“Politics is the art of the possible; we choose between the unpalatable and a disaster. In 1988 we chose a disaster.” That was a statement from a freakishly mercurial character in Pakistani politics; arrogant, erudite, and charismatic, Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti (1927-2006).

I read a description of him put down in superlative terms. It goes like this, “despite his scandalous politics, Akbar Khan Bugti is the most talked-about person in Baloch society. With his twirling moustache, keenly trimmed beard, over six-feet-tall stature, candour, bravery, unbending backbone and uncompromising pride, he epitomised a model Baloch character.”

That Bugti had resolutely opposed education and development programmes in his area, was another side of his character. After furnishing some information about Akbar Bugti just to put the argument in perspective, let’s turn to his utterance that I find quite insightful.

In 1990, while talking to a panel of journalists, he made this comment with reference to Benazir Bhutto. One wonders as to why and how he had been won over by Nawaz Sharif. Many political analysts point to state agencies that would have worked over time to persuade Akbar Bugti to throw his weight on Sharif’s side. In this section of the column, we are concerned with that statement that he made on the idiot box in condemnation of Benazir Bhutto.

After a close survey of Pakistan’s politics and history, I have no qualms in concurring with Nawab Bugti. We, Pakistanis, have frequently chosen leaders who have proved virtual disasters. Ever since the Midnight’s Children (the crop of politicians born after the partition: Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Asfandyar Wali, Fazl ur Rahman and Imran Khan) took over the reins of power, the people of Pakistan have been pushed from a catastrophe to a disaster. Since 2008, disaster has plagued us on a permanent basis. Even the ‘unpalatable’ as Nawab Bugti put it three decades ago, has been out of sight during these years.

In my last column, I pointed to the inability of our leaders who were in the saddle prior to Imran Khan’s assumption of power, to distinguish between the ‘national’ and the ‘personal’. Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif clearly prioritised the ‘personal’ gain over the advancement of the ‘national’ cause.

In the realm of foreign policy, both of them, as well as Benazir Bhutto fostered personal relations with leaders of important states, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the USA. The direction of Pakistan’s foreign policy didn’t figure anywhere in the list of their priorities. The same can be said about their ‘personal’ business ventures.

The ‘national’ economy has been in a downward spiral. The manufacturing sector has been outsourced to Bangladesh and Malaysia, causing massive unemployment in Pakistan. Financial ‘wizards’ like Ishaq Dar had a simple way of generating resources, borrowing from the international finance institutions by mortgaging national assets.

From these borrowings that resulted in a huge accumulation of debt, a substantial sum was skimmed off and transferred off shore. Their weltanschauung made such villainies acceptable. They could purloin precious gifts from the Tosha Khana without a prick of the conscience. Sarmad Sehbai, related the other day in his YouTube channel (in a programme called Akhri Show), a conversation with Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar in 1989 during the first tenure of Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Khar, then the minister for water and power, claimed that in a private meeting Benazir Bhutto asked about his financial state – was it good enough to contest another election. He said he had the feeling that she was egging him on to make some money by unfair means so that contesting the next elections should not be a burden. Mr Khar said such things were unheard of in the times of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He said Benazir had asked him to learn the tricks from Asif Ali Zardari who had mastered that art.

The ‘revelation’ dealt a shattering blow to the image I had had of Benazir Bhutto. I find it interesting that after several scams including the Surrey Palace acquisition and a Swiss account apparently holding stolen public money she had remained a national leader in my estimation, albeit ‘unpalatable’ to me.

After the episode narrated by Mr Sehbai, she ended up in the ‘disaster’ category. From Sehbai’s narration I drew the inference that Mr Zardari was the mastermind in the reconfiguration of Peoples Party from 1988 onwards. Like Nawaz Sharif, he had markedly different scruples than the political leaders of the previous generation.

On top of that both played out more like nouveau riche businessmen of the third world economies who cared only about their ’personal’ gain and the expression, ‘national,’ hardly existed in their lexicon. I am reminded of what Malcolm Forbes once said, “Few businessmen are capable of being in politics. They don’t understand the democratic process; they don’t have either the tolerance or the depth it takes. Democracy is not a business.”

Our electorates must have this realisation. The sooner they do, the better. Seeing Sharifs, Zardaris and their offspring and respective cronies in the business of power politics, I recall an interesting way the great actor Robin Williams once came up with etymological re-framing of the word politics: “Politics: “Poli” a Latin word meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “bloodsucking creatures”.

The writer is Professor in the faculty of Liberal Arts at the Beaconhouse National University, Lahore