September/09/08
A word of caution
MIAN Nawaz Sharif has called on President-elect Asif Zardari before proceeding to London, without there being any breakthrough in the talks. The PML-N has also formally submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat Ch Nisar Ali Khan's application for being nominated Leader of the Opposition. The party has also reiterated the demand that the PPP withdraw from the Punjab cabinet. Unless Mr Zardari restores in a surprise move all the remaining judges and agrees to the appointment of Justice Iftikhar as the Chief Justice, there is little chance of the fulfilment of his desire to have a genuinely broad-based coalition running the country. Whether the PPP sits on the opposition benches in the Punjab Assembly or not, the PML-N should try to develop a working relationship with it. At the same time the PPP should not deprive the PML-N of its mandate to rule the province. Any attempt in that direction would revive the post-1988 rivalries and constitute the first step towards the unravelling of the democratic system. Commitment to the principle of provincial autonomy would require that the Centre does not take recourse to the ploys available to it to destabilize the Punjab administration. Let the two-party system, that was being formed before the 1999 coup, be revived and allowed to function without recourse to conspiracies and vendettas. It is time the two mainstream parties run the country in accordance with the Charter of Democracy.
The most vital issue on the government's agenda after Mr Zardari is sworn in is to restore the Constitution to its original shape. While talking to a US TV channel, President-elect Zardari emphasized that Parliament was to be supreme and that he would hand over many responsibilities to it. How the Constitution is to be amended and what precise powers need to be handed over to the Prime Minister is clearly and unambiguously defined in the Charter of Democracy signed by both Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif. In the words of the accord, "The 1973 constitution as on 12th October 1999 before the military coup shall be restored with the provisions of joint electorates, minorities and women's reserved seats on closed party list in the Parliament, the lowering of the voting age and the increase in seats in Parliament, and the Legal Framework Order 2000 and the 17th Constitutional Amendment shall be replaced accordingly." Further, "The appointment of the Governors, the three services chiefs and the CJCSC shall be made by the Chief Executive who is the Prime Minister as per the 1973 constitution." The best tribute to Benazir Bhutto would be to carry out earnestly all the provisions contained in the Charter regarding constitutional changes.
Sycophants at home and vested interests abroad would like Mr. Zardari to be a powerful head of state like former President Musharraf. Falling victim to the lure of power had set into motion events that finally led to the downfall of Mian Nawaz Sharif. To avoid a similar fate, President-elect Zardari should fulfill the undertakings given in the CoD in letter and spirit.
A flawed strategy
THE War on Terror has certainly veered off track, forcing Pakistan to seriously rethink its policy in the global struggle. The attacks, which were a rarity a year ago, have become somewhat of a routine and incline one to think it was no more Iraq or Afghanistan, but Pakistan which is the new fault line. At least 20 people were killed, and many injured, including women and children, in an attack on a residential compound believed to have been owned by Jalaludin Haqqani, a local Taliban leader who at the time of attack was in Afghanistan. A number of houses surrounding the target were also razed to the ground, causing fear among the local population.
However there is a pattern to these raids. It was after talks at the highest level, particularly those aboard the Abraham Lincoln between COAS Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and US commanders, that something went wrong. Though statements from both sides confirmed that a framework had been hammered out in areas of counterterrorism, the fact is that the number of attacks into Pakistani territory increased manifold. It is a pity that the air strike yesterday was the fourth attack in five days. The number of people killed now stands at well over 60, most of them civilians. Contrast this situation with the Afghan war. Despite the all-out support given to the US-led Afghan resistance, comprising the Mujahideen, the Soviets never attacked directly inside Pakistan.
It is worrisome to learn that Pentagon officials have warned that missile strikes of the sort could continue indefinitely. Add to it the hostile statements by presidential candidate Barack Obama, particularly his recent one about the country diverting $10 billion in aid from counter-insurgency operations to a military build-up against India. On the other hand, the volley of attacks since they were few and far between in the days of Musharraf also points attention to the fact that the US was not that happy with the civilian set-up and wanted someone submissive like the general toeing their line without raising any fuss. Thus by creating trouble in our tribal region and forcing the tribal population to stand up against the government, the US seems intent on destabilizing the democratic regime. This would be contradictory to the US claims of supporting democracy throughout the world. Moreover, by taking the war to Pakistan, the US wants to sell the idea around that its struggle had been successful. The reality is that the world is now a more dangerous place to live.
Causes of distrust
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh's congratulatory message to President-elect Asif Ali Zardari, indeed, contains noble thoughts about turning the corner in Pakistan-India relations that "responds to the aspirations of our two people". There is little doubt that like anywhere else in the world most people in the two countries would like to have friendly ties with their neighbours to live in peace and harmony. But mutual trust that invariably serves as the bedrock of such an equation is woefully lacking between Pakistan and India, and that makes the development of a relationship of understanding improbable.
A dispassionate assessment of what went wrong to create a climate of distrust would point a finger at the Indian leadership taking the helm soon after Partition. Unfortunately, the succeeding generations of leaders have continued to pursue the adversarial policies rather than look at the sources of tension and try to remove them.
By far the biggest bone of contention is the Jammu and Kashmir state that India forcibly occupied and has stubbornly refused to vacate despite commitments enshrined in the UNSC resolutions and made directly to the occupied people that it would settle the matter in line with the wishes of the people expressed through a UN-sponsored plebiscite. But subsequently it stymied all attempts of UN representatives to hold a plebiscite. The two countries went to war more than once on this issue and the people rose in rebellion to get out of its clutches. New Delhi has not spared any repressive means to put down that freedom struggle, which remains alive despite the loss of more than 80,000 people. Against all canons of law and justice it is planning to build a large number of dams in Held Kashmir to deprive Pakistan, the lower riparian, of this vital ingredient of life. India should listen to the sincere voices in the country, like that of Arundhati Roy, who has pleaded with the leadership to recall the troops and let the issue be resolved in line with the people's wishes.