Intelligentsia feel betrayed

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 11 The disillusionment of the intelligentsia and the middle class with Gen. Pervez Musharraf's regime in Pakistan appears complete, thanks to the deal with the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, which led to his exile to Saudi Arabia.

The sense of betrayal and helplessness among the intelligentsia over the ``mother of all the deals'' is evident in newspaper columns.

``Another dark day in history of power game'' and ``myth of anti- corrupt campaign'' are some of the titles of commentaries which appeared a day after the ``great escape'' of the former Prime Minister with his entire clan. Some newspapers have even speculated on the possibility of a similar deal with Mr. Asif Zardari, husband of another former Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, who has been behind bars on corruption charges. Editorials in English newspapers have lambasted the Government for the ``brazen manner'' in which Mr. Sharif's exit was facilitated. In a hard-hitting editorial, ``the great betrayal, The Dawn, has said that after the ``great escape'' of Mr. Sharif it will seem to the people that crime and punishment have got nothing to do with the law.

``There have been many ridiculous moments in Pakistan's crank politics that would make any delicate stomach churn, but the farce which unfolded this weekend beats them all. Nawaz Sharif, a convict in hijacking and tax evasion (life term and 14 years in prison, besides fine for both the crimes), one who is personally held responsible by the Musharraf Government for destroying the country's economy, its institutions and accused of indulging in mega corruption, whose shenanigans precipitated a military coup, is no longer in the dreary isolation of Attock dungeons'', the paper lamented.

Questioning the Government's claim that Mr. Sharif was allowed to go into exile in the best interests of the country, the paper wanted to know why only a few dozen among a nation of 15 crore were privy to the process of rendering the great national service. It wanted to know how the nation had been told exactly the opposite just a few months ago.

The Dawn, said the deal struck at the root of the anti-corruption campaign. ``As for the military government, accountability was supposed to be all about high principle and recovering stolen money. But the Sharifs have been allowed to go when many cases against them have yet to be settled''. In its editorial, ``tell nation what exactly happened'' The Frontier Post, wanted the Government to come clean and disclose the details of the deal. ``Yesterday, December 10, 2000, this nation woke up to a staggering surprise. Much more unsettling than what was served on the morning of October 13, 1999. On that the nation was given the jolt that the sitting Prime Minister had been removed and the Army Chief had taken over... Sharif has been dispatched not only lock, stock and barrel but with all his family members. The impossible becomes easy once the law can be dispensed with'', the paper said.

In an analysis in The News one commentator said the deal was a graphic illustration of Pakistan's expediency-dominated power scene. ``Many wonder if any sizeable portion from the hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly stashed away in the Sharif family Swiss accounts will also come to government. Apparently not'', the commentator said.

Another commentator in the same paper said the rich and the beautiful in Islamabad were stunned and no reasonable argument was available to explain the how and why of the deal. ``You wouldn't feel shocked anyway, if the real reason of the military takeover on October 12, 1999 were correctly understood. It is high time we realised that the army did not move in to free Pakistan from politicians and their corrupt practices. That is an illusion''.

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Section  : International
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