We the People…
That's life
By Ayesha Tammy HaqTuesday, July 31,2007
Speculation is rife and the rumour mill is working overtime with talk of an accommodation between President General Pervez Musharraf and Motharma Benazir Bhutto. The 'Deal' as everyone calls it is viewed with suspicion, so much so that the word 'deal' is now a four-letter word. But as a friend of mine said, while it is a four letter word that conjures up negative sentiment, it is a word that describes the spirit, or at least the political climate, of our times. So much emphasis on a word, or is it what lies behind the word. Does compromise sound better? A compromise between various competing factions that is arrived at after a series of negotiation, involving certain accommodations and concluded after much discussion. This is no new fangled innovative notion, important issues have been settled this way for centuries and history is replete with instances where parties, individuals, corporations, governments have sat at negotiating tables and worked out agreements between themselves with a view to breaking deadlocks and moving on.
As a lawyer one is constantly engaged in negotiations to resolve disputes. The resolution is invariably some kind of compromise where opposing parties start at separate ends of the table and meet as close to the centre as possible. A compromise or deal, as we like to call it in Pakistan, is only effective if it reflects the agreement of all the parties. In disputes involving individuals and even corporations this is not difficult, the parties to the dispute are before you and they agree to and sign off on and implement the agreement reached. Individuals work it out amongst themselves; with corporations may be a little more complicated as they need take it to the board and the shareholders for approval. When it comes to the governance of a country the issue becomes a little more complicated. The stakeholders are many, expectation could be high and as a result there is a lot more at stake. Any deal, compromise, treaty, armistice made must be put into a political framework if it is to work. This means taking it back to the people, taking them in to confidence, making them a part of the decision making process and carrying them along with you.
Things have changed in Pakistan today; the lawyers' movement to restore the Chief Justice of Pakistan has woken up the nation and recharged it politically. Expectation is now very high and people want to see real change. That includes change not only in the business of governance but how it is conducted and by whom. Spurred on by their historic victory the lawyers stood before Pakistan and the world and said that the restoration of the Chief Justice was only the first of many battles. And that in the battles to be fought in days to come, which include the building and nurturing of strong institutions, return to a truly democratic and representative form of government and ensuring the rule of law, they look to civil society and the political parties for their continued support. A huge responsibility has been placed on their shoulders and they appear to be happy to carry it, not as a burden but an obligation that has emerged out of the contract that has been made between them and the citizens of Pakistan. This contract emerged out of the four and a half month struggle for the independence of the judiciary and upholding the rule of law. The contract, written on the streets, in the court, on television, in every domain, was sealed with the blood of many, those bludgeoned by the police in Lahore, those gunned down in Karachi and those targeted by a bomb in Islamabad. A heavy price to pay, but Pakistani's have paid it and are now not willing to see it all fall apart and amount to nothing. They have reengaged in the political process and will not see their sacrifice amount to nothing.
This brings us back to the current negotiations and the meeting between President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi. Media advisors of both parties have denied a meeting but senior government ministers and officials have confirmed it. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said on television that talks had been going on for two years and that this was logically the summit meeting to wrap it up. But what are the contours of this understanding? No one it appears knows. There are lots of questions and no answers. This is not taking the nation into confidence, this in fact creates a backlash of public opinion and gives rise to speculation, imputes motive and questions bona fides of both President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto.
President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto are not telling, and no one seems to be in the loop, so speculation is becoming fact in people's minds. This lack of information results in anger, distrust and a sense of betrayal. I have been accused of being starry-eyed when I recounted my trip to Abbottabad with the Chief Justice of Pakistan and his lawyers. It appears that it's not just me, the nation is starry-eyed. It has a dream that it believes can be realised. And to realise that dream it has pinned its hopes on the lawyers.
So here's an account of another trip. Much shorter than the marathon drive to Abbottabad but the driver was the same and the sentiment stronger. I went to Burban for lunch with Aitzaz Ahsan on Sunday. The old Pajero has been retired and a new car notwithstanding, he was easily recognised all along the way, it was a case of 'Honk If You Love Aitzaz'. People waving, cheering, yelling out congratulatory greetings, headlights flashed, victory signs were made, this was a nation still celebrating a nation recognising the significance of the historic decision of the Supreme Court on July 20 and the man who was greatly responsible for it. If the car stopped in traffic he was surrounded by well-wishers. No one walked past, man, woman or child. People wanted to kiss his hand or at the very least shake it. We arrived at Burban for lunch and it was a re-run of those bar association meetings but with a difference. Everyone congratulated him on his historical victory and in the same breath said for the sake of this country and all of us, tell us that there is no deal.
Just before embarking on the drive to Burban, Aitzaz had been telling us about the case and how a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Surrounded by admirers in Burban you could see the shoulders struggling under the weight of a new responsibility. I heard a young boy on the table next to us tell his younger siblings that this is the man who saved the chief justice. Perhaps too young to understand the importance of the statement they looked at Aitzaz Ahsan in awe -- they understood the word saved. And now we look at him and Munir Malik and Ali Ahmed Kurd and Hamid Khan and Justice Tariq Mahmood and all the lawyers to save us again.
This is a responsibility they undertook when they vowed to ensure the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law. They had delivered once and as far as the country is concerned they will deliver again. A heavy cross to bear but I saw the shoulders take the weight again. There is an idealism now that must not be dashed by expediency. The nation is not just grateful for what the lawyers have done in leading this struggle, public sentiment indicates that they are relying on them to continue this fight and not rest until we have this country back on the rails.
The wheel of fortune's sphere is a marvellous thing: What next proud head to the lowly dust will it bring? Tumult and bloody battle rage in the plain: Bring blood-red wine and fill the goblet again! -- Hafez
The writer is a corporate lawyer, host of a weekly talk show on satellite television and a freelance columnist. Email:
ayeshatammy@gmail.com
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=66399