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VIEW: Hope for 2008

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VIEW: Hope for 2008
By Shaukat Qadir

The most encouraging development for the citizens of the country, and one that must certainly be haunting Musharraf, is the emerging coalition between the PPP and the PMLN

Farewell, 2007. And may the New Year bring good cheer to all citizens of the world.

While 2008 is also likely to be an eventful year, starting with our own elections and culminating with the US presidential elections, no single year in Pakistan’s chequered history has been more eventful than 2007.

The year began with the presidential reference against the chief justice which was closely followed by the Lal Masjid episode, which had in fact been building up before the reference issue came up. President Pervez Musharraf managed to exacerbate the deteriorating domestic scenario until it culminated with Benazir Bhutto’s most unfortunate assassination.

Single-handedly, Musharraf has managed to isolate himself, weaken his own political standing as well as that of his ‘King’s Party’ and, in attempting to establish his own indispensability in the eyes of the international community, has done irreparable and unforgivable damage to the image of Pakistan.

He has repeatedly implied that he alone stands between the extremists in Pakistan and Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

As a consequence, the current domestic unrest is being viewed by some less informed analysts with growing uncertainty, especially regarding the safety of Pakistani nukes. Some are even recommending that the American administration consider doing something about it. Reliable sources in the US have indicated that contingency plans are being considered. This alone is unpardonable and stands out well above his other unforgivable mistakes.

2007 witnessed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry’s growth in stature when he stood tall in defying Musharraf and his threatening stalwarts and refusing to resign even when the president personally threatened to file a reference against him before the Supreme Judicial Council.

We witnessed the treatment meted out to him live on TV channels and the resulting wave of sympathy forced Musharraf to ‘eat crow’ and withdraw the reference. From there it was only downhill for Musharraf.

However, Musharraf is not an individual to learn lessons easily. CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on the other hand, rose above petty considerations and, in the interest of ensuring that ‘justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done’, recused (a legal term used when a judge opts not to hear a case in which he might be considered partisan) himself from sitting on any bench that was hearing a suit which involved Musharraf.

Meanwhile, the lawyers joined the fray to begin an unprecedented movement against Musharraf and his government, a movement that is still ongoing. The year also witnessed violence against journalists by police personnel, again recorded live by TV channels. This was followed by the beginning of a journalists’ movement against governmental efforts to curb their freedom of speech. Even though the latter lies dormant at the moment, it has not died out.

While Pakistan has witnessed mass movements by the people rising in opposition to the government and forcing the ouster of even the only popular political leader in our history, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, there has never been an awakening of civil society like the one seen in 2007. Pakistan’s civil society has been notoriously indifferent to the political shenanigans of our leaders and has merely stood by as a silent spectator.

However, for some unfathomable reason, in the absence of a popular uprising by the people, for once it is the civil society elements that have found common ground and organised themselves to condemn Musharraf’s distortions of the constitution, the destruction of an emerging independent judiciary, and efforts to curb the freedom of the media. This is indeed a development from which one can draw hope for the coming year.

The most encouraging development for the citizens of the country, and one that must certainly be haunting Musharraf, is the emerging coalition between the PPP and the PMLN. The first party being slightly left of centre, and the second slightly right of it, they appear to have agreed on important issues and, even in the aftermath of Benazir’s assassination, appear determined to continue to work together.

If they can continue to do so, not only will they muster the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament, clip Musharraf’s wings and return the president’s office to the figurehead status that the original constitution intended for it, they can also restore the constitution and ensure a more balanced distribution of powers between the three pillars of state: the legislative, the judiciary, and the executive.

They can again strengthen institutions, if they realise that in doing so they serve their own best interests, since strong civilian political institutions, coupled with popular support of the people, are key to ensuring that the military can never take over again.

Nawaz Sharif continues to impress with his political sagacity. In response to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, he showed the willingness to expose himself as well as his party’s top leadership to the threats emanating from inflamed Sindhis and chose to visit Larkana to condole with the family of Benazir Bhutto. This was an act that the temporary prime minister, who is a Sindhi, could not muster courage for.

Asif Ali Zardari’s statement was no less impressive when he emphasised the federal nature of the PPP and spoke of how the guards who had died protecting Bhutto were Punjabis and that Punjabis were brethren of the Sindhis. He went on to add that the PPP had no quarrel with the Pakistan army.

The Chief of Army Staff’s gesture in sending a floral wreath for her burial is also to be appreciated, since he had served as her ADC for a period of time.

So be of good cheer, my countrymen/women. Perhaps there is a growing light at the end of the tunnel and, perhaps, the tunnel has grown shorter.

The author is a retired brigadier. He is also former vice president and founder of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
 
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I like this article i'm an optimist with the lal masjid episode,emergency rule,swat valley militants and bhutto killing and ensuing riots i think we've already gone throught the worst and things can only get better so hopefully 2008 will inshallah be a great year for us !
 
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