Issue 51 Vol III, November 15, 2007

E D I T O R I A L

Pakistan: A New Age of Darkness

TO say that Pakistan is at cross roads is to not to state the obvious. The current political impasse, the power play by the corrupt rich and the famous, the violence and the religious and the ethnic divides that plague the country now are not new.  The world has often threatened to pass its final verdict and term it as a failed state. Vicarious pleasure of its enemies is also not new. Its sixty years existence of Pakistan is a testimony of these divides, violence, military coup d’etats and wars with its neighbours. Worst it has been suffering an ongoing war within itself. Its people, the hapless poor and the middling classes have been denied their basic right to be a part of a moderate upwardly mobile state. They are intelligent. They are hard working. They wish each other well and are helpful. But they have been deeply divided; Punjabis, Pakhtoons, Sindhis, Bloch and Swatis and Shias and Sunnis.  Religious jingoism is a ruse which Pakistan faces.

During these sixty years of its existence, Pakistan the land of the pure has repeatedly suffered the ignominy of being ruled by ruthless and corrupt military dictators or unscrupulous power and mammon worshiping hungry democrats. Pakistan has been under martial law for 35 years.

The military has staged several coups, seized the government, abrogated the Constitution or put it in abeyance (1958, 1977 and 1999). In addition, various presidents dismissed the National Assembly (1988, 1990, 1993, and 1996). The judiciary validated these situations by invoking the ‘doctrine of necessity’, which was not a part of the law, but "a rationale for evading or defeating the law. Resort to it is, therefore, clearly an exercise in judicial activism.

Each round of martial law has left the army with even greater power and influence.  And, bagful of money too. It controls much of the lucrative business like manufacturing, farming and construction and is basically a military corporation. It has benefited hugely first from the funds of the CIA, the American agency when as a frontline state, the army helped fight through the jihadees the Soviets in Afghanistan. Later after 9/11, the Americans have pumped in huge money that boggles the mind. It is more than 10 billion dollars to fight the terrorists. The military gets a good share of it.

And, the fact of  is that Pakistan is now under the sway of Islamic  fundamentalism  Large parts of the NWFP, Balochistan, Waziristan, and Swat are under the control of the jihadees . The day president Musharraf imposed emergency, his government released 30 top militants in exchange of 150 army men held hostages. The army is divided in its fight and the American President Bush who finds in Musharraf a great friend and fighter against the extremists can do very little except to support this dictator. How skin deep is the American promise of democracy in that hapless country.

Does it surprise anyone now when general Musharraf who should have retired as army chief three years back and has no legal or constitutional right to be the president, re-imposed a brutal martial on November 3. It is all for the benefit of democracy and in the name of Allah, the almighty. He has promised general elections before January 9 to hoodwink the world and his own people under harsh set of laws. His justification of emergency beats all logic. It is meant to hold free and fair elections and usher in democracy.

For this all private television channels are banned; journalists have been put either behind the bars or threatened with dire consequences if they right word against the martial dictator nay self proclaimed president. Chief justice and other conscientious justices of the Supreme Court are under house arrest as are political leaders, human right activists and trade union leaders besides journalists. A look at some of the restrictions and suspended rights in the state of emergency would tell anyone how benevolent is that new emergency. The suspended rights include: protection of life and liberty, the right to free movement, the right of detainees to be informed of their offense and given access to lawyers and protection of property rights. The right to assemble in public stands withdrawn as also the right to free speech. Equal rights for all citizens before law and equal legal protection are no longer guaranteed. Media coverage of suicide bombings and militant activity is curtailed by new rules. Broadcasters also face a three-year jail term if they "ridicule" members of the government or armed forces.

A plaint election commission and handpicked judiciary and army with powers to arrest and award long terms of impressments or even capital punishment  is there to ensure free and fair elections and usher in democracy.

In Pakistan the sordid story of an unraveling civil society and disintegrating institutional framework continues unabated in Pakistan. And Musharraf has only ensured that no healthy institution existed. Can he or his cronies stand against the mullahs and maulvis?

Pakistan People’s Party leader, Benazir Bhutto forcibly deported Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), are busy as  usual in some kind of balancing act via the Americans and or the Saudis. Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, Imran Khan is in jail facing life imprisonment or even death.

Yet the heartening thing about Pakistan is the swelling crowds of protesting lawyers and activists jamming the streets. There is that inspiring spectacle of ordinary Pakistanis standing up for their rights and fighting back the batons of the police. This remains the best hope for the return of democracy in Pakistan. The people  must have their sights set firmly on  lifting of the Emergency, the restoration of basic civil liberties and more importantly, guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary. They also must throw up more honest leaders and get rid of Bhuttos and Sharifs. Only then can their struggle for democracy have real purpose.

It is time for 165 million people of Pakistan to take stock of what the military rule has accomplished in Pakistan. General Musharraf is the fourth in a line of army chiefs who seized power on essentially the same pretext: getting rid of venal politicians, saving the economy from bankruptcy, and preserving the security and integrity of the country. None of the past three military rulers achieved any of these goals. All had to go involuntarily.

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