Adil Najam
I have been traveling nearly non-stop over the last month, and events in Pakistan are headline news everywhere. More than that everyone is asking questions about Pakistan. An immigration official in Baku, Azerbaijan, asked me (2 weeks before the emergency) how long Musharraf will survive? A hotel receptionist in Musqat, Oman, asked more politely if “all is well in your country?” (one week before the emergency). In Pakistan (just days before the emergency) the question was more like “What is America planning for Pakistan?” A shop-keeper in Trondheim, Norway, asked (one day before the emergency) wondered if “Benazir will solve Pakistan’s problems?” And my driver in Cairo, Egypt, asked yesterday “Has Musharraf gone mad?”
You have to be impressed by how much ordinary people around the world know about Pakistan. But also sad that this is what they are thinking when they think Pakistan.
I do not think I have been able to respond to any of them satisfactorily. Politics in Pakistan is way too complex, even for us Pakistanis.
But to each I have said, in different ways, that the real story in Pakistan is not about Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The real story is about Pakistanis demanding democracy. The reason the general has had to use ever increasing pressure and more draconian measures is precisely because the people who want democracy are just not giving up. As we have said before, here is a democratic society trapped in an undemocratic state. This is a moment to be proud of Pakistanis. The failure here is not of Pakistan. It is of Gen. Pervez Musharraf (and he wrote his own indictment in his ’emergency’ speech).
And this is what is most heartening. In response to a journalists question yesterday, I elaborated on something I have been saying already (here, here and here):
…this is a moment of great pride for Pakistanis. How can you not be proud of your people when ordinary citizens – lawyers, journalists, students – come out on he streets ready to be beaten up and put in jail… knowing that they will be crushed and yet demanding democracy…. this is NOT Pakistan’s failure… this is a moment of success for Pakistan’s people… the reason that the military government has been forced to apply ever greater force and every more draconian measures is simply because the democracy forces in the country (the lawyers, the students and journalists… unfortunately not the politicians as much) are simply unwilling to bow down. In the past people used to stop demanding democracy at much less pressure than this. Now they are resisting pressure and they keep demanding democracy and freedom.
Even as I travel (still on the road) and check email on unreliable connections and unfamiliar computers, I find my inbox and the comments on ATP innundated with information about what ordinary citizens are doing. This is most heartening.
The pictures say it all and I will let the pictures do the talking here. But as I look at teh pictures, some points do pop into the head about who is protesting here and who is not. Maybe our readers can comment more on this:
- Note carefully who is protesting for freedom, human dignity and democracy. These are ordinary people. Lawyers. Students. Journalists.
- Note carefully who they represent. These are amongst the most so-called ‘secular’ and ‘liberal’ classes in society. The people who were supposed to be Gen. Musharraf natural constituency. Musharraf has lost the support of the very people who were supposed to be (but never really were) most aligned to him. [Readers, please spare us your diatribes and fatwas about what ‘secular’ and ‘liberal’ means. Despite the propaganda from some, neither of those terms means anti-religious or un-Islamic… There is a huge literature on this, so please read it. But, for Allah’s sake, not on Wikipedia!!].
- Note also the solidarity being shown by Pakistanis within and outside Pakistan. While there are obviously those who do support the general, the opposition to the emergency is more widespread than anything one can remember. One can scarcely think of any political act that has united our otherwise divided society they way the general opposition to the Emergency has.
- More importantly, please note who is NOT in the pictures. Who is not on the streets protesting.
- Political activists and political leaders are not on the streets. They make statements, but half-heartedly. This is not a movement led by politicians. In fact, it is not even clear whether the politicians are smart enough to just follow the people on the streets. Really conspicuous by their absence are the ‘political workers’. The Million who greeted Benazir, or were supposedly stopped from greeting Nawaz Sharif, or routinely come out for the MMA, are nowhere to be seen. Their leaders have failed to mobilize them, or maybe not tried to do so at all.
- The one exception to the above may be Imran Khan, but I have long felt that at his core he is more of a civil society actor than a political leader in the true sense; his stance, his style, and even his vote bank seems to suggest the same.
- Also conspicuous by their absence are the religious parties, the MMA. Beyond statements they do not have much to contribute here. Their words and boasts onpeople’s will and democracy are large but their actions no different from the secular parties.
- Finally, and probably most importantly, missing from the streets and from protests are the religious extremists (not to be confused with the religious parties which are religious but, mostly, not extremists). The folks who were killing and terrorizing and blowing up ordinary Pakistanis in Swat, in Islamabad, and elsewhere seem not too worried about the Emergency and not to unhappy at the death of democracy. They may even like it that way. This is important because supposedly the Emergency was imposed to curtail them and their activities. However, they seem to be neither affected not interested in the Emergency or the opposition to it.
While the shape of things will obviously evolve, it does seem that a new politics is taking shape in Pakistan. A people-centered politics that might just sideline the mainstream political parties as well as the extremists. It is way too early to say that this will happen. It is quite probable that it will not. But one can certainly not be faulted for hoping that it just might.
I totally disagree with anyone who supports Mushraaf or his regime. He allied with the most corrupt people inside this country just to save his position.
His corruption level has been more than any other democratic government. 1- The money made through Real Estate by all army generals has been unprecedented.Its just that no one has the power to bring those things to light because either a) they put in jail or b) they also bribed to join become devils advocate 2- The electricity crisis in Karachi has been brought just because government received huge kick backs from SEIMENS. Same company has been fined millions of dollars for corruption charges in Africa as per WSJ today. No one in Pakistan names that because they afraid of Mushraf and his Army which is none other than group of gangsters committing worst human crime against Pakistanis.
3-There are millions of other examples of corruption ..just that no one talks ..just they scared or burried in their own problems. Exactly like when it comes to street protests where not large majority is coming out due to their own issues.
Pakistan wouldn’t have been created if it was not about the rights of people..we could have been equally been happy living in sub-continent but our rights were demolished and that was the major factor in driving people out on streets.
People like Usman, Naeem and Emaan above live in glass houses and don’t know the problems faced by grassroot pakistanis..they just watch stupid enlightened moderation and dances on PTV and think Pakistan has progressed. Guys grow up these things are not the benchmark for anyones success.
Huma:
I believe students should not be involved in politics at all, actually there should be a law for any under 21 taking part in politics.
Our youth needs education and with so much studying and expertise required for Pakistan’s next generations to seccede there is no time to take part in politics. Politicians turn to Students because they know its hard for working class to leave work and protest but students (as they get emotional quickly) will. We should remember that this was done by Bhutto and we suffered from Student groups for a very long time, Students used to beat buss drivers for not stopping or asking fair!.
MQM and MMA do not deserve to be in power , lets make sure they do not win any seat in upcomming ellections and we vote or deserved people who can work for nation’s welfair, understand our security issues, are well educated and honest regardless of which party they are from.
I wish these ellections were on non-party basis.
Dr. Adil Najam:
In spite of media’s best efforts, both inside and outside Pakistan, the movement to chase Musharraf out of office has not gained its full momentum. The opposition to Musharraf rule remains mostly in the educated urban upper middle classes with lawyers and certain other groups being in the forefront. These are the groups most directly affected by the military rule. With military taking up all the plum jobs these groups loose many job opportunities that they see rightfully theirs. As for as rest of the populous is concerned, it sees no stakes in this fight that concerns mostly the upper economic classes. Masses are neither concerned nor involved in this so called struggle for democracy. They have seen the ugly face of so called democracy in Pakistan. Sharif brothers, Bhutto dynasty, Mullahs, Iltaf Bhai gang—a common man has experienced them all and now refuses to come out on the street at their behest. A military government is never an answer, but so discredited are the corrupt politicians that public is no longer interested in following them blindly. They see an iron fisted dictator as a better option than the thieves disguised as political leaders. And as for the judiciary goes, its re-born honesty and so called independence has a very short history. On the overall judiciary is just as corrupt as other institutions in Pakistan. It has time and again failed to deliver justice and man on the street knows it.
Naveed Khan & Ahson Hasan
I respect your views and agree with you on 90% things you have said.
Tho I have few reservations, PPP & PML are being ruled by Benazir and Nawaz as if they are their personal properties. Can these parties not bring up more leaders?, there are many good people among them that i love to see as party leaders & PrimeMinisters, these parties agenda is not country’s welfair infect they want their leaders to become PrimeMinisters.
According to Pakistan’s Law one cannot be PrimeMinister for more then 2 terms, which is an excellent law. It stops dictatorship from politicians. Many countries in the world have same law and Thanks to Musharraf for it. What is Benazir and Nawaz trying to do now, one trying to return to country and the other has got her cases taken away and now hitting back (jis thali me khaya usi me thook deya).
Anyways, i agree with both of you, but i believe we need honest, petriotic people to come in parliment this time and opposition should stop fighting over what has happened and look for future as this is the turning point for Pakistan. By january Musharraf will be Civilian president and will still need vote of confidence from new Parliment. I support Musharraf in anyway, with full confidence in him, He might have had made wrong decisions but as I understand what he has done was best in this situation. Infect I want Benazir, Nawaz n Mulana Fazalullah to be jailed for life and I want people like Imran Khan and Edhi Amin made life time Ministers but Imran has a long way to go. I predict Imran will become a good president and will keep goverments on track with his track of being straight forward, honest and standing up.
Lets stay United and hold on while this storm end!
Ahson,
>One, the people are suffering from an economic paralysis.
This is certainly not true in the case of Karachi. The city witnessed big socio-economic revival during the “Musharaf-rule”. For the first time MQM played the allied role and was able to bring fruits back. People in Karachi are happy as they see things growing in their city, the businesses are booming and there are more high profile jobs then there are applicants. A lot of problems still remain to be addressed, this is true, but the masses are giving due credit where it lies, that is with Musharaf and the ruling partner MQM.
Huma,
In Karachi lives the biggest population of Pashtoons outside NWFP, well lead by ANP. Had they been forced not to protest (by MQM as you suggest), there wouldve been a bigger unrest.
I am not a MQM supporter as the fisrt two paragraphs might suggest :), but it is very right to give the credit where it truly lies. The JI Nazim of Karachi (Naimutullah) is still highly respected and talked about as the person who started the Karachi evo/revolution.
Finally, I agree with Usman, Naeem and Emaan. They made a good summarization.