Deja Vu

At the time of this writing, Pakistan’s current leader, CEO, President and General (not to forget “Friend” of George W.) Pervez Musharraf has announced that there will be a April 30th referendum in that country, the “positive” outcome of which will give him a mandate to rule for 5 more years. The game plan is that voters in Pakistan are going to be asked whether they give their blessings to his continuation as the head of state. And as expected an Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) in Pakistan has already issued directives to its followers, that they boycott this referendum and several writers, journalists and political figures are crying foul. It appears that we are back to the 1980’s once again with another General at the helm and what used to be called the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in Pakistan, opposing the Late General Ziaul Haq’s similar referendum of 1984. Déjà vu is what comes to mind.

First and foremost, as a well-wisher of Pakistan and as its former citizen this writer too would like to express his initial apprehensions about such referendums as they remind one of General Zia’s dark days of military dictatorship in Pakistan. The referendum that is being embarked upon is essentially against the Constitution of Pakistan no matter which spin-doctor puts his or her take on it. Hence our dilemma here in North America on whether this is the best path that Pakistan should be taking, especially since General Musharraf has not been elected and seized power through a coup. Should we Pakistani-Americans be supporting him no matter how popular he may be with some of us here?

Before the filters in the American and Pakistani press discard this piece of writing because it may appear to question (it does not) the current direction of the America-Pakistan military cooperation to tackle the likes of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and beyond, let us revisit the past. The American public has a very short memory and may not even care today but since September 11th some Pakistanis have become objects of official “affection” here, it would not hurt to remind America that General Zia who usurped power in Pakistan in 1977 and in 1979 hanged an elected Prime Minister (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) was also Washington’s best friend during most of the 1980’s. This was the period when the groups that were soon to become the godfathers of Al Qaeda were formed in the region.

To fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani Military, trampled on the democratic wishes of the people of Pakistan in their haste to free us all from the dangers of Communism. The Pakistani people were bystanders during that time when Religious Radicalism Inc. took over their lives and in the process transformed their political and social landscape. The foundations of Radical Islam were not laid down with the consent people of the Pakistan. Washington was as always, in a hurry, the Saudis had the money and the military dictatorship in Pakistan was hungry for international recognition and legitimacy (ring a bell?). And the Soviets provided this trio with a very good excuse to cooperate by invading Afghanistan.

The point to be made here is that CNN can hold as many polls as it wants, and even a top TV comedy program “Saturday Night Live” can joke about Pakistan, but the fact remains that these radical elements were introduced into that country with the active participation of Washington. Much money was circulated into the economy so that religion inspired ‘freedom fighting” could become a lucrative profession. And last but not least, the most alarming aspect of all this was the military training that such groups received to perfect their craft.

But what does this have to do with the referendum dilemma in Pakistan today? One can say, “just about everything”. Because the common perception amongst many Pakistanis is that once again an attempt is being made to bypass the constitutional path in Pakistan, this time to tackle terrorism. Once again the already much-maligned political apparatus there is being ridiculed. The military establishment is again gaining legitimacy at the expense of the established political parties while it continues to please Washington.

The task at hand is a very difficult one. Extremism has been sold to the people in the region for over two decades and Washington should not and cannot expect Pakistanis to suddenly make this problem disappear from within their midst. It will take time and a great deal of effort. And since this problem of terrorism in the region was not created by a political process but by bypassing it, it would be fair to state that this time a solution should include both the political and military leadership in Pakistan.

General Pervez Musharraf and his military have made some sound decisions since September 11, 2001. The global menace of terrorism has to be tackled while its underlying causes are addressed (e.g. Palestine and Kashmir amongst them). But this has to be a combined effort, both military and political. The mistakes of the past should not be repeated. The leaders of Pakistan’s two main political parties Benazir Bhutto of the PPP and Nawaz Sharif of the PML, both former Prime Ministers, have been blamed for most of the ills currently facing that country. But this game of “passing the buck” is not going to last. Every Pakistani and many outsiders already know that the buck in Pakistan stops at the Military High Command. And it has been so since 1958 (except for the 1973 to 1977 Bhutto period).

The civilian political leadership including Mrs. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif also need to realize that the problems facing the country today are just too big for them to handle. The political apparatus in Pakistan is not yet capable of cleaning up society by itself. It cannot do much about the militancy without the military. So the best thing to do at the moment is to negotiate a partnership with the people in uniform and invoke a combined “doctrine of necessity”.

General Musharraf should be open and honest about the difficulties facing Pakistan today. The people will respond to honesty. They are bitter from past experiences when the military has chosen to ignore the wishes of the Pakistani masses. Instead of blaming politicians if General Musharraf in his recent speech at Lahore had apprised Pakistanis of the real problems facing the country and shown his intent to rectify the mistakes of the military in the 1970 and 1980’s, maybe he would get more support. He is on the right track and thus far is pursuing moderation in a region where radicalism has been encouraged for too long. We can wish him well, but if the military wants to rule for 5 more years it needs to spell out its plan for a permanent exit from future intervention and to let democracy prevail in Pakistan.