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Viewed from any angle, the comments made on Sunday by MQM chief Altaf Hussain are deeply disturbing. Usually, the MQM never tires of pointing out its secular, democratic credentials at every turn, positioning itself as the last line of defence against religious extremists and at the vanguard of the fight against a landed aristocracy that exercises outsized influence over the national political set-up.
However, reconciling the party’s avowed positions with Mr Hussain’s latest comments is well nigh impossible. It is a sad reality here that military interventions have never taken place in a vacuum, with sections of the political spectrum invariably playing the role of cheerleaders and enablers.
There appears to be some need to revisit the basics here. Of the 63 years of Pakistan’s existence, less than half have been spent under democratically elected leaderships. So it would only be fair to assume that for all the problems that afflict the country, the Pakistan Army deserves to shoulder a sizeable portion of the blame. The track record of military dictators confirms this: each of the last three generals who have run Pakistan has exited with the country in dire straits. Gen Yahya Khan of course presided over the break-up of Pakistan; Gen Zia left the country awash in guns, drugs and a toxic ideology; and Gen Musharraf exited with the country on the verge of economic collapse and racked by internal violence.
In the past, just as Mr Hussain urged on Sunday, generals have indeed taken over with the declared goal of cleansing the body politic of ‘corrupt politicians’. But each time the generals have eventually found themselves political bedfellows with many of the very same politicians they initially condemned. If the army has a magic wand to clean up Pakistan’s politics, it has yet to show it to the people of Pakistan. A decade ago, Gen Musharraf promised many of the same things generals invariably promise, but delivered on none. The MQM would know this better than most because it had a seat at the table of power under Gen Musharraf.
Dismaying as the comments made on Sunday may have been, it is reassuring that at least the initial reaction from across the political spectrum has been to express faith in the democratic process. Poor governance, endemic corruption and a withering state all undoubtedly exist here — but the only cure for such deep-rooted malaise is time and patience. Unhappily, in the past, every option but the obvious has been tried here: the repeated and peaceful transfer of power from one government to the next. Perhaps politicians need to recommit themselves to preventing history from repeating itself.
DAWN.COM | Editorial | MQM chief?s remarks
However, reconciling the party’s avowed positions with Mr Hussain’s latest comments is well nigh impossible. It is a sad reality here that military interventions have never taken place in a vacuum, with sections of the political spectrum invariably playing the role of cheerleaders and enablers.
There appears to be some need to revisit the basics here. Of the 63 years of Pakistan’s existence, less than half have been spent under democratically elected leaderships. So it would only be fair to assume that for all the problems that afflict the country, the Pakistan Army deserves to shoulder a sizeable portion of the blame. The track record of military dictators confirms this: each of the last three generals who have run Pakistan has exited with the country in dire straits. Gen Yahya Khan of course presided over the break-up of Pakistan; Gen Zia left the country awash in guns, drugs and a toxic ideology; and Gen Musharraf exited with the country on the verge of economic collapse and racked by internal violence.
In the past, just as Mr Hussain urged on Sunday, generals have indeed taken over with the declared goal of cleansing the body politic of ‘corrupt politicians’. But each time the generals have eventually found themselves political bedfellows with many of the very same politicians they initially condemned. If the army has a magic wand to clean up Pakistan’s politics, it has yet to show it to the people of Pakistan. A decade ago, Gen Musharraf promised many of the same things generals invariably promise, but delivered on none. The MQM would know this better than most because it had a seat at the table of power under Gen Musharraf.
Dismaying as the comments made on Sunday may have been, it is reassuring that at least the initial reaction from across the political spectrum has been to express faith in the democratic process. Poor governance, endemic corruption and a withering state all undoubtedly exist here — but the only cure for such deep-rooted malaise is time and patience. Unhappily, in the past, every option but the obvious has been tried here: the repeated and peaceful transfer of power from one government to the next. Perhaps politicians need to recommit themselves to preventing history from repeating itself.
DAWN.COM | Editorial | MQM chief?s remarks
