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Change in attitudes after Benazirs killing
by Kuldip Nayar
There has never been found so much spontaneous sympathy and support in India for Pakistan as seen after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. My travels have taken me to several parts of the country in the last fortnight and I have found people wanting to reach out to the Pakistanis to help them in any way. It is as if the tragedy has pushed aside the estrangement. A poignant remark heard is why Pakistan should not have democracy like India.
Still there are some people who sniff at the narrowing of differences between the two countries and go on interpreting the feeling of goodwill as a sign of sentimental ties of Punjabis with Pakistan. If anything, it should be anger because those who crossed into India left everything behind, property and other assets. It is difficult for some to understand how the enemies of yesterday can be friends today. The relationship between France and Germany should serve them as an example. The two countries fought against each other for hundreds of years, yet they are the best of friends now.
It is not known whether the elected rulers in Islamabad would build the relationship on this favourable ground. But if they manage to do so both countries could be the best of neighbours. Pakistans founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, too, had expressed the hope that India and Pakistan would one day be like the US and Canada. Probably, the time for that idea has come. Benazir Bhuttos killing, however tragic, has provided the opportunity.
When former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, there was hardly any protest in Pakistan. In contrast, Delhi and many other places witnessed popular demonstrations to ventilate their sympathy. The then Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, disassociated his government from the peoples response, stating that what happened to Bhutto was an internal affair of Pakistan. The Manmohan Singh government seems to have had its ears to the ground. It has not only paid tributes to Benazir Bhutto but many Union Ministers, including the Prime Minister, have gone to the Pakistan High Commission to sign the condolence book.
It is possible that Mr Nawaz Sharif, if his party attains a majority, will go the farthest limit to befriend India. At least this is the impression I gathered when I met him first at Jeddah and later in London. He disowns the responsibility of the Kargil adventure and repeatedly says that he was not in the picture. This may well be true because Gen Ayub Khan also did not know when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sent the infiltrators into Kashmir in 1965.
Both Mr Nawaz Sharif and Gen Ayub Khan came to know about the hostilities when they were in the midst of war. However, since the nineties, people-to-people contacts have themselves become an institution in the two countries. Civil societies on both sides have responded well and they would like to bury the hatchet. It would be a tragedy if the ISI were to reactivate the Babbar Khalsa to revive terrorism in Punjab, as reports indicate. President Pervez Musharraf has never thought of dismantling the training camps in his country.
What is worrying the domestic scenario in Pakistan. Benazir Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is now practically under the control of Mr Asif Ali Zaradari, her husband. It is true that Benazirs son, Bilawal, has been named as her successor, although nobody has seen Benazir Bhuttos will. Bilawal is only 19 and Zaradari is going to head the party till he returns after his studies at Oxford. It may mean four to five years of Mr Zaradaris control over the PPP.
Mr Zaradari is a tainted man and his deeds of corruption are a household word in Pakistan. In the first term of Benazir Bhutto he was called Mr 10 Per Cent and in the second he was Mr 15 Per Cent. Even if he does not sit in the chair of Prime Minister, he will be ruling the country from behind the scenes if the PPP comes to power. He has already said that he wants to be like Mrs Sonia Gandhi in Pakistan. It is no compliment to her and shows how powerful she is.
Mr Makhdoom Fahim, who has been named as the PPPs nominee for the prime ministership, is too decent and too withdrawn a person. My hunch is that he may not even take up the position, knowing Mr Zaradari as he does. Mr Zaradari may well be the reluctant Prime Minister. However, the greatest danger that Mr Zaradari poses to the PPP is the Sindh complexion he has given to the party. He has not associated any leader worth the name from Punjab. There is no Aitzaz Ahsan, no Mubishar Hussain, and no Asma Jehangir. It is strange that
Mr Zaradari has not even demanded for the release of political leaders like Mr Aitzaz Ahsan, who has emerged a popular leader throughout Pakistan. If Mr Zaradari continues to keep the Punjab leaders out, the PPP can split.
In fact, the progressive elements which have given the PPP a left-of-the-centre image are primarily from Punjab. They are the ones who backed Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos call for roti, kapada aur makan. Mr Zaradari has no such pretentions. He may play havoc with the partys principles because he has no hesitation in joining hands with President Musharraf or the Army directly.
At least Mr Nawaz Sharif says that he will have no truck with the Army and wants it to have the same status as the military in India has. His line has been that Pakistan must return to democracy. But he also knows that the going would be tough. Perhaps, Mr Nawaz Sharif realises that democracy in India is the result of a long independence struggle. We imbued some of its values, free elections, free judiciary and free media. Yet we nearly lost democracy in 1975 because Indira Gandhi turned authoritarian. It took two years for people to resurrect it.
Pakistan came into being as a result of an agreement on Partition. Its freedom struggle has begun now. The lawyers movement is one example. Media mens agitation to get their right to express what they want to say is another one. Baluchistans resistance to the governments repression is yet another. All these movements are reminiscent of the days of our independence. Then too there were several strands of struggle. One day the different streams will become such a torrent that it will wash away all impediments. Pakistan will be a democracy one day. It is only a question of time.
by Kuldip Nayar
There has never been found so much spontaneous sympathy and support in India for Pakistan as seen after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. My travels have taken me to several parts of the country in the last fortnight and I have found people wanting to reach out to the Pakistanis to help them in any way. It is as if the tragedy has pushed aside the estrangement. A poignant remark heard is why Pakistan should not have democracy like India.
Still there are some people who sniff at the narrowing of differences between the two countries and go on interpreting the feeling of goodwill as a sign of sentimental ties of Punjabis with Pakistan. If anything, it should be anger because those who crossed into India left everything behind, property and other assets. It is difficult for some to understand how the enemies of yesterday can be friends today. The relationship between France and Germany should serve them as an example. The two countries fought against each other for hundreds of years, yet they are the best of friends now.
It is not known whether the elected rulers in Islamabad would build the relationship on this favourable ground. But if they manage to do so both countries could be the best of neighbours. Pakistans founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, too, had expressed the hope that India and Pakistan would one day be like the US and Canada. Probably, the time for that idea has come. Benazir Bhuttos killing, however tragic, has provided the opportunity.
When former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, there was hardly any protest in Pakistan. In contrast, Delhi and many other places witnessed popular demonstrations to ventilate their sympathy. The then Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, disassociated his government from the peoples response, stating that what happened to Bhutto was an internal affair of Pakistan. The Manmohan Singh government seems to have had its ears to the ground. It has not only paid tributes to Benazir Bhutto but many Union Ministers, including the Prime Minister, have gone to the Pakistan High Commission to sign the condolence book.
It is possible that Mr Nawaz Sharif, if his party attains a majority, will go the farthest limit to befriend India. At least this is the impression I gathered when I met him first at Jeddah and later in London. He disowns the responsibility of the Kargil adventure and repeatedly says that he was not in the picture. This may well be true because Gen Ayub Khan also did not know when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sent the infiltrators into Kashmir in 1965.
Both Mr Nawaz Sharif and Gen Ayub Khan came to know about the hostilities when they were in the midst of war. However, since the nineties, people-to-people contacts have themselves become an institution in the two countries. Civil societies on both sides have responded well and they would like to bury the hatchet. It would be a tragedy if the ISI were to reactivate the Babbar Khalsa to revive terrorism in Punjab, as reports indicate. President Pervez Musharraf has never thought of dismantling the training camps in his country.
What is worrying the domestic scenario in Pakistan. Benazir Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is now practically under the control of Mr Asif Ali Zaradari, her husband. It is true that Benazirs son, Bilawal, has been named as her successor, although nobody has seen Benazir Bhuttos will. Bilawal is only 19 and Zaradari is going to head the party till he returns after his studies at Oxford. It may mean four to five years of Mr Zaradaris control over the PPP.
Mr Zaradari is a tainted man and his deeds of corruption are a household word in Pakistan. In the first term of Benazir Bhutto he was called Mr 10 Per Cent and in the second he was Mr 15 Per Cent. Even if he does not sit in the chair of Prime Minister, he will be ruling the country from behind the scenes if the PPP comes to power. He has already said that he wants to be like Mrs Sonia Gandhi in Pakistan. It is no compliment to her and shows how powerful she is.
Mr Makhdoom Fahim, who has been named as the PPPs nominee for the prime ministership, is too decent and too withdrawn a person. My hunch is that he may not even take up the position, knowing Mr Zaradari as he does. Mr Zaradari may well be the reluctant Prime Minister. However, the greatest danger that Mr Zaradari poses to the PPP is the Sindh complexion he has given to the party. He has not associated any leader worth the name from Punjab. There is no Aitzaz Ahsan, no Mubishar Hussain, and no Asma Jehangir. It is strange that
Mr Zaradari has not even demanded for the release of political leaders like Mr Aitzaz Ahsan, who has emerged a popular leader throughout Pakistan. If Mr Zaradari continues to keep the Punjab leaders out, the PPP can split.
In fact, the progressive elements which have given the PPP a left-of-the-centre image are primarily from Punjab. They are the ones who backed Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos call for roti, kapada aur makan. Mr Zaradari has no such pretentions. He may play havoc with the partys principles because he has no hesitation in joining hands with President Musharraf or the Army directly.
At least Mr Nawaz Sharif says that he will have no truck with the Army and wants it to have the same status as the military in India has. His line has been that Pakistan must return to democracy. But he also knows that the going would be tough. Perhaps, Mr Nawaz Sharif realises that democracy in India is the result of a long independence struggle. We imbued some of its values, free elections, free judiciary and free media. Yet we nearly lost democracy in 1975 because Indira Gandhi turned authoritarian. It took two years for people to resurrect it.
Pakistan came into being as a result of an agreement on Partition. Its freedom struggle has begun now. The lawyers movement is one example. Media mens agitation to get their right to express what they want to say is another one. Baluchistans resistance to the governments repression is yet another. All these movements are reminiscent of the days of our independence. Then too there were several strands of struggle. One day the different streams will become such a torrent that it will wash away all impediments. Pakistan will be a democracy one day. It is only a question of time.
