In a wave of hope and public sympathy after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Dec. 2007, Pakistan People’s Party was voted into power along with coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) in February elections.

Both the leading parties promised to strive together and resolve a range of issues, including restoration of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf in Nov. 2007.

But there is today a political vacuum at the helm: more than 100 days have gone since the government has taken charge, but it has failed to resolve even a single issue.

Despite being faced by major challenges like militancy, extremism and suicide bombings, price hikes that have broken all previous records, unemployment, power load-shedding of about 18 hours, and crashing stock markets, the central government appears least bothered about taking stock and controlling the situation— even as the country descends  deeper into its several crises.

Other challenges of a serious nature are possible leakage of nuclear secrets to Taliban or Al Qaida; the Taliban’s continuous attempts to target Pakistani soil; and Washington’s repeated threats to attack Al Qaida in Pakistan.

The latest fiat comes from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has declared very publicly his country will not hold talks with Pakistan at any level— a very disturbing development in the region, to say the least.

Internally, the incidence of kidnapping is at an all-time high, while foreign investors are pulling out their capital.

In such an alarming situation, the question is: who will take decisions? There is a complete vacuum of leadership and nothing has been done so far.

Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari prefers to stay away happily in Dubai, whereas Nawaz Sharif— head of coalition partner PML-N— sticks to his party’s stance on the sacked judges issue and is refusing now to hold any dialogue with Zardari.

Concurrently, Yousaf Raza Gillani appears to be the weakest prime minister in Pakistan’s history and appears to have no powers whatsoever to take independent decisions, without first taking permission from Zardari.

This seems to be the most incompetent democratic government of all time. It is obvious that the People’s Party hasn’t learnt any lessons from its two previous experiences.

The PPP’s previously elected governments of 1988 and 1993 couldn’t complete their terms and were unceremoniously removed from power due allegedly to massive corruption.

Asif Ali Zardari— popularly known as “Mr. 10 per cent”— was the main alleged culprit behind that corruption.

According to analysts, when Benazir Bhutto was striving to come back into Pakistan’s politics in 2007, she didn’t want Zardari to come forward and had given strict instructions to the party workers not to contact Zardari.

There is now an open split developing within the PPP, between Zardari on the one hand and long-serving loyalists like PPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Naheed Khan and Aitizaz Ahsan and on the other.
Amin Fahim has even gone on record as saying Benazir’s closest associates have been sidelined and the party has been hijacked.

He has expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the government and said the government has lost its writ… and that only God can take care of the country.

Fahim has pointed out the people are committing suicide due to hunger and misery but the rulers are busy in foreign tours and are not worried.

However, Zardari seems quite satisfied. He controls the government by remote control from Dubai. All cases against him for money laundering, corruption, murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking— all have either been withdrawn or have gone in his favour.

Since he’s come to power, the government is busy hiring Zardari’s loyal and close associates or their relatives in key public posts through the back door, despite a ban on recruitments.

This further leads to disappointment for deserving but ordinary citizens, who had only voted in the PPP for the sake of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, on a sympathy wave.

While the graph of suicide bombings and violence may show a dip at present, the reality is that different militant and extremist groups have taken time just after the polls to regroup and reorganize their ranks and strategy. They are now returning in full force.

Recent attempts to capture Peshawar, a fresh series of bombings, and attack on security forces in Hangu are evidence to this fact.

In such an uncertain political climate and critical security situation, Islamabad should seriously and honestly take all of its own decision instead of waiting for instructions from Zardari in Dubai, which has become the new Mecca for the present government.

Such multi-polar decision-making is not only a threat to the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan… but also to the world.