The Private Dossier

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Fate caught up with Benazir, a sad and pathetic end, frame by frame replays capitulating to forces that wanted her destroyed.

It was surprising that she lasted as long as she did;  even more surprising was the quixotic attempt she made to tackle Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan.

Agreed that she was a lingering hope to rally the moderate elements who by some stroke of luck would be able to politically blend with the extremists and form a cohesive national policy. With her death looming dark on the heirs of the Bhutto legacy and other political leaders,  will any cogent lessons be drawn.?  Is there a need to rush into a battle for power or to re-evaluate the need for national consensus?  Can radical Islam be absorbed into the mainstream and its point of view addresed without threatening a total anihilation, after all it is one nation “Pakistan”. The Army has its own stature, perhaps the only prevelant coherent and considered doctrine which must administer its national security concerns, specially in the face of incompetant political administration, thus a need for it to be justly and fully incorporated in the system of governance.

 What’s the mandate?  For that is question pivotal to the future of political stability within the troubled borders of Pakistan.  Without it,  rights of succession, blame, and international deference are nothing more than a paper tiger.  The real tiger looms in the pages of such a mandate, and it is in that frightening forest that the battle for democracy will be won or lost. 

The great Pakistani abstract expressionistartist, Ismail Gulgee, was found murdered in his Karachi home on December 19th.  Known for his dynamic Islamic calligraphic murals, Gulgee was also a pioneer in the work of lapis lazuli mosaic, crafting portraits of world leaders along with a series of truly spectacular polo scenes in this medium that are among the most stunning equestrian portraits in the world. 

Long a fixture on the Karachi social scene, I first encountered Gulgee on my honeymoon to Pakistan in 2004.  We went round to his house and were ushered past his modest gate and into a cool, marble reception room past a beautiful hand-carved antique Indian palace door.