Friday, August 22, 2008

East Pakistan Vs. Punjab (Parallels?)

Reading "War and Secession: Pakistan, India and the Creation of Bangladesh", and finding alarming and disturbing similarities in the way things unfolded in the east. The reactions (and obstinacy) of Mujib seem eerily similar to how Nawaz Sharif is steering the ship currently.

To understand Zardari's attitude better (ie; what "bibi taught him") look at this quote in that book, this is Zulfikar Bhutto speaking to an Italian writer Oriana Fallaci:

Politics is movement per se--a politician should be mobile. He should sway now to right and now to left; he should come up with contradictions, doubts. He should change continually, test things, attack from every side so as to single out his opponent's weak point and strike at it. Woe to him if he focuses immediately on his basic concept, woe if he reveals and crystallizes it. Woe if he blocks the maneuver by which to throw hi opponent on the carpet. Apparent inconsistency is the prime virtue of the intelligent man and the astute politician.

1 comment:

karachikhatmal said...

i love how sometimes we lose sight of the enigma that was ZAB. this is a superb quote. it makes clear that he was not the messiah we sometimes make him out to be. but he sure was a smart mofo.