Politics: challenges and responses

By Riaz Missen

Before the October 8 earthquake had jolted Pakistan, civil society and media were busy consoling the rape victims who had joined the ranks of Mukhtaran Mai. Mullahs were actively defending Osama and condemning the government for allegedly following the footsteps of an ‘anti-Islam’ power, the US. The Opposition was planning to wage a protest campaign to restore the 1973 Constitution as it existed before Musharraf’s takeover. Will politics return to its normal course is anybody’s guess. Has the tremor changed ground realities in Pakistan?Thousands of lives were lost due to the powerful earthquake on 10/8. Millions have no roofs as the winter sets in.

The warning by geologists about the disaster had fallen on deaf ears. From the political parties to civil society, no one took the matter seriously. The present government that has set a target to make Pakistan the fastest growing economy in the Asian region and a hub of regional trade was caught off guard by the natural calamity, which the UN chief has described as greater than the Tsunami.Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party of the country, wanted to hold an All Parties Conference to chalk out a viable strategy to tackle the post-quake situation. Even though the conference was held with a lot of fanfare, nothing concrete has come out of it.

The state witnessed only a brief lull on the political front after the earthquake jolted its northern parts. The earthquake has apparently not changed ground realities in Pakistan. Politics still remains divorced from society for the very fact that parties represent the aspirations of only a meagre portion of it. A few hundred families living far above the poverty line are not dependent on the teeming millions for the comforts of life they happen to enjoy. So there is nothing common between the objectives of political parties and the masses they optimistically claim to represent.

The political parties of the country represent only clans and tribes who want an appropriate place in the ruling camp. The maximum they want is not less than having empires. Democracy, therefore, is not a proper means to serve their interests. Why will a feudal lord want to see a commoner sitting right next to him? How can a spiritual leader afford his followers to demand equal treatment in society? Can a Khan see his tribesman as prosperous as him? Mullahs too are a part of the conspiracy the powers-that-be hatched against the people of this region centuries ago.

There exists a fair chance that a protest movement may be launched against the government. Charges of delayed response and mishandling of the crisis have already been aired by the Opposition. It may also not allow General Musharraf to continue with the war on terror. They might even demand the army’s return to barracks. Who will rule the 150 million people and how, are questions that will definitely remain unanswered in the minds of the protesting souls.When General Musharraf took over, he was seen as a liberator by the political parties who were blaming Nawaz Sharif for misusing his heavy mandate. Pakistan Peoples Party’s life-long chairperson was in self-exile, while her spouse was in jail on charges of corruption. The religious rightists were eager to have a change in the system that had little space for it at that time.

The man in the street also attached many hopes with General Musharraf who promised to put the economy on a stable course. He vowed to impart true democracy to the silent majority. Two years after he took over, the American friends also saddled him with the agenda of clearing the mess created by ‘jihad’ against the Soviet Union. Similarly just before the earthquake, construction of Kalabagh Dam had become his top priority and he also wanted to make the LoC irrelevant.

General Musharraf claims he has made his best efforts to put national affairs on a straight course. He also admits that there still remains a lot to be done beyond having a functional parliament and improved macro-economic indicators. So he wants to continue in his dual position as the President and army chief, in the best interests of the nation. His political fellows, belonging to all segments of society, are welcoming him while he confronts no serious challenge from his opponents.

The real problem for Musharraf is not that his enemies will outnumber his friends. Rather, he has a limited space to accommodate people who want to join his camp. As the outsiders keep pushing in, there are also rifts among the insiders. Striking a balance among the contending forces of society has become his real job, which he is trying to pull off in the given circumstances. In a nutshell, the status quo remains intact while the ‘silent majority’ does not lose hope.In the past earthquakes and foreign invasions used to be a source of political change, but this reality has come to be proved as irrelevant in the case of the Land of the Pure. Here revolution only means a change of guard. There are strong chances that Pakistanis will continue with a ‘sham democracy’ and an ‘ambitious general’.

On the other hand, change is gradually creeping into the body politic. General Musharraf says he does not believe in the LoC, PML is welcoming the issuance of a visa to Nawaz Sharif on humanitarian grounds, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad is supporting the idea of getting Kashmir demilitarised. The militants of the past are actively engaged in relief work (though nobody knows whether they have dropped the idea of capturing the Red Fort).

Add to all this the activism of the electronic media, which has got too nationalistic. It is praising the heroic role of the people in providing relief and comfort to the quake victims.We confront now a country where change and continuity exist side by side. Though one can’t be sure of exactly which side has more weight, it is true that commoners choose the best in chaotic times. They don’t necessarily believe in the destiny of pundits. Unusual circumstances may force people to choose their own path.

The writer is a freelance columnist- The Post