Adil Najam
The Emergency that Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf had imposed on November 3 was technically lifted today. The operative word there is ‘technically.’ Pakistan, Pakistanis and Pakistani politics were already in a very troubled state when the emergency was imposed and it is in a far worse condition now. Only someone who has totally missed on everything that has happened over the last month and a half or someone in total denial could even argue that we are back to where we were before the emergency. Pakistan is, in fact, in a much bigger quagmire because of the emergency.
The President claims in his address that “The country has been saved from grave dangers through imposition of emergency.” He is wrong. Unless, of course, he actually believes that he and his person is the country. His Presidency has, in fact, been saved by the emergency. But everything else – democracy, national security, the political fabric, the judiciary, the constitution, media freedom, extremist violence, national morale – has been severely maligned by this emergency. One only prays that the damage inflicted does not turn out to be permanent.
