THIS is with reference to the excerpts titled ‘The fault lines in our stars’ (Eos, April 14). Going through the excerpts from Pakistan: Search For Stability by a former Pakistani diplomat, it would not have been difficult for any avid reader to realise that the six fault lines that were identified actually had one common element that is the root cause of behind much of the tumult in national history. That being so, in effect, there is only one fault line in our stars; the colonial legacy of establishing dominance over political parties.

In colonial terms, it was initially the British versus Indian politicians, which later transformed into a rather frigid equation between the masters and the All-India Muslim League.

Since the League leadership ‘migrated’ to Pakistan post-independence, it could not compete with the opportunist local landed gentry because of the services these elite had rendered, first, to the British East India Company and, later, to the British Crown.

India, too, had inherited such ‘loyals’ and ‘faithfuls’, but it passed the Zamindari Abolition Act in 1951, confiscating all large landholdings. India, therefore, never had any problem regarding governance as well as the establishment of an effective federal arrangement.

In utter contrast, this landed class in Pakistan got a chance to establish itself in the corridors of power, and has never allowed any move ‘against’ its interests. This colonial remnant never allowed the federal arrangement work. It employed different tactics to keep power in its hands. To ensure this, the landed class and its representatives even introduced the infamous One Unit system.

Despite having an overwhelming majority in parliament, the leadership of the erstwhile East Pakistan decided to put up with the injustice just to keep Pakistan united. The Awami League got majority in the 1970 elections, but still the landed class based in West Pakistan created hurdles one after the other to deny the legitimate right of the majority party to form the national government. This resulted in the tragedy of 1971.

This colonial landed class has become habitual of ‘clientelism’ acquired during their subservience to the British masters. The class relied on individual borrowings and bailouts from the Britishers, and now it does that at the collective national level. As such, over the years, this trait only strengthened the role of outside powers, mainly, though not exclusively, the United States. Pakistan’s estab-lishment compounded the crisis by being unable to understand the phenomenon.

If Pakistan wants to ever get out of its perpetual state of turbulence, it needs to abolish feudalism to break the stran-glehold of the remnants of the colonial legacy. Confiscation of all the ‘awarded’ landholdings is the only way forward.

Abid Mahmud Ansari
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2024