The
Battle For Pakistan
By Imran Khan
10 November, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The
imposition of martial law under the garb of emergency should make it
abundantly clear to everyone that dictators cannot afford even a semblance
of either an independent judicial system or a free media. And neither
can the assortment of criminals camouflaged as politicians who collaborate
with dictators.
No one is fooled by Gen.
Musharaf’s latest deception to hang on to power. The war on terror
has served him well so far and so why change a successful strategy;
spread fear in the western capitals by invoking images of bearded men
with guns and in the meanwhile brutally crush all dissent within the
country, as was recently done by the Burmese Military. Having inducted
pliant and amoral judges through the PCO, the next step would be to
massively rig the elections while keeping the media muzzled. What he
hopes is that he will again have a rubber stamp Assembly, a controlled
majority and a friendly opposition, while real power will rest with
him for another 5 years.
So, what we are witnessing
is the first phase of the plan. Massive crackdown on the genuine opposition,
lawyers, human right activists and the civil society. He is hoping that
the police brutality will induce enough fear in the people for him to
crush all dissent within a couple of weeks, before he takes the next
step of getting himself endorsed by his pocket judges.
Unfortunately for Musharraf,
everyone can see through his latest power grab attempt. No one believes
that the judges were an impediment in his fight against terrorism. He
has had absolute power for the last 8 years and yet terrorism and militancy
is rising rapidly. What is he going to do that is different? He has
had Pakistanis abducted and handed over to the U.S authorities without
allowing them their right to prove their innocence in a court of law.
Others have simply disappeared. Many tortured. Our own people have been
bombed by helicopters and jets and when women and children have been
killed, it has been shamefully called “collateral damage”.
No one to this day knows how many Pakistani (soldiers and civilians)
have been killed since 9/11.
Most significantly his liberal
credentials stand exposed completely, something he needed to make his
dictatorship palatable to the west. Gimmicks like “enlightened
moderation”, “soft image” and “sufi Islam”
stood exposed as the nation saw police boots and sticks shower on peaceful
human rights protestors, lawyers and the media. All laws whether it
was through PEMRA, PCOs, the 17th amendment or the disgraceful NRO were
only to consolidate his power.
The time has come for the
people of Pakistan to decide their destiny. If Musharraf succeeds in
destroying the independent judiciary through his PCO, then I am afraid
it is all down hill. His “pocket” judges will assist him
in suppressing the media and in rigging the elections.
A Government formed from
this unholy alliance will be a disaster for Pakistan and will ensure
that it heads towards becoming a failed state.
For a start there will be
a quantum leap in terrorism. His policies have alienated the Pushtuns
in general and the tribal Pushtuns in particular. There are around a
million armed men in the tribal areas. Does it make any logical sense
that to capture a couple of thousand Al-Qaeeda we invoke the hostility
of around a million armed men – all natural guerilla fighters?
And that is why history tells us the British lost more soldiers in the
tribal areas than the whole of the sub-continent during their Raj.
Moreover fundamentalism is
on the rise in most of Northern Pakistan because of Musharraf’s
“enlightened moderate” media policies. There is great reaction
amongst the masses who perceive this as a license to be vulgar. The
Lal Masjid “warriors” belonged to this category. While in
Swat & Dir, there has been a rising discontentment due to the poor
governance system ever since the two regions became a part of Pakistan
in 1974. Thanks to Musharraff being perceived as an American Stooge
imposing an anti-Islamic agenda on the country, all these movements
are morphing into one.
Another five years of Musharraff
will mean that certain discontented sections of the society will lose
faith in the democratic process and will also join the militants; thereby
raising the prospects of Pakistan turning into another Algeria –
the Army against its own people.
The other disaster of Musharraff
dictatorship would be a further diversion of the country’s resources
away from the people. During his 8 years 1.8% of the GDP was spent on
education – the lowest ever in our history and consequently today
Pakistan’s state school education system has collapsed. According
to the U.N Human Development Index Pakistan has the worst social indicators
in South Asia. Even Burma is ahead. On the other hand in 2006 Pakistan
spent US $ 5.1 billion on arms. A new GHQ is being built on 2500 acres
in Islamabad at the cost of billions of dollars.
Equally disastrous is the
collapse of governance in Pakistan. According to Transparency International
this is the most corrupt Government in our history. Hardly surprising
since crooks, criminals and even terrorists (according to the Canadian
Supreme Court the MQM is a terrorist organization) are sitting at the
helm of affairs. The biggest scams in our history have been during the
past 5 years. Rs.55 billion loans to the rich and powerful have been
waived off while the common man has been crushed by unprecedented inflation.
Hence it is imperative that
all sections of Pakistani society stand behind Chief Justice Iftikhar
and demand his restoration along with the other honourable judges. We
should not accept the PCO or those judges who have taken oath by it.
Only if Justice Iftikhar
is restored will we have an independent judiciary, which is the bedrock
of a genuine democratic system. The independent judiciary will protect
the media’s freedom and ensure free and fair elections that are
vital for the country’s survival only. Free and fair elections
can throw up a Government that can start a political dialogue with the
Militants. The war against terrorism can only be won if the people from
within whom the terrorists operate, also consider them to be terrorists.
If on the other hand they are perceived as heroes or freedom fighters
than it is a never ending war – and history tells us that it cannot
be won. Moreover, a democratic Government which comes through free and
fair elections has to invest in the people. Otherwise no matter how
high the growth rate it will lose the elections – as happened
to the BJP despite “shining India”
Above all only an independent
judiciary will stop criminals from entering politics. At the moment
they know that once they are part of the power structure they are safe
from the courts. The NRO is a classic case in point which under Musharraff’s
pocket judges will absolve politicians of their crimes that includes
plunder of the country’s resources as well as assassinations and
target killings. Once a P.M. or President are not above law only then
can this country develop a governance system that will make it achieve
its great potential.
What needs to be done is
for all sections of the society – especially the students whose
future is at stake, to demand the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar
and a total boycott of the PCO judges. Until our demands are accepted
we should agitate throughout the country. The APDM should immediately
give a call to its workers to join the lawyers and the civil society
in the streets.
And finally it brings me
to Benazir and Maulana Fazal ur Rehman. They are the only two “opposition”
leaders who are allowed to freely roam around. The former is even given
protocol. Both of them have played a major role in strengthening Musharraff
by undermining the opposition at every stage. Both have used the opposition
to strengthen their bargaining position with the Government for their
personal ends. Most regretfully neither has demanded the restoration
of Chief Justice Iftikhar. The APDM should tell them that we have had
enough of their “Noora Khushti”. If they want to be part
of the genuine opposition both must demand the restoration of Chief
Justice Iftikhar and announce a street movement immediately. But they
should not be allowed to sabotage the opposition movement for their
personal gains again.
Imran Khan is
a Pakistani former cricketer turned politician. Imran played cricket
for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the national
team when they won their maiden World Cup in 1992. Currently, Imran
Khan is the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Movement
for Justice) the political party that he founded in 1997.
He has been placed under house arrest after a state of emergency was
imposed in Pakistan but is reported to have managed to escape
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