Benazir and Destiny

UPDATE:

Anyone interested in Pakistani politics may be interested in this article by Tariq Ali in the London Book Review here.


ORIGINAL POST:


It's really sad that 2007 has to end on such a violent note with the death of Benazir Bhutto. But in many ways, any keen observer of Pakistan could see it coming. There was already a bomb which killed 139 people the day she arrived back in Karachi in October. She escaped then but it was a matter of time before they got her. So the daughter of one man and the sister of two men who all died violently also did the same. I have to wonder if it was worth it.

As also the daughter of a (former) head of government, I have watched Benazir with some fascination, even though I don't identify much with her. I read her book Daughter of the East when it came out and was struck by how little we knew about what was going on in Pakistan at the time and also by how totally devoted she was to her father, to a point I thought where she seemed to be blind to his weaknesses. Which is something I try not to be with my own.

I did get to meet Benazir once when she came on an official visit. She had brought her mother Begum Nusrat Bhutto ( according to some, so her mother wouldn't stage a coup while she was away) and her husband Asif Ali Zardari. I was invited along to the official dinner at Sri Perdana and beforehand we were given instructions by Protocol that Asif does not shake hands with women, therefore we, the few women who were invited, were not to stick our hands out hospitably.

So there I stood with mostly male government officers and assorted businessmen in the reception room in a semi-circle waiting for the Pakistani entourage to arrive. First to arrive was the Begum who proceeded to shake hands with everyone in the receiving line (obviously she isn't as strict as her son-in-law). But when she came to me, she ignored me completely!!! Both the men on either side of me turned to look at me puzzled at the obvious rudeness. She must have thought I was just someone's wife or some other unimportant underling.

It was only later when I joined my parents in the waiting room before dinner along with Benazir, her husband and mother, that any of them even realised who I was. Even then, I can't say that Benazir had much time for me. I guess I wasn't the one in the seat of power and didn't even look remotely interested in acquiring it. Which makes me, in Benazir's book, a nonentity.

I've seen descriptions of Benazir as haughty. I'm not sure if that's a word that can only be used for her. Certainly it suits her mother, in my limited experience. And later on, when I met Musharaff's wife,she seemed the same. So maybe it's just the Pakistani power style.

But...I have been to Pakistan once and I have many Pakistani friends, many of whom are Benazir supporters. And why wouldn't they be? Mostly they are the elite educated wealthy, same as Benazir and her family. They are friendly and hospitable to a fault. But apart from a few, I really wonder how far any of them will truly make changes in Pakistan that would benefit the most number of people.

I have a problem with a country that calls itself Islamic and yet has an adult literacy rate for men which is only 63% and an appalling 36% for females. These are 2004 figures which means during Benazir's tenure as President between 1988 and 1996, they were no better and probably even worse. It is a country where huge gaps between the rich and poor exist, where the Government spends 2% of its budget on education and 20% on defence, and where poor women are treated so inhumanely , subject to violence and even murder with the killers rarely ever brought to justice. Often these perpertrators and killers are the women's own family members. I've met Mukhtaran Mai, the poor illiterate woman who decided to speak out and demand justice after she was raped by men bent on exacting revenge for something her brother allegedly did. Hers is a story that makes you gasp in horror, even while you have to admire her courage in speaking out. Interestingly Mukhtaran believes that if both men and women are better educated in Pakistan, these appalling acts of violence would be lessened.

As much as I think it's terrible what has happened to Benazir, I have to wonder how much good she would have done for Pakistan had she won the elections. She might seem better than Musharaff to outsiders but it's a pretty thin selection of candidates nevertheless. Every single one of them is tainted in one way or another. And I don't know if her track record in governing is all that exemplary.

I'm not sure I buy all these explanations that Al-Qaeda is behind Benazir's assasination. It seems too convenient and a good way to get more money from the Americans for the so-called 'war on terrorism'. Is it just my imagination that things have gotten worse since Pakistan got so much money from the US to fight the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and assorted terrorists? Meantime, according to my friends in NGOs over there, the drug problem along the border with Afghanistan, among Afghan refugees and local Pakistanis, has increased and along with it, HIV/AIDS.



I feel sad for Benazir's kids who will surely be brought up to believe that Pakistani politics is their legacy and they have to exact revenge for their mother's death. The cycle goes on as it does in India and elsewhere. If entering politics is for the purpose of truly doing something about the people's problems in Pakistan, that would be something but if it's just about family name and legacy, I am fearful. Maybe they believe it's just destiny but can people continue to be so cavalier after so many deaths in one family?

(For a much more informative analysis on Pakistan and Benazir, do read Wajahat Ali's excellent piece here.)