Pervez Musharraf is on TV right now, giving a speech in which he’s resigned from office. I won’t go into details of what he’s saying because it’s not important. However, what’s important is where Pakistan will go from here, and the signs have been very discouraging.
The political situation in Pakistan is embarrassing – power-grabbing for the sake of power with little or no thought given to what’s good for the country or the people. Regardless of what you think about the man, his presence indicated a stability that will be sorely missed in a politically divisive climate that Pakistan can ill-afford in it’s current economic state and the prevailing international conditions.
The people are confused, split between religion and nationalism and tribalism and selfish individualism, jingoistic pride mixed with the stark realisation that this country is being eaten up from the inside, economically, socially and politically.
Where will Pakistan go from here? Anyone harboring notions of economic and social progress would do well to remember that the government itself is so busy with internal conflicts that it cannot handle these matters with the urgency and drive needed. Will those internal conflicts go away? This isn’t about the democratic process – democracy works when people have the same end goal i.e. helping the country improve and improving the social condition. Here, the end goals are either power, personal or ideological – none of which can answer the pressing question:
What are you doing about the power shortage in the country?
There are a million other questions, but that’s a good place to start. Nothing substantial is being done, and nothing substantial will be done while people pay more attention to ‘getting to power’ and ‘staying in power’ than getting things done.
Lol. That question is not a priority, at least for me. I’m trying to figure out how I should react to this news. Dance around in the streets, or lament at home? :S