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.
mg@
I do agree with You, I do mean Your conclusion,
-we as Pakistaniis do have to wake up as a nation
and realize what caused what ,
and what the subsequent effects are / and have been
due to the former.
Its easy to fool humans (thats what I was taught in psychology and psychiatry) and thats what history shows !
History just keep on repeating itself….the same old story.
For God sakes people, what is wrong with you?…..the mullaiaat and the subsequent deterioration of Pakistan is due to the dreaded actions of ZAB back in 70s. Have mercy on yourselves and wake up!
This nation is under divine punishment due to the dreaded politicians, the mullah cabal and the pathetic pendo Media anchors that pound distortions on daily basis and have send Pakistan over the cliff. Unfortunately, people fail to realize what is truly happening in Pakistan and the root causes. I am afraid we
@Farrukh,
Good post in general. A minor disagreement though: The civilian leader with most power in Pakistan’s history at least since 1958 was Nawaz Sharif in his second tenure. Not only he had his closest buddies in ALL important federal posts, he could remove superior judges and army chiefs, he had his compliant govts. in all 4 provinces and he had the 8th Amendment Abolished.
I don’t think even ZAB–who had to contend with at least two provinces (NWFP+Baluchistan) with opposition parties–had that kind of power.
Zardari may be a powerful president but the various PPP govts. cannot survive in any place except for Sindh without pleasing the coalition partners. In most crucial electoral province of Punjab the PPP is basically a side-kick of the coalition govt. Zardari’s PPP is a pretty lame duck, unpopular govt. The things that are holding the status quo is that the Army does not want to drag its feet into the politics again–at least not yet–while NS is busy clearing cases against him before he goes for ‘the kill’. I hope I am wrong on this last point.
[Sorry for the digression]
PS. It is quite a delight to see Zia ul Haq who, by the time of his death, had ruled Pakistan for about a 4th of Pakistan’s history to be delegated to the dustbin of history. No amount of propaganda and the grand ‘State Funeral’ in Islamabad could fool Pakistanis. And look at his son Aijazul Haq: He lost his home constituency seat to a PPP candidate in the 2008 elections. Divine Justice indeed.
Add Nadra to Mush’s list of good things.
Also, we should include Pakistan steel mills in Ayub’s list of contributions (contrary to common perception, the steel mills project was started by Ayub Khan in 1968-9, though it finished when ZAB was in power)
The ability to do real good depends on time in office and also real power. Benazir and Sharif were never given either, so it is not surprising that they were able to do less. SImilarly, dictators that clinged to power for long will obviously have more time to implement their ideas. The fact that Zia gets so little just shows just how terrible his idea of Islamization was.
It is reassuring that despite most educated Pakistanis being pro-dictatorship, this poll shows Bhutto leading which is what majority of Pakistanis believe as every election has shown.
He was the only civilian leader who had the time and power to do something. Ironically, since Bhutto, Zardari is the first civilian leader to have actual power. I do not like him personally, but if he is able to continue against the Taliban (even under US pressure) he would have achieved more than anyone. My personal feelings for him aside, I wish him luck in putting the Taliban threat out, if he does that he would even surprise history and come out shining.