The End Is Nigh

PAKISTANI journalists did a double flip when crates of mangoes were delivered to their homes recently. Mango parties were long over, there was a distinct nip in the evening air—so who was the donor? Well, it was none other than Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson and leader of the Opposition Benazir Bhutto, already suffering from the chill of the 'Swiss freeze'. "Who else would be sending mangoes at this time of the year?" asked local hacks, a cruel reminder that there was nothing that Benazir could do now that was not controversial. "Just wait and see what else she has up her sleeves," the delivery man quipped. Neck-deep in charges of corruption, Benazir could not only lose the PPP leadership, but also face a possible disqualification from politics for seven years.

This would be the first instance in Pakistan's chequered democracy that politicians of Benazir and her mother's stature could be disqualified. If her voters stayed home in the February election because of her style of governance, anger is now building up over the fact that she has lost all credibility—and that allegations of corruption can no longer be termed 'political victimisation'. "The fall from grace is never a pretty sight. It becomes all the more tragic when the personality is one who had brought millions to the streets against a dictator, who at one time symbolised freedom, democracy, and human rights; who was seen as the bearer of a dynamic legacy which dominated the politics of Pakistan. Now all this appears a cruel joke," said one commentator.

There is only one place that they see Benazir heading. Out of the PPP founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. "What is obvious is that almost the entire leadership that we have is deficient in its moral authority to govern. Hence the yearning for a new leadership and a new party. With the discovery of the Swiss accounts, the decline of the PPP seems irreversible and the entire political equilibrium has been disturbed," says Ghazi Salahuddin, a political analyst once perceived to be close to Benazir.

Benazir has not denied her Swiss bank accounts; nor have husband Asif Zardari and mother Nusrat. "It is not the presence or the absence of an account but the legality of the matter. Is it illegal for Pakistanis to have foreign bank accounts? Let the government prove its allegations in a court of law," retorts Benazir to any query on the Swiss accounts. So why did she not declare this hidden wealth while filing her returns prior to elections, asks the prime minister's ehtesaab (accountability) cell which says Sharif won the elections on the anti-corruption slogan.

If proved guilty, Benazir may well find herself in political wilderness. But again, it will not be easy for the government to furnish evidence that Benazir's goldmine is ill-gotten or drug-related and thus convince the Swiss government against lifting the freeze on the accounts. Sensing this chink in the armour, the Opposition led by PPP secretary-general Ahmed Mukhtar is building pressure on the government: "Prove it or be damned. By going to foreign governments with drug charges against a former prime minister, the government has not only set a dangerous precedent but also brought global shame to 140 million Pakistanis. The stakes have been raised too high".

Mukhtar's optimism notwithstanding, there is already talk of a change in the PPP leadership, with many saying that the next incumbent will hail from Punjab to combat prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a Punjabi. When 바카라 asked Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, Benazir's former law minister, if the time was ripe for choosing the new PPP leader from Punjab, he replied with a grin which he insisted was 'on the record'. Only a year ago he would have said "Tauba, Tauba (God forbid), our leader is Benazir Bhutto".

The reason that all eyes are looking at Punjab is that the Sindh card that Benazir played all along (even ridiculing the judiciary and calling herself prime minister from Larkana when her government was not restored) has been overplayed. If Sharif has to be challenged, the PPP has to confront him from Punjab. Benazir has not only lost a chunk of supporters but also her trusted lieutenant President Farooq Ahmed Leghari who sent her packing on corruption charges.

In the process, Benazir has left no stone unturned to take on the military leadership quite unnecessarily, when for once, they are in the barracks—though with their eyes on Sharif. Recently, in a speech in Parliament, she accused them and the intelligence agencies of acting above the law—only a few months ago she had proposed a national government comprising the army, intelligence agencies and all the political parties. The backlash forced Benazir to cool her heels in London. An old friend of the family told 바카라: "Benazir needs a complete mental therapy. She has seen so much trauma all her life that she can no longer think straight. At a young age she was thrown in Sukkhur jail by a military dictator where she lived in terrible conditions. Later, her father was hanged and she was not allowed to see his dead body. One brother was poisoned while the other was murdered when she was prime minister. It is enough to make anyone insane. Then she married a man like Asif Zardari who had her dancing to his tune. Not once has she had professional help to help her out of this agony."

There is no denying that the proverbial straw on Benazir's back was husband Zardari who is one of the most hated men in Pakistan today. "Even Zia-ul-Haq could not finish Benazir or her father's party though he tried for decades. Zardari did a neat job in just a few years," says a close friend of Benazir. During her first tenure, intelligence agencies would refrain from sending her reports about Zardari's alleged affairs. Later, Benazir found out about his several dalliances as she did about his corruption which led to the disclosure of the Surrey mansion in the UK. But Benazir was so taken in by Zardari that nothing could shake her out of her stupor. "She has no brothers, a totally disinterested sister and a very sick mother. Who does she and her kids go to?" is one sympathetic explanation. Soon there were reports of a divorce—PPP workers heaved a sigh of relief but Benazir maintained a stony silence.

The PPP leader has recently acquired a house in Dubai and has enrolled her children in schools there. She flies to see them nearly every week and all statements from her are rolled off fax machines. Presently, she is in London to press her case with the British government not to freeze her assets there as requested by Islamabad.

With Benazir outside the country trying to save her riches, the PPP is now floating like a rudderless boat. Even the diehard PPP cadre is too demoralised to bail out the Daughter of the East from a mess of her own making.