As another drama-queen-potential-savior explores the niche created by lack of justice and bad governance, we ask ourselves questions about this man’s origins and motivations. Qadri’s history is well known. Part of the Musharraff government, in 2006 he left for Canada and acquired a citizenship. Qadri is the co-founder of a social welfare organization ‘Minhaj-ul-Quran’, currently active in educational pursuits with offices in 80 countries at the moment. In 1991 Qadri also became one of the founders of Pakistan Awami Tehreek and got elected as MNA in 2002. Two years later however Qadri resigned in a dramatic fashion. Blaming the status quo, nepotism and corruption for the suffering of the common man, Qadri left the country in 2006 when his plea for reform fell on deaf ears.
23rd December 2012: Qadri pulled off a rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan much bigger than Khan’s tsunami or any other political or social group has. 2 million people turned up. That was enough to place him in the center of the Pakistani political stage. Who are these people supporting him? And where is his funding coming from? More importantly, whose agenda is he pursuing? As news of Qadri’s success spread like wild fire, the power he had became of more significance than his ideology.
As soon as Qadri’s call to the nation became an Awami blockbuster, MQM, joined in with chants of a million man march to the Capital. What was this march about? Qadri essentially wants the caretaker setup to more than just ensure timely elections. He wants to get rid of corrupt government officials and replace them with honest ones. How does Qadri plan on achieving this ‘holy’ mission? Statistics show that 70% of parliamentarians have not filed their tax returns. Qadri wants reforms that fix Pakistan’s perpetual state of turmoil. He speaks against ‘terrorism’ and ‘Islamic extremism’ and his March will destabilize, or at least shake Islamabad (political establishment. According to some analysts, as the Army is in a constant tussle with the federal government (and because they also fight terrorism) it is more probable that a Khaki hand is pushing Qadri to create instability.
Another explanation is that he is another ‘drone’ from the West to keep Pakistan unstable. Drone mentality is a constant fear of externally executed event orchestrated specifically to hurt domestic and eventually international interests of the country. However the drone mentality in Qadri’s case is premised on the fact that he states no sources of the heavy funding. TV commercials have deluged the local channels for a week, advertising his long March ‘against evil’. One cannot travel from point A to point B on a moderately crowded road without witnessing rickshaws and buses promoting the ‘Sheikh-ul-Islam’. 50,000 buses, tents and food have been arranged for the participants of the long March that started 2 days ago. With millions flowing in, one wonders what powerful puppeteer is orchestrating this massive stunt.
What is horrifying? First of all, the eagerness with which PPP’s most crucial ally, the MQM, jumped onto the Qadri bandwagon left most stammering in disbelief. It was like a poorly done scene from a bad political comedy. While little respect for decorum and conduct is expected from the MQM which is Pakistan’s most emotionally unhinged party, this gesture of protesting against themselves was still too bold for sensibilities of most spectators in this arena. While Pakistanis have a high threshold for nonsense from their political establishment, the drama MQM’s sudden buddy-ship attracted was amusing, entertaining and appalling at the same time.
A day after promises of allying and marching in the name of justice, with Altaf Hussein addressing the usual MQM fan base in the fashion he is most known for, Dr. Farooq Satar holds a press conference announcing a change of plans. MQM will not participate. A night long meeting with the President at Bilawal House, and two days after the Supreme Court let Altaf off the hook. A day after being badly dumped however, Qadri was joined by Chaudhary brothers of PML-Q (who enjoyed a coalition with Musharraff) and for some odd reason another well known item, Malik Riaz, who has become the controversial celebrity in 2012, and seems to be contesting again in 2013.
Whether or not these alliances are forming out of greed for cheap stardom (possibly Malik Riaz), threatening the center of digression (possibly MQM), or just to make it to the headlines since it’s been a while (possibly Chaudhary brothers); the bigger questions remain unanswered and perhaps unasked. Must we investigate who is funding Qadri to figure out his motives? Does his sudden appearance drastically push the prospects of timely elections to ruin? 10 January 2013 was one if the bloodiest days on Pakistan’s history. The drone-mentality syndrome is what needs to be questioned and deliberately extracted from our psyche. Also, when Qadri comes and causes ripples large enough to inundate our plans, there is something we are doing wrong. The religious rhetoric that appeals to our masses is a point of concern. When a man’s account about dreaming of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) becomes his ticket to the national election, then there is more than just corruption and bad governance at fault. Our gullibility in masses is a point worth noting.
As Qadri attracts millions, spends tens of millions and shakes all of Pakistan to the point he is center of global political riddles, we should ask ourselves what in essence Qadri stands for and what his ‘plans’ will achieve if executed. If the outcome seems unruly, unpleasant and only capable of delaying the election process we are in dire need of, then we must collect the pieces of broken justice and ask ourselves why only a few million dollars and hollow claims ‘Sheikh’-iat are enough to shake the ground from beneath our feet.
Zone Asia-Pk
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