When Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 1986, she swept away everyone like a conquering heroine who promised a new millenium. Ten years later, she is reviled everywhere she goes. Her family is in shreds, her party has been all but wiped out and the country she led twice as prime minister is haemorrhaging badly. Her story is a litany of blunders and lost opportunities. Can she rise from the dust like a phoenix and win back her fame and glory?
When Benazir lost power in 1990, many people were ready to give her the benefit of doubt. She was alienated from local culture and inexperienced in government. The establishment had conspired against her and given no respite. And Asif Zardari was threatening to become a millstone around her neck.
In 1990, the establishment rigged the elections and began a systematic campaign to persecute her. When she demonstrated exemplary courage and perseverance in the face of adversity, the peoples’ traditional sympathies were aroused and they swung back behind her. The stage was set for her revival after Nawaz Sharif inexplicably embarked upon a suicidal political course in 1993.
During her days in opposition, Benazir was sometimes wont to reflecting, albeit in private, upon the mistakes of her government from 1988-90. She seemed to have exorcised the ghost of her father (which had antagonised half of Pakistan) and come into her own. She seemed to be aware of the pitfalls of sycophancy. In particular, she seemed to have realised the damage caused to her party and to herself by Mr Zardari’s grubby, philandering ways. It was therefore widely expected that, given a second chance, she would disprove the claim that history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce.
Unfortunately, this perception has turned out to be sorely misguided. Ms Bhutto’s second term was a colossal disaster. She had everything going for her but she closed her eyes to reality and began to live in a world of autocratic fantasy. She hand-picked the President and Chief Justice. Then she did everything possible to alienate them irrevocably. She unleashed Asif Zardari with a vengeance and became a witting partner in crime and corruption. She wrecked her family by savaging a brother and enfeebling a mother. When she was dismissed, the economy had almost bled to death.
One might have thought that Benazir Bhutto has had ample time and opportunity to mull over her fate. But no, everything suggests that she has learnt nothing at all from her misfortune. During the run-up to the elections, she thought fit to attack President Farooq Leghari when she should have concentrated her energy on chipping away at Nawaz Sharif. As if this was not stupid enough, she continued to attack the Supreme Court even as she prayed before it for a judgment in her favour. All this was personal pique, not power politics.
Now she has nominated at least three people to the Senate who don’t deserve to be there. Asif Zardari is, by all accounts, the bane of her personal and political life. He has twice been largely responsible for her downfall. She knows that he has cheated on her, not once but several times. Yet she clings to him with a desperation which is hard to understand for an independent and worldly-wise woman like her. Munawar Suharwardi was her rough and ready security bodyguard. He was first “rewarded” and made an advisor to the Sindh government. Now he has been inexplicably elevated to the Senate. A brother of Tas Jumani, the notorious Zardari crony who fronted for him in several highly dubious deals, has also been rewarded for “services rendered”. Not one competent and honest loyalist from the party has merited a pat on the back from the leaderene. Indeed, it is as if she is fiercely determined to compound her tragedy of errors by insulting our intelligence yet again.
The Peoples Party voter is disillusioned, possibly even disgusted with Benazir Bhutto. He has demonstrated his feelings — by sulking at home and refusing to vote for her. But because he has not, by and large, voted for anyone else, all may not yet be lost. Can she hope, one day, to reclaim his dormant vote?
Much, of course, depends on how Nawaz Sharif fares. If he is able to deliver on even half his promises, he may last beyond his minimum term of five years. But if he fails, the road to Islamabad will be open to contenders again. Will Benazir Bhutto, then, be able to win the race for power for the third time in her career?
It is a Herculean task. But, given the vagaries of Pakistani politics, and the fact that voters can forgive and forget, it is not impossible that an opportunity may present itself in the distant future. In the event, what face will Benazir Bhutto present in the court of the people?
A haughty princess in the consort of a tacky playboy? Or a wise and humane leader in tune with the heartbeat of the nation? May God have mercy on Benazir Bhutto and show her the true path to salvation.