Master Of The Game?
Thirty six years ago almost to the day a good friend, Capt (later Maj Gen) Amin Ahmad Chaudhry (of Bangladesh), told me about Telemachus, a Christian monk who jumped into the ring at the Roman Coliseum to separate two gladiators fighting to the death with swords. The gladiators turned on him and he was run through by their swords. Shocked into silence at the tragedy, the crowd left the Coliseum. Some historians disagree, they say he was set on by the crowd, furious that he should prevent their entertainment they stoned him to death. Whatever the real version, because of his selfless act Emperor Honorius stopped all further gladiatorial events from Jan 1, 404 A.D. The moral of “Telemachus” is don’t try mediation, you will either be set upon by both the warring parties or by the bystanders. Normally one shoots the messenger bringing bad news, in the super-charged political atmosphere presently in Pakistan, the polarization is so defined and acute you shoot the mediator. As much as we decry President Bush for it, his doctrine is alive and well in Pakistan, “you are either for us or against us!”. Being even-handed and objective is not smart in Pakistan!
To quote extracts from my article written barely 6 months ago on Jan 4, 2007, “The 2007 Resolution”, “that genuinely elected representatives of the people actually come to power is the most important ingredient for democracy, “vital ground” for the unity and integrity of the country. The tragedy is that if we do not persevere with the “2007 Resolution” of having free and fair elections, we could well get a “revolution” in 2008, or shortly thereafter. Pakistan as it was in 1947 became history in 1971, can we take chances of history repeating itself?” unquote. The CJP issue has fast-forwarded Pakistan into a situation six months earlier than even the most pessimistic predictions.
The article further stated, “Having been at the ground zero in 1971 of the division of the finest experiment of nationhood in its time, no loneliness and no divide was bigger at that particular time than being the child of a Punjabi father and Bengali mother. Thirty six years later the travails of the two countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh are remarkably similar, a failure for inculcating a democracy suited to “the genius of the people”. Even though this phrase may have wrong connotations in public perception, the need for crafting of democracy according to the special needs and circumstances obtaining is true of any country in the world. The balancing of power is finely tuned and varies according to the needs of that particular country. The elected representatives must have all the necessary powers except the ability to run riot with it”, unquote. Only those Pakistanis who were physically in East Pakistan in 1971 will understand the emotions involved in ethnic strife. While Imran Khan is articulating the frustrations and outrage of civil society against the May 12 carnage, he must take into account the sensitivities of a vast majority of Mohajirs whose undisputed leader happens to be Altaf Hussain, and that is not going to change, at least for the foreseeable future. And he should have refrained from internationalizing his challenge. One cannot condone anything that leads to an ethnic fallout of the 1971-kind, the MQM also need to cool it so as not to exacerbate the situation. Both sides need to refrain from personal attacks on the other’s private life.
To quote from Jan 4, 2007 further, “Pakistan can learn from the successes and failures of Bangladesh in putting a foolproof system in place. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) must be chosen from a slate of candidates duly vetted by the Chief Justice. What good is a democracy if the election machinery is politically tainted and the credibility of the elections are likely to be called into question?” unquote. The suggestion was that, “all candidates for offices must be screened as to whether they are persons of integrity and character, their assets (and those of their close relations) are correct as stated and acquired within the means of their livelihood, also that they have been paying due taxes on their earnings. Consequently if a person gives a false statement about his (or her) assets, he (or she) must not only be disqualified, the person should be tried and convicted for perjury. All aspiring candidates must also sign an affidavit re-affirming his (or her) allegiance to the integrity and sovereignty of the Federation”, unquote.
If nothing else the present political and judicial gridlock emphasizes that, “the institution of the President and the Chief Justice being strengthened to balance a democracy from becoming “winner-take-all”, preventing it from becoming the “camouflaged dictatorship” it became during the rule of both Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan, and Begums Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wajed in Bangladesh. The President should head the Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Board (with all intelligence agencies reporting to the Board), thus will prevent intelligence agencies being used for political purposes. The Office of the President should not be a political one, this is easier said than done given that he (or she) must be elected by exercise of adult franchise. The Chief Justice should administer a financially independent judiciary and the National Accountability Board (NAB on the Pakistani pattern but under the superior judiciary) under his authority with powers to target the functionaries of the judiciary and the Armed Forces”, unquote.
There is no future for Pakistan in either the President or the CJP in continuing this confrontation. When the country’s destiny is at stake, it takes a braver man to backtrack than someone who sounds “The Charge of the Light Brigade”! Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die!. Justice Ramday articulated the wishes of the “the great silent majority” in Pakistan when he suggested a grand reconciliation. For the sake of the country, someone must blink! To me the person who does will be the greater patriot.
Recurring dictatorships and intermittent democracies in Pakistan are clear markers that we badly need a “check and balance” mechanism, with neither the President nor the PM becoming strongmen (or women) to rule roughshod over each other, and others in the leadership hierarchy, to the detriment of Pakistan. And neither should we turn the superior judiciary into the monster that they are not but could well become. To quote my article, “All individuals have a responsibility to the community and to the family, this is force-multiplied manifold for those in power in the country, that responsibility must be used for the good of the people and the nation they govern. While the usual classic mistakes of governance in an enduring search for survivability scar his otherwise benign rule, Musharraf’s successes still far outmatch his failures. Musharraf has recently said that the “Elections 2007” will decide Pakistan’s destiny, one believes it is the way the elections are conducted that will decide the country’s destiny. Musharraf has both the vision and courage to fulfill this destiny” unquote. One might add, while he is still the master of the game!
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