Pakistan - News and Discussion -7

[Naresh]

<b>Ghosts may come visiting us again!</b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->

<b>This seems to be a season of letters as another one has been sent to General Musharraf - a letter far more potent in content and far more relevant in appraisal of the national scenario as compared to the one that had been sent some time ago. The authors of this letter include a former caretaker prime minister, two former chief justices of the supreme court, two former speakers of the national assembly, a former governor of Balochistan, a former chief minister of Balochistan and a former deputy speaker of the national assembly.</b>

The letter has referred to the emergence of ‘fault lines’ in the underpinnings of the federation during the tenure of office of General Musharraf. The letter further states that provincial discord and disharmony are being exacerbated by single-minded pursuit of policies that ‘must be subjected to urgent scrutiny as they pose a serious threat to the integrity, solidarity and well being of Pakistan’. <b>Referring to the military action currently undergoing in Balochistan and the federally administered tribal areas, the authors of the letter fear that this may ‘revive the ghosts of memories from the days of East Pakistan’.</b>

The letter also reminds the President about the mauling of the Constitution by his office, unfulfilled promises to the people of Pakistan, unbearable inflation, rampant lawlessness, increased graft and corruption and no improvement in agriculture, public utility services, public education, health care and population welfare. The letter states: “The fiscal space allowed to your government after 9/11 is not far from being exhausted and the taint and odour of corrupt practices that you seemed to disdain are all around you”.

A telling indictment, indeed! A mortal of lesser ‘mettle’ would at least order an immediate enquiry into the spate of allegations contained in the communication. But, then, those dreaming with such optimism do not understand a peculiar mindset dictated by the conviction that it can think no wrong, do no wrong. Therein may be hidden the ‘ghosts’ that the letter refers to.

<b>The tragedy of the State of Pakistan is that the generals have been allowed to get away with just about every thing - including the loss of half of the country!</b> As I have written earlier in some of my columns, the judiciary has had a major role to play in this unfortunate state. By using the coinage the ‘law of necessity’, they provided a safe haven for the generals to rule as they pleased and a pathway for them to walk away when they so desired. No wonder, they consider themselves to be immune to the law of the land and the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan. Unfortunately, in being able to do so with such devastating results, the courts proved to be their primary protectors.

<b>The military action in Balochistan and the tribal areas that the ISPR does not tire of denying, is reminiscent of the days preceding the East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) tragedy. There was a military action there that the ISPR denied. There was a breakdown of law and order that the ISPR denied. There was rampant carnage and loot that the ISPR denied. By and large, the people of ‘East Pakistan’ had risen against the corrupt domination of the other half of the country and they were all over the streets and roads voicing their opinion loud and clear. This, too, the ISPR denied.</b> <!--emo&:liar liar--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/liar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='liar.gif' /><!--endemo--> For them, every thing was honky dory. It is a different matter that the people of Pakistan learnt of the Pakistan Army’s surrender before the Indian command on that fateful day of December, 1971 from external broadcasting stations. In this instance, the ISPR could not deny that the tragedy had, indeed, occurred, but tried vainly to mitigate its impact.

The story does not end there. The mindset that I am talking about does not believe in a rational thought process. <b>If you need a proof of that, just go back a few years and you have Kargil - an ideal making of another ‘East Pakistan’. The generals got away with that, too! Consequence to the Kargil crisis, the unconstitutional and illegal action to remove an elected prime minister of the country, putting him on trial and having him imprisoned was condoned. Along with the generals, the role of the judiciary again comes under close scrutiny and a fair amount of criticism. Is it that the members of the erstwhile judiciary who have penned their names on the letter are trying to atone for the past deeds of their profession?</b>

The separation of the offices of the ‘President’ and the ‘Chief of the Army Staff’ is a desirable thing as long as it does not present the office of the ‘President’ on a platter to General Musharraf.

The mandate that he talks about was secured, as rightly pointed out in the letter, from assemblies ‘perceived by the public to be no more than a rubber stamp’. Generals before him have done that, too, with horrific consequences for the country. This has to come to an end and the time to do that is now. <b>The principle of the army’s non-interference in politics, as per the provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has to be upheld. If steps are not taken to ensure that now, the ghosts of the past may come visiting us again, soon!</b>

E-mail: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->