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| Restless Musharraf, restless Pakistan | | |
Much has been said and, perhaps, much more written on Gen. Parvez Musharraf since he seized power in a bloodles military coup in 1999. In spite of growing public critcism in Pakistan against military's domineering role, Gen. Musharraf is for his military's superiority over all others in his country. Worse, at a time when Pakistan remains at a political crossroads, Pakistani oppositon parties which have frequently claimed to challenge Gen. Musharraf's position are far from mounting a formidable enough campaign against him. This, in brief, remains Pakistan's biggest dilemma.
Once again, Gen. Musharraf has refused to give a time frame for retiring from his position as chief of Pakistan's powerful military and continuing only as a civilian ruler, which remains a key opposition demand. The case against Gen. Musharraf for pretending to be a democrat when he, indeed, leads a military-driven political order remains strong. Unfortunately, the position of Pakistan's opposition politicians is no less controversial.
Even after the passage of seven years since Gen. Musharraf's takeover, the opposition parties have yet to stage the kind of wave of public pressure which would begin to undermine Pakistan's present day government order. It is not surprising then that Gen. Musharraf does not feel the urge to respond to the opposition's oft-repeated calls for stepping down from the office of Chief of Army Staff. Gen. Musharraf lasat week went so far as to say that he would be keen to preside over a new ruling party structure with "liberal" credentials, following national elections which are due next year.
To many, this may sound like an optimistic note, possibly suggesting that he is forging ahead towards a deal with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP). News of such a deal in the making has been around for months. In recent days, Pakistani political circles have frequently heard rumours of a new plan for such a deal, built around suggestions that the PPP could return to preside over the country's federal government, as long as it agrees to nominate a candidate for prime minister other than Benazir Bhutto.
Benazir Bhutto, who has twice served as the Prime Minister, has been harshly criticised in the past by Gen. Musharraf who sees her two tenures as a lost era for Pakistan. However, politicians of Bhutto's leaning today have an opportunity to carry forward a dominating influence on Pakistani politics. According to Farhan Bokhari, Pakistan's well-known commentator, at a time when there is growing concern in the western world over a further rise and future consolidation of political parties leaning towards establishing a stronger position for Islam in the country's politics, there is bound to be international sympathy to parties espousing greater liberalism.
But going forward, Pakistan's opposition politicians would clearly need to be supported by two equally vital considerations. On the one hand, beyond just espousing political fronts built around opposition to Gen. Musharraf, opposition parties would need to articulate a clear agenda of a future reform plan.
This, insists Farhan Bokhari, has to be built around not just a macro vision of taking Pakistan towards greater democracy but indeed also the articulation of micro objectives, most notably demonstrating a clearer case for a roadmap which highlights the route to a national reform plan. In the long run, only such a demonstration of a road to beginning a revamp of the way Pakistan is governed, would present a more credible case by the opposition.
On the other hand, the Pakistani opposition needs to build new bridges to the rank and file of the country's broad public. Pakistanis must be willing to come out on the streets in support of an opposition agenda for change, before the opposition parties can be taken more seriously. Sheer condemnation of today's Pakistan under Gen. Musharraf, no matter how imperfect, must be backed by a clear cut demonstration of the public's support to such a cause.
Unless Pakistanis eagerly demonstrate their penchant for political change, the unfortunate legacy of politics being driven from comfortable living rooms and press events, just does not make much of a difference to the Pakistani opposition's case.
As for Gen. Musharraf, he may have already grasped a sense of the coming times. His reference to reaching out to "liberal" elements in Pakistani politics may indeed underline a reading of global trends. The international mood is certainly undergoing some change ahead of next year's electoral race in Pakistani politics. If indeed Pakistan's next government after elections in 2007 gets off to a stable beginning, that would indeed be a moment of comfort for the country's instability driven politics.
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