Adil Najam
As I wrote yesterday, the emergency declared by Gen. Musharraf is deeply disturbing, but not really surprising. The horrendous political situation that Gen. Musharraf described in his ‘Emergency’ speech is, in fact, true.
Extremism and violence has gone out of hand. Society is deeply divided. Religion has been high-jacked and is now routinely used to incite violence. The writ of the government is being trampled. Politicians have failed and people do seek recourse in the judiciary. People are frustrated and deeply disturbed. We have been writing and discussing all of this and more on this blog repeatedly. We cannot, therefore, deny what is obvious.
However, none of this is a justification for a suspension of the Constitution and for the declaration of emergency. In fact, all this is damning evidence of government failure. A suspension of the constitution will not and cannot resolve any of these issues. It is more likely to – and has already – made each of these situations even worse.
We had written recently that Gen. Musharraf is now operating on a ‘Karr lo jo karna hai‘ philosophy… “do whatever you will, I am here to stay and will do whatever it takes.” Right now he seems to believe that an Emergency is what “it will take.” Maybe so. Maybe it will buy him a little more time to hold on to power. But, for how long? And, at what cost?
We have also written before that Pakistan is a democratic society trapped inside an undemocratic state and that we are living through Pakistan’s moment of democratic struggle. Perversely, the events of the last days have again proved this thesis. The reason that Gen. Musharraf has to apply increasingly more draconian measures to hold on to power is precisely because society is progressively unprepared to maintain a patently undemocratic order. This is precisely why the targets of this current action are the two forces that have emerged as the most vibrant and important custodians of the nation’s democratic spirit: the judiciary and the media. With politicians, who seem far less interested in real democracy, you can always cut deals; less so, it seems, with the spirit of justice and free speech!
What will happen in the next few weeks? Probably, they will get worse. Just how much worse things might become, and how, will depend on what happens in the next few hours. Benazir Bhutto is back in Pakistan, but seems mysteriously silent; or at least cautious. Word is that she will speak to the Presidency soon. What comes out of this will be important. Whether the gag on the media will be permanent or not will also matter. And if it is lifted, how will the media ‘behave’? The street reaction today (Monday), especially of the legal fraternity will be another key indicator. As always in this beloved client state of ours, the reactions from Europe and Washington – including on aid continuation – will also have an effect. But ultimately, it is really about whether the democratic spirit of the Pakistani populace will be broken or not. I suspect – I hope – it will not.
To go back to the beginning of this post. The events of the last two days are disturbing, but not surprising. A review of some of the posts on this blog posted over the last year or so, shows why. The depiction below not only provides one blogs-view of a chronology of a political meltdown, it also highlights the various dimensions of the downward spiral that Pakistani politics has been slipping down on. Without any further commentary, let me just list a few of these posts. Follow some of these links and the comments there. Doing so have been educative to me, and begins to explain just why we are where we are.
Aug. 26, 2006: Nawab Akbar Bugti Killed.
Sep. 10, 2006: Spreading Lies.
Sep. 14, 2006: Monitoring Friday Sermons by Police.
Sep. 25, 2006: Rumors of an Internal Coup Cause Frenzy in Pakistan.
Sep 30, 2006: Who is Giving Pakistan a Bad Name?
Oct. 1, 2006: Grading Gen. Musharraf: A Performance Review.
Oct. 16, 2006: Democracy in Action?
Nov. 2, 2006: The Cost of Milk and Being a Lakh Patti.
Nov. 8, 2006: Allotment of Expensive Plots for Bureaucrats.
Nov. 16, 2006: The Politics of the Women’s Rights Bill.
Nov. 18, 2006: Will the MMA Resign? And if so, then what?
Nov. 21, 2006: Another Journalist Disappears in Pakistan.
Dec. 15, 2006: Supreme Court Blocks Hasba Bill.
Dec. 28, 2006: Brutally Shameful.
Dec. 31, 2006: Cost of Living: Inflation 2006?
Jan 5, 2007: The Politics of Politics.
Jan. 26, 2007: Insecurity: Suicide Blast at Marriott Islamabad.
Feb. 21, 2007: Mad Anger: Woman Minister Murdered.
Mar. 4, 2007: Kidney Hill, Karachi: The Battle Heats Up.
Mar. 7, 2007: PTCL Fumbles a Censorship Extravaganza.
Mar. 9, 2007: President Removes Chief Justice. Why?
Mar. 12, 2007: Shameful. Distressing. Disturbing.
Mar. 13, 2007: Law Minister Wasi Zafar Misbehaving on VOA.
Mar 15, 2007: Kamran Khan Show on Geo Banned.
Mar. 23, 2007: Celebrating the Democratic Spirit.
Apr. 7, 2007: Lal Masjid Assault on Islamabad.
Apr. 18, 2007: Sahil Bachao: The Battle for Karachi’s Waterfront.
Apr. 27, 2007: Benazir Musharraf Deal.
May 4, 2007: Jahalat: Polio Vaccine Campaign Facing Threats.
May 7, 2007: ATP at the Supreme Court Today.
May 12, 2007: Karachi Burning: Clashes, Firing, Violence, Deaths.
May 12, 2007: ATP Goes to Lal Masjid.
June 1, 2007: Military Inc. Causes Waves in Pakistan.
June 2, 2007: Electronic Media Under Siege in Pakistan.
June 4, 2007: Pakistan Cracks Down on TV News Channels.
June 7, 2007: Will there be Elections in Pakistan in 2007?
June 9, 2007: CJP Crisis: Where is Pakistan’s Prime Minister?
June 23, 2007: Lal Masjid Storm Chinese Massage Parlor.
July 3, 2007: Colateral Benefits: Judicial Assertiveness in Pakistan.
July 3, 2007: ‘Operation Silence’ Against Lal Masjid Islamabad.
July 10, 2007: The Gun Battle at Lal Masjid.
July 17, 2007: Suicide Bomber Targets Lawyers Rally.
July 20. 2007: Supreme Court Reinstates the Chief Justice.
July 27, 2007: The Battle for Lal Masjid Continues.
Aug. 8, 2007: Emergency Being Declared in Pakistan? But Why?
Aug. 23, 2007: Supreme Court: Nawaz Sharif Can Return to Pakistan.
Sep. 4, 2007: Bomb Blasts in Rawalpindi: Pakistan at War.
Sep. 14, 2007: Taliban and Extremists at War Against Pakistan.
Sep. 21, 2007: Manipulated Elections: Karr lo jo karna hai.
Sep. 26, 2007: Can we disagree without being disagreeable?
Sep. 29, 2007: Disturbing Images from Islamabad.
Oct. 6, 2007: Musharraf Gets Votes, But Loses Big Time.
Oct. 10, 2007: Emerging Shape of Pakistan Politics.
Oct. 18, 2007: More than 100 Dead… And Benazir Returns.
Oct. 19, 2007: The Midnight Attack.
Oct. 21, 2007: The Doctrine of Necessity.
Nov. 3, 2007: Emergency Declared in Pakistan.
The line at the top right is the most powerful from the poem, the ATP credo, which has been much dicussed here. I have been mesmerized by this line ever since I was a child.
Hum deikhein gey
LAAZIM HEY key hum bhi Daikhain gey
That’s Faiz!
Musharraf’s journey on the downward spiral has been astounding to say the least. Not too long ago when he visited the U.S. he sounded like a man with a vision, the best available leader for Pakistan. People followed him wherever he went and spoke. For reasons that have been discussed in detail on this blog and in the this post he has effectively changed that image forever and it should be a moment of reckoning for him that people have started comparing him with Zia. Zia, the Lucifer.
That said, the politicians whose ineptitude made Musharraf a star are still there and still very much the same. Nawaz Sharif LIED on the record that he didn’t sign any agreement to leave and a week later admitted. Benezir, as Adil once mentioned, gave up everything that her father might once have stood for and looks very very unimpressive. Others, one could write an essay on their goofups and hollowness. The tragedy is that people are looking for a savior with character and credibility and they don’t have one. People are depressed not just because what Musharraf has done but because others pretending to be the saviors would have taken almost exactly the same actions if they were in power. If taken back to 96 Benezir may choose Amin Faheem or even Asif Zaradari over Farooq Laghari to remain in power. Nawaz Sharif may give Ali Quli Khan a chance over Musharraf.. The list would go on.. Dishonesty and Corruption is what is killing us. From top to the down it has plagued the country and it has now turned into cancer. On a tangent about few judges taking oath yesterday.. a friend commented.. “yaar aik car aur thoray protocol key liyai kiaa kartey ho..khoaf karo”
Breaking News on SKY News:
”Miliband calls on Musharraf to honour commitment to resign as army chief and lift media restrictions immediately”
I listened to Musharraf
Lal Salaam. The time to resist was about 20 years ago. Now people are resisting when things almost can’t get any worse. Pakistan is one inch away from becoming another Burma.
“Pakistan is a democratic society trapped inside an undemocratic state”
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