Unfortunate realities of Pakistan - 60 years on

When I went to Pakistan, on a two-week visit in July, I found, people glued to their televisions watching the terror at the Red Mosque (known as Lal Masjid). A more than week-long battle between the so-called inhabitants and the liberators of the Red Mosque left more than 100 people dead and many more severely wounded. The bloody drama ended following a sequence of suicide bombings in public places in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan including the capital, Islamabad, by anonymous terrorists.

While the nation was watching the Red Mosque, senior home-based and exiled Pakistani politicians were busy at luncheons and dinners in London, finalising deals aimed at overthrowing Present General Pervez Musharraf and his companions.

The horrific images of the dead and dying in the hands of their loved ones terrified me. Watching bloody and terrifying images of lethal attacks are routine in Pakistan now. Each day bloodshed shatters the entire nation.

Unfortunately, in the last 60 years Pakistan has gone backwards. First, the decades’ long undemocratic and autocratic rule which led to the country splitting, in 1971, when people of former East Pakistan decided to be a separate nation and created Bangladesh. The fall of East Pakistan further divided the people in the remaining West Pakistan, which is composed of four provinces - Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The unjust feudalistic and bureaucratic system created more divisions among the provinces. To understand the present politically unstable situation in Pakistan, one has to look back at the ill-fated history of Pakistan after it was created.

Historical facts show the India Muslim League failed to obtain the support of the majority of Muslims in the Muslim-majority provinces in United India up until 1946. In the general election of 1937 the Muslim League could not achieve the complete support of Muslim voters in the Muslim-majority provinces.

In Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan and NWFP, where the landlord culture had ruled for centuries, the Muslim League could not obtain a mandate from the masses because the landlords did not declare their support for it.

When the creation of Pakistan was close to being a reality, far-sighted landlords started shaking hands with Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, to hopefully ensure the survival of their tribal-based power. After realising the situation, big landlords like Mumtaz Daulatana and Nawab Mamdot changed the horses and joined the Muslim League.

After the fateful Indian general election of 1946, most of the feudal classes became part of the Muslim League and when Pakistan was founded, in 1947, the landlords became the frontline leaders.

Since then the feudal culture is the main dominion of the country through a monarchical-style rule by the big landlords’ families.

Another dilemma in Pakistan is the religious-cum-political leaders or Mullahs, who from the very beginning were against the ideology of Pakistan and condemned it. These figureheads control the majority of the population, most of whom are underprivileged and from undeveloped, tribal areas, in the name of religion.

Most of these religious leaders are from the same family or parties who declared Jinnah an ingrate (Kafir) and the agent of the (then) British rulers. But when Pakistan came into existence, these anti-Pakistanis who declared themselves the so-called wardens of Islam, opted to make Pakistan their home. The country which was the symbol of struggle for the social rights of the Muslims from the Muslim-majority states was claimed by them as the country to save Islam.

The truth is that the struggle for Pakistan was never to rescue Islam from obscurity. Islam has been a flourishing religion on the Indian subcontinent for centuries. With about 150 million Muslims out of one billion people, Islam is the religion of the largest minority in India. Therefore, the future of Islam had never been in danger on the subcontinent.

The true ideology of Pakistan was defined by Pakistan’s founder himself. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, in his historical speech of August 11, 1947, while addressing to the anticipated legislators of Pakistan, said, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the fundamental principle that we are all citizens of one State ...”

Unfortunately, Jinnah’s failing health meant he died on September 11, 1948 when Pakistan was only one-year-old. After the death of Jinnah, the immature and weak parliament was eventually thrown out by the army. Field Marshal Ayub Khan introduced marshall law to the country in 1958. Since then Pakistan has been ruled by a trifecta of the army, landlords and bureaucrats.

Today, the top level positions in the Pakistani establishment are occupied by the members of the families who have close relations with the army generals and landlords. In the last 60 years, the faces might have changed but most of the bureaucrats belong to the same families who have been running the establishment since the creation of Pakistan.

During the ten-year (1977-88) rule of former army dictator General Zia ul Haque, who supported the pro-US Taliban in Afghanistan in the name of jihad and now the ongoing seven-year rule of General Pervez Musharraf who supports the US-led war in Afghanistan against al-Qaida, the Taliban have created a dangerous, extremist culture among the followers of the different religious groups who want to implement a Taliban-style system in Pakistan. These religious fanatics are ready to take law and order into their hands in the name of implementing sharia (Islamic system) in Pakistan. The Red Mosque was evidence of what they are secretly planning.

In addition to all this, constant increases in prices on consumer goods and on food has made life for ordinary people miserable. The increasing cost of living has promoted high-level of corruption in almost every department and has led to an increase in the crime rate. At the same time, people are scared to go to the police station to report incidents: there is a common impression that reporting crimes to the police means asking for trouble and getting no justice.

This complicated situation in Pakistan has segregated the entire nation into different sections of contradicting creeds. People who claim to be religious are becoming fanatics with a hatred of Western societies. On the other hand, people who claim to be moderate are losing their culture and family-values in the name of enlightenment and moderation.

Leaders have no defined direction or vision for the country. Their only agenda is how to stay in power, which leaves the population directionless as a nation. General Pervez Musharraf has been lucky enough, so far, to narrowly escape attack.

The situation in North-West Frontier Province is very dangerous. The rising pro-Taliban extremists are taking hold of the region and are clashing with Pakistani armed forces. Frequent suicide attacks on security forces are creating turmoil. President Musharraf and his government, who have been the close allies of US-led war on terror, are in a dire situation. On one side, they have pressure from the US administration to launch a firm operation against the Taliban and al-Qaida and to produce results. On the other hand, there is enormous public pressure, and growing opposition against the government, on issues such as having a democratic election and taking firm stand against US and not launch any operations on Pakistan soil against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

President Musharraf claimed that he would work to make Pakistan an enlightened and progressive country. After more than seven years in power the country is probably worse off than it was when he came to power.

The reality is people are not safe, even in religious places. How can the people have a fair and honest society when the justice system in Pakistan is such a mess that a judge of the Supreme Court is sacked by the army ruler and then the same judge brings people out onto the streets to demonstrate under political banners? How can President Musharraf bring a clean fair democratic system to Pakistan while he is enjoying sharing power with the old, corrupt politicians?

President General Musharraf might still be a powerful and useful man to the West but at home he is facing the toughest time of his seven-year rule. Instead of including a broad citizenry in the political process, power is concentrated in the hands of an elitist bureaucracy and over-ambitious military. To deal with the strong and growing opposition, especially from the religious sector, Present Musharraf is now ready to negotiate with the exiled and two times Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, about whom Present Musharraf had openly said would never have a place in Pakistani politics.

Whether General Pervez Musharraf will continue to rule or share power with the same old political pundits one cannot see any reason that even after 60 years to the creation of Pakistan, the nation could see any hope to get out from political chaos and instability.