Mushed up Democrazy

Dreams of a hero’s welcome after seven years in exile couldn’t have been more distant for the ousted Pakistan prime minister. Nawaz Sharif was, perhaps, so lost in his world of imaginary cheers that the stony silence that greeted him at the Islamabad airport must have been deafening.
Not for once would he have imagined that he wasn’t flying to freedom, but a well-laid out trap, all over again. This time too, there was a coup—not the military kind, the emotional kind. Pervez Musharraf managed to shatter Sharif’s dreams for at least a few more years. The photograph, from a Pakistani daily, of Sharif wiping his tears at the airport said it all.
So, what was it that happened? All of us know about how Sharif was so upbeat about his trip back home, and how he thought he could help restore democracy in a country that has seen more coups than elections. We also know now the details of the arrest, the new charges of corruption and money laundering and, finally, the deportation to Jeddah. Some of us who read the news a little more intently also know how some Saudi officials (yes, Saudi officials) cajoled Sharif to drop his protest, and quietly return to Jeddah.
Every time the Pakistani general announces elections, I know it is hogwash. This time, it is no different. The general, however, has found a novel way of silencing his critics—all those who have made a hue and cry over the absence of an Opposition.
What has the brilliant general done to appease the Americans and deride the critics? He has gone ahead a brokered a deal in the USA with none other than Benazir Bhutto. Corruption charges around Bhutto and her now-infamous husband are legendary. Politics truly does make strange bedfellows. Why stick to one corrupt ex-PM, and send off another?
Each of these players, including the USA, stands to gain from this deal. Musharraf gets to keep his head from rolling, Bhutto gets to wear the crown (it doesn’t really matter even if it is made of thorns; at least her charges will be written off), and the USA gets to shout out to the world that it has restored democracy in another turmoiled Muslim nation! All egos inflated.
Had Sharif been allowed to stay back in Pakistan, it would have meant trouble to each of these partners. Musharraf is no stranger to Sharif’s support base. Bhutto knows it would be a tougher fight to the throne. Why not keep what you get in a platter for free? The Americans know controlling a Pakistan with a PM who has considerable Indian support (even if it is closet support, it is more than Musharraf and Bhutto will ever get). Peace between the neighbours was closest when Sharif was around. We know that Kargil wasn’t exactly his doing. The Kargil man is there at the helm now.
Sharif must have figured out that his was a lost cause, the moment he landed at the airport. How could he break through the Triumvirate? The Americans, the General and the Adversary. The Saudis are present too, subtly but surely. They had hosted him for all these years. Could he risk losing his second home now that he was unwelcome in his own land? He knew had to give in; at least for now. Will he be back for his people? Only time will tell.
Nobody loses from this bargain but the Pakistani people, who are so used to waking up to unrest. Political stability is an illusion they know will and can never last. Will the waiting-in-the-wings fundamentalists finally snatch it all?