A recipe for instability
Mir Jamilur RahmanSatureday,August 11,2007
August 8 was a nightmarish day. That afternoon the whole country was abuzz with the talk that the government was contemplating proclamation of Emergency. By nightfall, the TV channels were running the strip that proclamation of Emergency was imminent. Some highly placed functionaries of the ruling party let it be known to a select group of media persons that proclamation of Emergency was a matter of time. Some even went to the extent of explaining the reasons for declaring a state of emergency: American threat of attack was cited as the top reason. This brings up the question: how declaration of emergency could stop American belligerency? Is Emergency our secret weapon against foreign aggression and internal threats?
The news of the Emergency stunned and horrified the people. The official spokesmen's denials were feeble and smacked of double-speak. First a spokesman would flatly deny the news and then in the same breath he would add that the government has the authority to proclaim emergency because it is in the constitution.
Next day, Aug 9, the Karachi Stock Exchange fell by 610 points, a record fall. Later, when firm denials started coming in, the market recouped about 320 points. The irresponsible handling of the Emergency news, or was it a rumour floated by the government itself, deprived the people of billions of rupees for no fault of theirs.
Various interpretations are being put forth for the great mishap but none stick. Perhaps, it was written in the stars that whatever important action President Musharraf took, it would boomerang and harm him politically and the country economically. It cannot be explained away by taking cover under 'mishandling'. There could be a plausible reason for the tactical mistakes which Presidency has been committing on a regular basis starting with three-nine, the day the Chief Justice was sacked.
Apparently, Musharraf's faceless advisors are tired and have become impotent sitting at the same posts for ever and ever. They have outlived their usefulness. Resultantly, they have been failing again and again in gauging the public mood correctly in the post 3/9 period. Or perhaps President Musharraf's grip over national politics has softened. He is definitely overworked. In fact, he is a workaholic. I remember him once saying that to him sleeping was a waste of time. With his workload, looking and monitoring every aspect of his government, he gets scant opportunity to relax or have a vacation to get away from it all for a few days.
The saying goes that Pakistan is the most difficult country to govern. This conclusion is rubbish. On the contrary, Pakistan is one of the most pliable countries to rule. The ruler can get away with grand larceny; can put people in jail and forget about them; can tax them without giving them representation; and can make hash of the constitution. However, despite their pliability, the people would hit back violently if they are deceived by the rulers. In fact, it is the rulers of Pakistan who are most difficult to discipline. They make laws and are the first to break them. Most of them consider themselves indispensable. They think and think very wrongly that Pakistan would collapse if they are not at the helm of affairs. They wish to live for ever.
It is undeniable that Pakistan has made more economic progress in the last eight years, 1999-2007, than it achieved in 52 years, 1947-1999. The cynics can attribute the eight years' exceptional progress to extraneous factors but the fact remains it happened during Musharraf's time. Musharraf, with the help of Shaukat Aziz, first as Finance Minister and later as Prime Minister, has done wonders by raising the GDP to over seven per cent consecutively for six years. The per capita income now touches 1,000 dollars and the living standards have risen appreciably. The social sectors have been given all the money they could spend. The foreign direct investment from negligible figures has risen to respectable figures.
It is unbelievable that President Musharraf, who has brought Pakistan to new economic heights by unleashing the hidden potency of Pakistanis, would put his economic bullet train in a reverse gear. It is unbelievable that the architect of the economic growth would himself contribute to the destabilisation of the politics and the economy of the country. The country's stability cannot be assured by the 'unity of command'; it is guaranteed by the 'predictability of command". Gen Yahya Khan had the unity of command and yet he lost the war and East Pakistan. The fact is that people do not like confusion and they hate unpredictability.
President Musharraf might have been personally offended on the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, but it has done wonders to the image of Pakistan internationally. Our foreign friends could not believe that Supreme Court could have the courage to go against the wishes of the President. Even the Indian commentators had to concede that their judiciary went underground to avoid the wrath of Indira Gandhi who had proclaimed emergency which only gave political and economic turmoil to India. In Pakistan, the restoration of Chief Justice gave stability to the country. Everybody felt relieved at the decision of the Supreme Court. People annoyed at bad governance saw a ray of hope vis-a-vis judicial activism.
President Musharraf was the first ruler, absolute or otherwise, who was not afraid of the independent press. Because of press freedom the newspaper industry has gown phenomenally in his tenure. He introduced private TV channels in Pakistan, a feat that no political ruler had dared to do. It is not a small achievement to have 50 channels in a short period of five years. It has opened up new job opportunities and it appears it may become the largest job provider.
President Musharraf would meet the media persons in small groups at regular intervals. He preferred direct rapport with them. He interacted with them in a relaxed manner. He valued the feedback he received from them. He now meets them rarely. His advisors do not want direct interaction between the President and the media because such meetings provide mountains of information to the President, which his advisors consider an encroachment on their authority.
It is painful to watch President Musharraf undoing his achievements in economic, social and political fields. He is doing it for the sake of his uniform that he wants to retain at any cost. His uniform has become a red rag to politicians and the people. Legally he may be right that he can fight his re-election in uniform. He can force his way into the presidency in uniform but it would completely alienate him from the people. What President Musharraf needs is political solution to the uniform problem, and not a legal one.
The writer is a freelance columnist. Email:
mirjrahman@yahoo.com
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=67856