Benazir Bhutto was never a communist or Marxist per se. Nor was her illustrious late father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) following in the footsteps of any European, Asian or Latin American communist leader of repute.

ZAB was a good disciple of Machiavelli insofar as his approach to politics was concerned. Both were leaders of a centre-left party — Pakistan People’s Party — that unfortunately sacrificed its identity at the altar of power following the assassination of Salmaan Taseer. The pan-province gap created by it catapulted Imran Khan (IK) to power for right or wrong reasons. A price one has to pay.

IK has created a successful narrative based on ultra-right politics or, arguably, radical centralism, overshadowing all the right-wing parties, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). This is the key reason behind his phenomenal rise. Centre-right parties such as all factions of PML are Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI’s) real rivals, not the PPP or Awami National Party (ANP).

IK has caused more harm to all the political parties than any martial law can ever do. Martial law appears to have already transformed itself into a national political outfit. The dynamics of the current political strife in the country rule out the arrival of martial law. Therefore, Benazir’s martial law rhetoric that she articulated before a military court has little or no relevance in the present-day Pakistan.

Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022