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âPower-hungry generals have always derailed democracyâ
The controversial arrest of the Pakistan Muslim League-N leader and president of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, Javed Hashmi, has not only kicked off a major political controversy, it has also activated laidback politicians like Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Khan, a former federal minister, has been in the forefront of the combined oppositionâs drive against Hashmiâs arrest. He says the whole affair stinks and the methodology clearly betrays the armyâs involvement. The Friday Times: Why did the government arrest Javed Hashmi? Nisar Ali Khan: Probably, it did not know how to counter the ongoing agitation over the LFO [Legal Framework Order]. But we fail to understand what the objective is. Who ordered the arrest? This is the handiwork of GHQ (General Headquarters), the real government. The premier, the speaker of the national assembly and the ministers â the democratic façade â were probably unaware of the decision to pick up Javed Hashmi. This is why neither the speaker nor the prime minister has been able to give any plausible explanation of events. But why resort to such methods to intimidate the MPs? The GHQ obviously is better placed to answer this question but this has been done in a typical army way. Quite often their actions donât flow from common sense or logic. Does this mean that despite what it may do, the army remains a sacred cow? It is not only a sacred cow, they rule this country. Let the elections and the new civilian set-up not deceive anyone. During the first three years, General Musharraf ruled the country with brute force and the PCO. Since October last year, he has been lording over the nation with the help of the LFO. The style of governance and the mindset has not changed. It was a military style of government, and it remains so even today. But would you agree the politicians have also played a role in strengthening the armyâs role in politics? My contention is that if the army holds politicians and their invitations so dear, then they should also listen to their repeated pleas for returning to the barracks. All the mainstream parties are imploring the army to surrender power, rid the country of military rule and concentrate on its real job. But these requests are falling on deaf ears. Our history bears witness to the fact that whether invited or otherwise, whenever the army seized power, it played havoc with the political system and the economy and destroyed the civil society and its institutions. It did that in the past, and it is doing this again. Why has the army loomed large on the political horizon despite strong leaders like Z A Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif? Basically, because of its brute force. The ruling elite â army, politicians, judiciary, and the civil service â is responsible for political failures. But at the same time, if you were to ask me about the largest factor responsible for the derailment of democracy in Pakistan, I would say power-hungry generals, who have been always looking for an opportunity to derail the system, whether in the 1950s or in 1999. It has always been a general who derailed democracy. Things have been bad in other countries including India, but army generals have never taken over the country. Why is the army still so sensitive to criticism? Ask the GHQ. I have always believed that as long as the armed forces look after their basic responsibility i.e., safeguarding the borders of this country, there should be no criticism of them at all. But once they take over as rulers and become masters of the nation, they are not operating as the armed forces of Pakistan. They become the self-styled rulers of the country. They then begin acting as politicians, as bureaucrats, as the ruling elite of Pakistan. If so, why should they be not criticized? How much has the US interest in its war on terrorism undermined democracy and strengthened the military rule in Pakistan? The American support for successive military dictators has been one of the major factors in sustaining military rule in Pakistan. It is a very dark side of the so-called Pakistan-US relationship. I have always advocated strong ties with the US, but unfortunately what we have seen in the past couple of years, makes me doubt the authenticity of this relationship. Whenever it suits the Americans they hug the coup-makers but when it doesnât suit them they give a damn even about elected leaders. This paradoxical and self-centered approach has greatly undermined our democratic march, and in fact sustained military hold over the whole society. Rather than play a guiding role for the revival of democracy, the US administration took a military general into its arms for its own vested interest, turning Musharraf into a darling of the West, unlike Bill Clinton, who had refused to publicly shake hands with him. Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-11-07 |
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