Now for a quick riddle. How does an out-of-work former Pakistani prime minister spend her free time? Plotting to make a political comeback, right? So how does an out-of-work former prime minister, with more criminal cases against her than our very own Jayalalitha Jairam and with 17 of her Swiss bank accounts frozen by the authorities, spend her free time? Plotting to make a political comeback by declaring a unilateral war on India - on paper that is.Benazir Bhutto's call in a signed piece commissioned by Global Viewpoint, which was recently syndicated to several prominent newspapers in the West, argued that ``rogue nations that defy the (sic) world opinion ought to be taught a lesson''. And what is that ``lesson''? The lady cannot be more unequivocal: ``If a pre-emptive military strike is possible to neutralise India's nuclear capability, that is the response that is necessary.''Whoa, hang on a minute. Is this one-time worshipper of national democracy actually arguing for a rogue world order to punisha ``rogue state''? And who will lead the charge, pray? Surely not the lady herself, with mascaraed eyelashes and flying headscarf, piloting her personal F-16? But Benazir Bhutto is fooling no one. The world knows that by hollering for the Marines, it's not India that she hopes to fix. It's the unfortunate Nawaz Sharif who had the gall to win the last general elections in Pakistan and dethrone her in the process.And, what's more, who went right ahead and threw her much beloved and upright Asif Ali Zardari into Karachi Central Prison for demonstrating exemplary business instincts by amassing more than one billion dollars and acquiring seven upmarket London properties during his wife's two prime ministerial terms. To add insult to injury, Sharif also did not shy away from throwing the weighty dossiers collected by the Ehtesab (Accountability) Bureau at her. Wasn't it just last week that the nasty Ehtesab Bench issued bailable warrants for the arrest of both her and her mother, Nusrat Bhutto, in the PakistanInternational Airlines case?Therefore when India explodes five nuclear devices in the Rajasthan desert on May 11 and 13, Benazir Bhutto with her sharp political instincts smells sweet opportunity in the air. Suddenly, visions of presiding once again over the destinies of 132 million Pakistanis grip her, fantasies of crowds jostling to shower rose petals over the Empress of Islamabad crowd the airspace. Nawaz Sharif can keep his Ghauri, she, the Daughter of the East, will ride back to power on the Indian nuclear programme. She will rise from the earth as the true defender of Pakistan's security interests. But before this scenario can unfold, Benazir Bhutto knows full well that a little paperwork is in order. What's the point of screaming wolf if the whole of the polite world remains deaf to the cry? That's where the little piece for Global Viewpoint comes in. As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going going to war, that is.
