Pakistan Pulled in Different Directions
BRUSSELS, Oct 30 (IPS) —Pakistan's political leaders are involved in a dangerous game that is pulling the South Asian nation in different -- and perilous directions that further entrench the dominance of the military, Pakistani military and political analyst retired Lt Gen Talat Mansood says.
"Pakistan today is on the cusp of a major transformation which could move in any direction," stated Mansood during a policy dialogue at the 'Asian Voices in Europe' seminar series here, organised by the Europe in the World programme with the support of the Japan-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
Mansood cited the information and media revolution, globalisation, revival of religious sentiments that include a strong streak of fanaticism, the nuclearisation of South Asia, fallout from events of Sep. 11, and the constant drifting of society due to weak institutions and acute crisis in leadership as factors that are for "pulling the country in different directions".
It does not help, he said, that President Gen Pervez Musharraf has played a key role in "dividing most of the major opposition parties", including the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). "By engaging in a political dialogue for a power-sharing deal with (PPP's) Benazir Bhutto, he has ensured that she stays away from joining and leading the opposition against him," he said.
Part of this package deal, he added, is the introduction of the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007, "is an expedient measure to give amnesty to Bhutto and other political allies against their corruption and criminal cases as a quid pro quo for supporting Musharraf".
Former Prime Minister Bhutto, after spending nine years in self-imposed exile in Dubai, returned to Pakistan on Oct. 18 after being the Musharraf government granted her amnesty and withdrew corruption charges. "This resulted in the sharper polarisation of the society and prospects of bigoted religious forces increasing their influence," explained Mansood.
The retired general criticised Bhutto as capitalising on Musharraf's desperation to broaden his political support in order to hold on to power. It is also reflects negatively on the President's sorry performance after eight years in power, he added.
"Bhutto has deviated from what her party stood for, and disappointed her constituency and supporters. She takes her supporters for granted and is more interested in wooing the military and the West, especially the U.S. She has to convince the nation that she respects and practices democratic norms within her party and in the context of her country," said Mansood.
What Pakistan needs today, he continued, is to pursue democratisation through free and fair elections, and to combat extremism and terrorism, with the military focusing on defending the country's borders.
But, according to Mansood, these goals will not be achieved if Musharraf implements the new power configuration to be shared between the President, the Prime Minister and the chief of staff of the army.
"With this 'troika', the country will once again be going back to the unstable configuration in 1988 to 1999 when the army was the key player in dictating foreign, defence and even domestic policies, with the Prime Minister playing second fiddle," he said. He added that the parliament and the Cabinet will be practically rendered useless in this partnership.
"The greatest weakness of this troika is that it is not accountable to anyone. Moreover, the Musharraf-Bhutto deal will provide longevity to military rule at a crucial moment when Pakistan could have been steered on the constitutional and democratic path," he continued.
Other political parties, unfortunately, also do not inspire confidence. In spite of the PML's taking a firm stand against military rule, it suffers from the same personality cult syndrome, said Mansood. "Like other political parties, it has failed to develop a democratic culture and, in the absence of exiled leader Nawaz Sharif, remains in great disarray," he added.
Moreover, Mansood believes that politico-religious parties have also played a very dubious role in the present crisis, Apart from not having a comprehensive manifesto that could give the people enough options, the political parties "have minimal commitment to education, health, and other public services".
They have also kept mum about defence and foreign policies, especially their stand about the 'war on terror'. "It is not enough to merely criticise the current policies, but it is equally important for them to tell the nation their own agenda," he said.
Among other things, summarised Mansood, the current political disarray and social turmoil is keeping the government from having a successful dialogue with militant groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, located outside the country's four provinces. Consequently, this has affected the morale of military forces in these areas. Furthermore, the Indo-Pakistan peace process has also suffered due to the government's internal problems. (END/IPSAP/LLC/JS/07)
