'Maulana Diesel' Epitomizes Expediency In Pakistan's Politics

Sameer Arshad Khatlani
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When a rightist coalition bagged 11 per cent of votes in the 2002 Pakistan national elections, it was the first time conservatives managed a double-digit vote share in the country's electoral history. The conservatives had never won more than five per cent votes earlier. The trend continued after 2002. Much of the support the conservatives got in 2002 stemmed from anti-US sentiments sweeping Pakistan after military ruler Pervez Musharraf signed up for the war on terror in Afghanistan post 9/11 attacks. 

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Pakistan’s biggest conservative party Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F)’s vote share dwindled to 3.2% in the 2013 polls. Yet Rehman remained part of Islamabad’s power structure even as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had a comfortable majority after repeated fractured mandates. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, the rightist coalition, and newly-formed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan polled around nine per cent of votes in the 2018 elections as Imran Khan was voted to power as the Prime Minister. Khan's victory ensured his arch-rival, Rehman, was pushed out of power for the first time in decades. Rehman until 2018 enjoyed positions of power despite a limited political base.   

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Rehman, who emerged as Sharif's key ally after the 2013 polls, was part of virtually every government since the 1990s. He emerged as a go-between a cornered Sharif when he faced his worst political crisis following the Panama Papers confirmation of his family's ownership of offshore firms. Rehman feared Imran Khan would benefit from Sharif’s fall and disturb the status quo he has thrived in. He was reported to have salvaged a secret deal between Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari, which their opponents said was cut to perpetuate their corrupt, family rule by turns.

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In May 2016, Rehman met Zardari in London at Sharif’s behest. The meeting came as Sharif sought Zardari to rein in PPP’s ideological old guard, who joined hands with other opposition parties against the then prime minister following the Panama revelation as part of their regrouping. Zardari played ball and sought his pound of flesh; his safe return despite corruption charges and getting his cronies out of jail in return. The military establishment was seen to be backing action against Zardari's and was refusing to go soft. But Sharif was seen to be weakening cases against him and extending favours possible within his domain. Zardari commanded PPP lawmakers’ loyalty and Rehman met him and succeeded in retaining the status quo with fresh give and take.

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The errand confirmed Rehman’s reputation for expediency for his opponents, who maintain Islam for him means the seat of government – Islamabad. The expediency earned him ‘Maulana Diesel’ sobriquet in the 1990s when he cut a diesel franchise deal with Benazir Bhutto in return for support despite an ugly campaign against her. His name has become synonymous with diesel. Khan once quipped 'Fazlur Rehman’s price' had gone up at a public meeting while criticising increasing fuel prices.

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A leaked 2007 cable showed Rehman lobbied US envoy Anne Patterson for American blessings for his prime ministerial ambitions ahead of the 2008 elections. Buoyed by the 2002 electoral results, Rehman hosted a dinner for Patterson for the purpose in November 2007. A Rehman aide told Patterson all 'important parties in Pakistan had to get the [US] approval.' Patterson cited Rehman’s known 'wily political skills’ and cabled she was told his 'still significant numbers of votes are up for sale.’ She added Rehman enjoys 'being courted by both Musharraf and Bhutto and sees himself increasingly in the lucrative position of being kingmaker', if not the Prime Minister. 

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Patterson cabled Rehman wanted to be 'more engaged with the US' and to lobby the Congress and American think tanks even as he has used the anti-American rhetoric for political ends. She noted Rehman appeared worried whether the US would deal with him if he became the Prime Minister while cautioning her 'not to put all the eggs’ in Bhutto’s basket. Months later, Rehman changed his colours to get his brother a lucrative ministry when the PPP was voted to power on the back of a sympathy wave following Bhutto’s assassination in 2007. He has since 2018 been gunning to see the back of Imran Khan, who achieved what his predecessors failed to achieve – keeping the wily Rehman out of power despite his street power.   

This is an updated version of a PakScan column the author wrote for the Times of India, his former employer, in 2016

Sameer Arshad Khatlani is an author-journalist. He has been a Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, India’s second-biggest English newspaper. Khatlani worked in a similar capacity with The Indian Express, India's most influential newspaper known for its investigative journalism, until June 2018. Born and raised in Kashmir, he began his career with the Vijay Times, which has since been rebranded as Bangalore Mirror, in 2005 as its national-affairs correspondent. He joined Times of India, one of the world's largest selling broadsheets, in 2007. Over the next nine years, he was a part of the paper's national and international newsgathering team as an Assistant Editor. Khatlani has reported from Iraq, Pakistan, and the Maldives and covered elections and natural disasters. He received a master’s degree in History from the prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. Khatlani is a fellow with Hawaii-based American East-West Center established by the US Congress in 1960 to promote better relations and understanding with Asian, and Pacific countries through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Penguin published Khatlani’s first book The Other Side of the Divide: A Journey into the Heart of Pakistan in February 2020. Eminent academic and King’s college professor, Christophe Jaffrelot, has called the book ‘an erudite historical account... [that] offers a comprehensive portrait of Pakistan, including the role of the army and religion—not only Islam.'