Electoral games and manifestos (2)

It is in this context that the legal fraternity has called for an outright boycott of an election which looks set to be rigged, even according to Benazir Bhutto’s own assertions. Why then there is an urge to participate in the process ‘under protest’ needs some sound reasoning which is missing in the present scenario. During the National Lawyer’s Convention yesterday, lawyers have reiterated their demand to boycott such sham elections which are merely a disguised version of the regime’s plan to hold onto power, led by Musharraf.

It was heartening to see the passion and resolve of lawyers representing their respective bar associations during the convention who seem bent upon restoring the judiciary which was dismissed in an arbitrary fashion by Musharraf, merely to seek the office of the President. There were no signs during the convention that the lawyers’ movement for the preservation of independence of judiciary had lost any momentum since the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was reinstated earlier this year.

It was brought to the notice of the audience by Hamid Khan, a prominent figure during the judicial crises and still is, that Munir Malik, former President, Supreme Court of Pakistan and also a counsel of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry along with Hamid Khan and some others, that Mr. Malik’s condition had not improved till date and not surprisingly the reason for his ailment seems to be contaminated juice which was provided to him during his imprisonment. The government is totally responsible for his ailment and foul play cannot be ruled out as it is indeed a police state, as it is now, and anything is possible. Munir Malik had, during the judicial crises earlier this year, defied all threats to his security and well being as well as his family’s and perhaps this was the right time to teach him a lesson.

The British High Commissioner had earlier this week stated that the issue of the reinstatement of the judiciary was unimportant to it as far as constitutional issues of Pakistan were concerned. He had further stated that the independence of the judiciary can be established by looking towards the future rather than the reinstatement of such judges. Similarly, the U.S. has overlooked the reinstatement issue. Clearly, the official position of both these countries conform to the views of Benazir Bhutto. At times however, she is willing to go a step beyond and offers something which is based on fictitious assumptions in a bid to gain leverage with such countries. Her statements on the nuclear program of this country are dangerous to say the least. She portrays Pakistan as a country where the extremists are a stone’s throw away from reaching the capital, Islamabad, which is far from being true. It was seen how the militants in Swat were advertised as a forecast for the rest of the country as well and then within days the military operation claims to have swept the valley clean of such elements. This was part of a script play of Musharraf from which she seeks to benefit even if something has to be built in the air. Musharraf would quite clearly be interested in displaying such an image of Pakistan to the rest of the world in order to present himself and the armed forces of this country the last hope for the West to contain extremism within this country. This however has the effect of enabling analysts to predict that a takeover of our nuclear assets by militants is a real possibility. It is an open invitation to the imperialist power of the world, the U.S. which considers itself as a global policeman, to prepare contingent plans of invasion of its forces into our sovereign country to secure these national assets.

The recent news relating to the disclosure of the handing over the blue prints of such a plan by Mr. Kagan, an architect of the U.S. invasion in Iraq, to none other than the supreme commander of the U.S. army and U.S. President, Mr. Bush should sound alarming bells in all quarters. We developed a strategic national asset which provides us with a ‘minimum deterrent’ vis a vis India which is a self-proclaimed enemy, yet seek to assist its destruction in these indirect ways. Perhaps Benazir Bhutto does not realize the repercussions of her assertions and lacks the great statesmanship and vision of her charismatic father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. It is unlikely however, considering that she has great experience in international relations and diplomatic overtures and policy statements and is therefore guilty of committing acts intentionally which is close to that of a traitor.

However, to seek mere personal gains, in her quest for power and gaining U.S. sympathy along with it, she is committing a greater sin than all her sins combined. Nothing equates to putting at risk the territorial sovereignty and valuable assets of a country and she must abandon such politics. She needs to draw a line between her personal interests and national interests which perhaps she deliberately seems to overlook on all such occasions. One needs not look far but the neighboring Iran to realize how difficult it is for the world to accept that a Muslim country is even prepared to make nuclear weapons ten years down the line, which is the minimum time Iran requires as reported by an official U.S. intelligence report. Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf may just be playing into the hands of the U.S by portraying such an image and must remain cautious whilst talking on such sensitive matters which label Pakistan as an ‘amateur nuclear state’, which has no effective command and control system in place.

For the time being however, we seem destined to enter a new political phase in this country wherein a dictator is being pampered and facilitated by none others than the democratic representatives of this country. It is only through education of the masses and their economic prosperity that the people would understand the benefits of democracy and understand its significance and discard all collaborators who put themselves up as people’s representatives yet not in way which is in the collective interest of the people as opposed to their own interests. Democracy would take some time before its potential and benefits can be realized in this country. Absence of military interventions in the future would be useful in this regard. Similarly if the people are able to overcome the powerful bourgeois class in this country and break free from their economic enslavement, the cause of democracy would certainly be advanced as well.

(Concluded)