[Reader-list] Saffron and Black-by Irfan Hussain(in Dawn)

[rashneek kher]

*Saffron and black *



*By Irfan Husain*


THAT sound you can't hear as you read this is the sound of one hand
clapping. And that hand belongs to those parties supporting Musharraf's
re-election, and those benefiting financially from his presidency.

The other hand, stuck firmly in a pocket, belongs to the opposition parties,
and much of civil society. By the time you read this, Musharraf's
re-election will be a certainty, barring a major legal or geological
earthquake. But while Musharraf will be the winner in this one-horse race,
his victory will be challenged in the courts, the streets and the media for
the rest of his term.

Last week, televised images from two Asian cities shocked the world. From
Yangon came the scenes of monks in saffron being beaten up by Burmese
soldiers. And the sight of black-coated lawyers being the targets of rocks,
batons and tear-gas shells in Islamabad disgusted Pakistanis and foreigners
alike.

It is no coincidence that both these backward countries are ruled by
generals. Indeed, until the recent coups in Thailand and Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Myanmar were the only two countries run by their armies.
Needless to say, Pakistan is near the bottom of tables designed to measure
human development and happiness. The recent Transparency International index
to measure corruption places us at 138th in the list of clean states.

If Musharraf is the winner, who are the losers? Beyond political circles, it
is the people of Pakistan who will bear the brunt of the ongoing legal and
political shenanigans to keep Musharraf in power. And apart from Musharraf
and his cronies, it is the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their supporters in
Pakistan who are the winners.

For over six months, this government has been paralysed into inaction as
Musharraf's ambitions have become the focus of the whole country. Since
March 12, when the president and his henchmen tried to sack the Chief
Justice, everybody has been glued to their TVs, following the gripping drama
that is still unfolding.

Meanwhile, extremists have tightened their grip over the tribal areas, and
are now extending their operations into settled areas. They have been
blowing up girls' schools, killing schoolteachers, and forcing shopkeepers
not to sell anything un-Islamic. And their definition of what is
'un-Islamic' is very wide indeed.

But their attacks have been largely ignored as the nation and the government
remain fixated on political and legal matters. Even the capture of hundreds
of soldiers, and their continued captivity, has been relegated to page 5.

GHQ, totally focused on making sure their 'chief' remains in the presidency,
seems unconcerned that so many of its troops have laid down their weapons
without firing a shot. It used to be said of our army that while it could
not win wars against external foes, it was very good at defeating its own
citizens. Now even this seems beyond its capabilities.

However, these recent setbacks in Fata should not detract from the courage
of the Pakistani soldier. He has been badly let down by a leadership that
has become heavily involved in politics and in business enterprises. If
professionalism in the army has declined, it is largely because no top-level
leadership can engage successfully in three different fields simultaneously.

Of late, there has been much talk of 'national reconciliation'. An ordinance
has even been named after this alien concept. But if you listen to the
background chatter emanating from ruling circles, you realise that they are
only interested in hanging on to power. Reconciliation is very low on their
list of priorities.

The relationship between Musharraf and his political allies is a symbiotic
one: they will elect him, and he in turn will make sure they get elected in
the general elections. And if it takes a little judicious rigging — as it
did in 2002 — so be it. Pakistani politics is not for the squeamish and the
faint of heart.

Thus, while Musharraf and his cohorts have been trying to convince anybody
who will listen that Musharraf's candidature is constitutional, as is the
right of this lame-duck parliament to elect him again, nobody is buying this
self-serving fiction.

Even foreigners unfamiliar with our much-abused Constitution can see that it
is a travesty for a serving general to run for president, even in a banana
republic like ours. And for a parliament on the verge of dissolution to
elect a president for the next five years is to commit a smash-and-grab
robbery in broad daylight.

So how will all this skulduggery end? In the short-term, in a Pyrrhic
victory for Musharraf and his allies. But their remaining time in office
will be dogged with constant political bickering as Musharraf's authority is
constantly challenged. And now, he won't have the shield of his uniform to
protect him. An increasingly disenchanted army might like to cut its losses
and disentangle itself from the mess their current chief has created.

Although Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf seem to have signed their
long-expected deal, a power-sharing arrangement will be a rocky affair.
Imagine the PPP, PML-Q and the MQM in a coalition. True, their infighting
will give the president much leverage, but the business of running a
government will be a very distant second priority to hanging on in power. We
can certainly forget about fighting the extremist threat. Or, indeed, about
solving the many other pressing problems the country faces.

And all this just so one man can hang on to power. The entire system is
being subjected to intolerable strains and stresses for Musharraf's
re-election. The seeds being sown now will yield a bitter harvest. The
journalists and lawyers who were subjected to such brutal treatment by the
state on Sept 29 in the country's capital are unlikely to forgive and
forget. And neither, for that matter, are we.

Governments have a certain 'tipping point' when they lose their moral
authority to rule. Future historians might pinpoint Sept 29 as the date for
Musharraf's fall from grace. Although he has been heavily criticised over
the years, his real decline began on March 9 when he tried to sack the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court. But this slide reached its nadir when
plain-clothed thugs went berserk on Islamabad's Constitution Avenue last
week. Things can only get worse.



-- 
Rashneek Kher
http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com