, sooner than most people expect. Most Pakistanis, particularly the younger and more enlightened ones, feel that it is time for the Pakistani people to reclaim the country from the vested interests. The people of Pakistan are now determined to convert their political rulers into public servants.

Let it be said in clear words that the people of Pakistan today await someone to lead them into the revolution that is in the making and if people in power do not arrest the situation through good and just governance that is free of nepotism, cronyism and corruption the revolution will come about even without the leader that it is awaiting. Once ignited the revolution will move on leaderless, initially, till it throws up its own central leader around whom will evolve a new set of leaders at all levels who will then be forced by circumstances to deal with the resultant chaotic situation in a ruthless manner in order to put this country on track once and for all.

All the current political stakeholders should now sit straight in their chairs and fear the foreseeable future if they are not ready to reform instantly. The impending but, as yet, avoidable revolution will create absolute chaotic conditions and possibly heavy bloodshed (something we already have at a large scale), but will, eventually, put the country on a trajectory towards attaining the cherished but evasive Pakistani dream. When the impending revolution comes about, rest assured, there will be no political worker of this or that political party coming to the aid of their present leaders but they would have all merged into one enormous mass called ‘the people of Pakistan’ with only one aim – correcting everything for Pakistan for all times to come.

The brewing political tsunami is likely to be very destructive initially. The warning bell tolls loud and clear but the public and private palaces in the country have become too soundproof to hear those bells. Hunger is difficult to bear and the hunger of one’s children is absolutely intolerable. When this happens the seeds of a revolution are sown and the clock on the peoples bomb exploding in the face of the rulers starts ticking. While Pakistan’s plunge into complete darkness and hopelessness continues and things get worse than ever no one seems to care. Can we then still hope that the revolution will not happen?

It is truly time to give the Pakistani nation the leadership that it deserves. That leadership can never come about through the present dysfunctional parliamentary system. When, by default, Pakistan is always ruled autocratically through the Presidency why do we not regularise that through bringing about a directly elected President for whom obtaining more than 50% votes must be made mandatory. Directly elected Governors in the Provinces on the same lines will be the automatic solution to the issue of provincial autonomy and directly elected Senators will be the automatic solution to get rid of the present collection of sycophants in the garb of Senators. If the rest of the political structure of Pakistan is built around these basics Pakistan will start having quality political leadership that will truly rule in the name of the people of Pakistan.

The days of the bandar baant (monkey distribution) of political spoils in the name of political reconciliation and the distribution of this great country into political fiefdoms to political warlords must come to an end. This great nation of Pakistanis has been ruthlessly crushed and pushed into a state of poverty and deprivation while the political powerhouses, the feudal and business lords, have prospered and moved up the ladder in all respects. It is now time for the people of Pakistan to rule Pakistan through people they can identify themselves with and who truly identify themselves with the people of Pakistan.

The State of Pakistan today is being ripped apart and is becoming more and more devoid of any authority to be able to govern its population. The law-abiding citizens are hostages to the lawless elements. The State apparatus itself is now the oppressor. The State organs for law and order are absolutely helpless and the working of governmental machinery in every sphere of national life is as ineffective as can be. Stories of corruption are not exactly exaggerated. All high water marks seem to have been crossed and why not? Pakistan, the world’s seventh declared nuclear military power having an Interior Minister who is a convict speaks for itself. Is this what Pakistan deserves? Is this what the people of Pakistan are going to digest and hope to survive as a respectable nation? The answer is an obvious no and the impending people’s movement/revolution is sure to correct everything that is today wrong with this beautiful country of ours. It is time for the masses laying their claim to what is theirs – the Pakistan they truly love. What I call ‘The Pakistani Dream’ will then have found its foothold and the rest shall follow slowly, surely and steadily.

There is no time left for the incumbent government to redefine its course and the first step, for its own good, will have to be a complete overhaul of its current governmental team or else sink in the very foreseeable future in an environment which no one can correctly predict beyond saying that it will be a terrible situation that will be inherently unforgiving and chaotic indeed for all the current stakeholders of political power at all levels in the country. All I will suggest to the rulers at all levels as well as to the other politicians is that they should, for their own sake and that of the country, put their ears to the ground and hear the rumble of the approaching storm.
This was published in The News of 25 June 2010 as a comment. The Link to that page is:- http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=247084