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.
Musharraf era has already gone down in our History, whether we agree with it or not, simply for changing the mind-set of the whole country … He was a catalyst for change in all fields. So it would have to be him for just education if nothing else.
In 1999-2000, there were 31 Public Universities. Now 2005-2006 there are 49 Public Universities. HEC setup 47 new Universities.
a) Air University (established 2002)
b) Institute of Space technology, ISB (established 2002)
c) Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta (established 2004)
d) University of Science & Technology, Bannu (established 2005)
e) University of Hazara (founded 2002)
f) Malakand university, Chakdara (established 2002)
g) Karakurum International university, Gilgit (established 2002)
h) University of Gujrat (established 2004)
i) Virtual University of Pak, Lahore (established 2002)
j) Sarhad University of IT, Peshawar (established 2001)
k) National Law University, ISB (2007)
l) Media University, ISB (2007)
m) University of Education, Lahore (2002)
n) Lasbella University of Marine Sciences, Baluchistan (2005)
o) Baluchistan University of IT & Management, Quetta (2002), etc.
Overseas Pakistanis, by and large, will vote for Musharraf because their land inheritance/wealth/property values/stock portfolios went up during his reign.
The most telling point in the survey till now is how few people voted for Zia!
Very interesting poll and innovative question that makes you think.
In some ways Benazir and Nawaz Sharif had such short stints that they did not have much time to do lasting good and things remained uncertain because of establishment interfering, so it does matter how long your stint was.
Focussing on your question of the GOOD they did, even though I think Bhutto did a lot of bad things too, such as personal power arrogance, I think overall it has to be him who did the most good. Just the constitution would give him that credit, despite all of his failings. More importantly, I think he changed politics and gave the common man a voice unlike ever before. Odd that a feudal like Bhutto would do that but he did. Even I surprise coming to that conclusion, but a careful review of the question means that one has to.
BB and NS still aggregate far behind musharraf… interesting. Maybe this poll should show information abt participants’ location.