Adil Najam
Back in August of 2006 one of the first ATP Polls we did was to ask our readers which recent leader they thought did the most good for Pakistan? We had structured the question carefully to focus on the good that these leaders did (all leaders do bad things as well as good, some more and some less). It is time to ask the same question again.
In 2006 we had not included Gen. Musharraf since he was still in power. This time including Gen. Musharraf but not Asif Zardari, who is in power now. So, what do you think?
Please do take the question serious and answer it in the spirit asked:
The Question: Focussing primarily on whatever ‘positives’ might have been achieved during their stint(s) in power, who, amongst the following, did the most ‘good’ for Pakistan?
Let me repeat the explanatory paragraph I had included in introducing the question the first time:
The key word is ‘achieved.’ We always have plenty of discussions about what leaders have and are doing wrong, but nearly never talk about what they did right. Interestingly, even when we are trying to make a case for someone, we tend to make it by explaining what is wrong with everyone else. After all, if everyone else is bad (and worse) then our guy must be good, at least in ccomparison and by default. The logic makes a perverse sort of sense but tends to take our political conversations towards confrontations (since they are based on ‘attacking’ the other rather than on ’supporting’ our own). So, here is an experiment to see if we are capable of talking differently about such things.
As before, for Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif consider the combined impact of two stints they each had in power. Do also please tell us what you think they did that was most important and lasting to Pakistan’s well-being as a nation. Again, we focus on achievement here not because the ‘bad’ that they did was not important (in each case it was) but to discipline our conversation towards thinking of things that, maybe, we should be doing more of.
The Poll results effectively answer the question as to why the Pakistan is in the state it is. The ignorance and a complete lack of understanding with respect to the background of ZAB is appalling. This is precisely why the Nation continues to suffer as they are woefully ill-informed about ZAB and continue to follow the pathetic lying politicians/media-men/mullaas and the recently inducted sue-moto CJ.
People, the real damage done to the Country by ZAB’s (a civil martial law administrator) policies is at the root causes of extremism and the hijacking of the Nation by the mullaas. That one-event started the downward spiral and ZAB was hanged by none other than the mullaas he supported with the help of Zia.
For God sakes, please, develop the mental capacity to understand that these Pakistani politicians are a horrible menace and the Media like buffoons misinform the Awam who are merely their servants, they comically get on TV and continue to con the people over and over again with this
I think in the long run it would be a contest between ZAB and NS for various reasons.
1) ZAB has-had been very popular in the former East Pakistan and latter Pakistan.
2) He was the first truly popular civilian leader after Jinnah himself, who in at least Pakistan (if not Bangladesh) had big following in the largest province of the country, Pakistan.
3) He raised the hopes of the people to unprecedented heights, specially among the poor and the socialists.
4) NS, because of his length of being at the top of the things: two time Prime Minister, two times Chief Minister Punjab, eight years in exile and now as the PM-in waiting.
5) He keeps in touch with the pulse of the people, being from a business family he keeps track of the changes in the market demand. No wonder he supported the cause of the Supreme Court from day one since CJ Iftikhar was deposed on March 9, 2007. Even though he had earlier been accused of storming the SC himself.
6) Like all people he also did a lot of good: opening up of the economy, sincere effort in building motorways, detonation of nuclear devices despite immense international pressure and despite the pressure from the Army not to detonate them, now his resolute aim not to support any military take overs etc.
I think Ayub Khan is liked be the people mainly because he was the most powerful head of the state after Jinnah, and our nation always in search of Messiahas supported Ayub Khan for they could see no other.
The development in his period must be more minutely seen. Just like development in the UK took place inspite of Victora being the Queen, not because of her, probably before Ayub Khan Pakistan’s economy had reached a state where it could at high growth rates. 60s is the era of the green revolution which Pakistan also witnessed along with the rest of the world. With the development of the banking in the country since 1947 had reached a state where large scale textile industry could take shape and it did. During his time Pakistan’s support to USA must have also played a part in attracting money from abroad.
Pervez Musharraf, I think, would be relegated to the dustbin of history. His achievements have been highly exaggerated by the expatriates Pakistanis in particular and people from Karachi in general. Which, I think, has more to do with the exponential explosion in the use of internet in the West, where most of the Pakistani expatriates live. They started writing in favor of Musharraf on the internet. Even now the supporters of NS or PPP do not have that much access to the internet so one doesn’t seem to get their view as freely on the internet. But sooner or latter someone else would come whom the overseas Pakistanis and people with bandwidth access would start supporting and then the genie of Musharraf would go one again into the bottle of oblivion.
kisi nay bhi nae acha kia pakistan mujhay lagta tha nawaz group acha hay lakin woh ab zardari kay saath milgaya hay to bas hum log achy hayn ab matlab Awaaam :D
I think its mostly the people outside Pakistan who mainly support Musharraf, who did his best to destroy any iota of institutionalizaton left in the country: his last victim being the Supreme Court. Its not about whether he allowed the private TV channels to open or not or whether the higher education budget increased in his time, but that his crimes outweigh his contributions many times.
@Mariam, I am Musharaf’s supporter but I hate Zia. At the same time I am no big fan of Ayub. Am I a dictator lover? Hell No!
Lets see whats happening in PML-N and PPP. there is complete dictatorship in both the parties, we see Sharief brothers ruling PML-N since late 80s. We do not know what PML-N’s policies or agendas are but we do know what Nawaz Sharief’s policy is. Similarly PPP is being ruled by Bhuttos. Isn’t that dictatorship? PML (PMLQ) is much better as they choose their party leader by voting which makes them more democratic.
Musharaf introduced such a brilliant law that a person cannot be PM for more then two terms. Musharaf acted more democraticaly then any other leaders in last 30 years, he opened up media, relaxed broadcasting rules, held best ellections yet and empowered people by local gov system. What else can I say.