Benazir's Children Should Not Be
Inducted Into Politics
21 Feb 2012By Saeed Qureshi
Pakistan's incumbent president Asif Ali Zardari, who
is also the acting chairman of the ruling party PPP,
has indicated many a time that Asifa Zardari Bhutto
would lead the party and carry forward the vision of
her deceased mother and that of her grandfather and
founder of the PPP; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Earlier, following the assassination of the
chairperson of PPP, Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto, her son
Bilawal was appointed as the chairman of the party
with a new name: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. It was a
shrewd move on the part of Asif Zardari to integrate
two clans, namely Bhutto and Zardari into one male
successor thus crafting a semblance of unity and
togetherness of the two tribes. He wanted Bilawal to
represent Bhutto family to obfuscate dissentions
within the party.
Bilawal was named chairman of the PPP in December
2007. Zardari planned to serve as a co-chairman of the
PPP for at least three years until Bilawal completed
his studies overseas. Although Bilawal returned to
Pakistan in 2011, and is de-facto chairman of PPP, Mr.
Zardari presumably, plans to hold reins of the party
till such time as Bilawal is mature enough to take
charge of the party as its full-fledged functional
head.
Surprisingly, while it was foregone and a settled
matter that the next chairman to lead the party is
Bilawal, all of a sudden, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari started
propping up Asifa as the PPP's leader and an
intelligent successor of late Benazir Bhutto. Asifa
who is now 19 years of age is being invited to various
state functions held at the president's house and at
the prime minister's residence.
It should be recollected that when Asif Ali Zardari
entered the presidential residence for the first time,
he was ensconced on both sides by his two daughters
Asifa and Bakhtawar. While initially Bakhtawar (22
years) was being bolstered, later she went into
oblivion and was substituted by Asifa for making
certain statements about her family, her vision,
perceptions and aims with regard to the future of
Pakistan and the party.
Recently when president Zardari left for Dubai for his
heart surgery, Bilawal Bhutto came to Pakistan. But he
remained non vocal and reticent without issuing any
substantive statements. He looked subdued and seemed
to be in a state of introspection or introversion.
His visibly sluggish posture or quiet demeanor as
reflected from his body chemistry could be due to the
illness of his father or the lurking feeling that his
father was heaped with a plethora of accusations or
allegations one of which was that he could be also be
instrumental in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
He could also nurse a kind of forlorn feeling that why
all of a sudden his sister was being promoted by his
father as the prospective leader of the party and that
finally the reins of the party could be handed over to
Asifa.
But more potent reason could be his lately nursed
disenchantment with politics and like her aunt Sanam
Bhutto; he might not like to delve in politics under
paranoia of being the target of the elements that
killed his mother. Or maybe by virtue of his
temperament he is not attuned to getting into the
political arena and instead prefers to lead a private
life. It could also be possible that father and son
might have developed some yet to be revealed
differences on matters exclusively privy to them.
Patently, these are all speculations. But
notwithstanding the internal feuding within the family
for ascendency in the party hierarchy, a keen observer
of Pakistan's murky politics would strongly argue that
the leadership of the PPP should not be passed on to a
member of the Bhutto family.
Firstly, it would be negation or deviation from the
established principle of electing a leader from among
the cadres. If the PPP is going to be the family
property then its democratic credentials would remain
exposed to questioning and its legitimacy as the
national party would remain clouded.
Secondly, the progeny of Ms Bhutto might not be as
competent as were their mother and grandfather. The
Bhutto legacy is certainly a cherished and romantic
phenomenon for the steadfast Bhuttoites, so called
jialas (die-hard fans) and devotees of Bhutto family.
Nevertheless, the ground realties of the political
turf in Pakistan are, rough, unpredictable and
uncharitable.
The raison d'être for this assertion is that the PPP
needs to re-establish its popular image as a party of
the masses managed by a brand of leadership that is
clean, upright and democratically hoisted in the
hierarchy of the party. It would be a tall order for
all the three children of Benazir Bhutto to lead PPP
at a much younger age when it is faced with monumental
challenge of refurbishing its bruised image.
The party needs to motivate and reunite the cadres
disillusioned with the corruption of its stalwarts
especially Asif Ali Zardari who cannot come clean even
if he endeavors to prove himself as an honest person
for his whole life.
As for the children of Ms Bhutto, they would always,
like their mother, remain vulnerable for their
personal safety, and thus restrained from freedom of
movement and speech. During the past decade or so, the
free movement and open door politicking of the
political and religious leaders have come under severe
containment and rigorous restrictions.
If Bhutto family is the repository of an unsurpassed
fame, immense esteem and eminence, they have foes and
adversaries too. It should not be overlooked that four
celebrated figures of the Bhutto family were murdered,
with the founder of the family hanged through a fake
and farcical judicial process.
It would be befitting to allude to the Nehru family
that was as much loved and venerated in India as that
of Bhutto family in Pakistan. One of the globally
known strongest female head of a government, Indira
Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards
in October 1984.
Her assassination was viewed as an act of vengeance
against Indira for ordering "operation blue star "in
June 1984, entailing massacre of thousands of Sikhs.
Her two sons also subsequently perished. Sanjay Gandhi
was killed in a flying accident in 1980. The second
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Tamil
Nadu (May 1991) in a suicide bombing carried out by
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
It was a sagacious decision on the part of Rajiv's
widow Sonia Gandhi to remain in the background
although she could have become the prime minister of
India on the drop of the hat. She was well aware that
she could be targeted as well. As such she has
remained safe, as well as in a dominant position of
leading her party and influencing the government with
her decisions.
Rahul Gandhi, the son of late Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi
has been kicking around in the political arena to
begin with, but was perhaps prevailed upon by his well
wishers and more by his mother to not challenge the
traditional rivals as the scion of Gandhi family. He
seems to have understood the message and is now
modestly conducting himself that would be tolerable
for both friends and foes. His position as the general
secretary of the Indian National Congress and member
of Lok Sabha is harmless. But the moment he would
aspire for a higher status he could encounter threats
to his life.
Politics is rather becoming a tough undertaking and a
harrowing ordeal for traditional political families
particularly in the third world countries. The people
are now more politically conscious and want a free run
for everyone to aspire and compete for top slots
either within the party or in the government. If the
families continue to occupy the parties' pinnacle
positions, then it stifles the spirit of free contest
that is central to a democratic culture.
Unfortunately in several countries around the world,
the politics and parties are known by a few
individuals who founded the parties and then assume
father figure or iconic status. These leaders maintain
their overlord-ship until a stupendous shake-up within
the party or in the political waters of the country
casts them or their family successors away.
It is quite an objective approach by Sanam Bhutto, the
younger sister of Benazir to keep away from the muddy
and mucky quagmires of politics in Pakistan. Perhaps
she is not as brave or as ambitious as Benazir was.
But understandably, what made her averse to politics
is the tragic end of her family members that she does
not want for herself.
Curiously, the profile or life sketch of Asifa and
Bakhtawar can nowhere be found in chronicles or
information channels such as face book, you-tube or
Wikipedia or other similar blogs. All the information
is either blocked or blacked out for fear of
slanderous, mischievous and vicious backlash. We have
come across comments in face book between the
messengers that are dirty and diabolic and are dished
out by culturally dwarfed people.
But while this is a prudent way of escaping the
malignant and distasteful interactions, it closes the
doors and avenues of wider publicity that are
absolutely essential for the politicians and those who
wish to tread upon the unpredictable and thorny field
of politics. Yet it depends as to what course one
would like to adopt: stay in politics and face odds or
steer clear and enjoy a safe private life.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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