Unambiguous dynastic charisma

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's speech on the death anniversary of his mother Benazir Bhutto that marked his entry into the political arena must be bifurcated according to delivery and substance. It has been plausibly argued that Bilawal's Urdu, which he has had to hastily learn since his return to the country, was, if still accented, much improved. His delivery was superb and he displayed raw emotions rather effectively when he referred to the untimely demise of his maternal grandfather and the assassination of his mother.
Reminiscent of his father's speech on the fourth death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal challenged, albeit in a bad taste, the performance of the judiciary in providing justice to the PPP's slain leadership. It is, however, unfortunate that reports were leaked the same day as his speech that the PPP government requested the United Nations not to make public a strongly-worded letter dated July 2010 in which the UN exposed Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) intent not to reveal names of the perpetrators, planners, financiers and abettors of the assassins of Benazir Bhutto.
Substance wise, however, Bilawal's speech was not as strong as his emotional pitch. As a new entrant political scene, Bilawal was required to demonstrate strong appreciation of state of country's economy. His analysis or outlook, no doubt prompted by government's economic managers, crassly and woefully ignored three major economic policies that have been supported by the present government that are a major source of concern. First and foremost, the country's economic team has reduced the entire FY13 budget to the status of a mini-budget as it is simply not applicable for more than a month or two. For the last three budgets the tax collection estimated for the outgoing year was grossly and, according to credible reports emanating from the office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman, deliberately over-stated as was the expenditure on development. In addition, the Finance Minister's claims of Gross Domestic Product growth rate were not considered credible due to (i) the refusal of the Finance Minister to accept the sectoral changes that the economy underwent based on detailed surveys that took over five to six years necessitating a new base year, and (ii) his decision not to include the power sector and food arrears in the calculation of the budget deficit. Bilawal referred to the global recession as a major factor in the poor performance of country's economy during the last almost five years, however, the major reason for a recession in Pakistan is greatly attributable to the power sector crisis and law and order - both of which are in the domain of the federal government. However, Bilawal correctly lauded the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as effectively targeting the vulnerable with its several offshoots that include a subsidy for education, health etc.
Secondly, Bilawal did not mention the failure to reform the power sector administratively and financially accounting for the persistence of the intractable inter-circular debt that has disabled the power sector from operating at full capacity. In addition, the gas load management plan is targeting industry that provides employment to hundreds of thousands as well as export revenue and diverts scarce gas for domestic use. And what is most disturbing is that PPP ministers are not on the same page in resolving the energy crisis which accounts for the persistence of the problem. Many a committee has been formulated to resolve the crisis headed by several ministers, including the Finance Minister, but there has been no resolution to the crisis due to a lack of consensus.
And thirdly, the tax system continues to be inequitable, unfair and anomalous. Parliamentarians continue to resist ending exemptions for the rich and influential and recent data made public indicates that several senior prominent parliamentarians and ministers have failed to file tax returns.
But by and large the speeches of both President Zardari and Bilawal were sharply focused on what they believe was the continued victimization of the party in spite of being the first democratically elected government in this country that is about to complete its five-year tenure. The non-jiyalas came away with the impression that the speeches of the two top PPP leaders were essentially identical that would have had more relevance in 2008 when the party was out of power and its leader recently assassinated than at the end of 2012. The die-hard jiyalas who were the target of their address will, without doubt, either vote for the PPP again irrespective of its performance in power or not show up on election-day but not shift their loyalties to another party for such was revealed in past elections. Last but not the least. Mark Tully, a seasoned India watcher, must have found in Bilawal's speech an answer to his question that he raised in an article on political dynasties in India carried by India Today a few months ago. According to him, one of the many questions hanging over the future of Pakistan is whether Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal will be able to safeguard the dynasty founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. One may, therefore, argue that Bilawal has greatly demonstrated at an emotional Garhi Khuda Bux rally that he has the ability to pull off a 'miracle' in the upcoming elections because he has an unambiguous dynastic charisma.