In Pakistan, it's 'open season for Musharraf-bashing'

[fatman17]

Los Angeles Times - News from Los Angeles, California and the World

In Pakistan, it's 'open season for Musharraf-bashing'

The president's foes clamor for his ouster, rivals mock him and many members of the public resent him.

By Laura King, Los Angeles Times

June 2, 2008

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN -- From his fruit stand not far from the entrance to Pakistan's sprawling military headquarters, vendor Ismail Iqbal sometimes sees President Pervez Musharraf's motorcade sweep past, all swoosh and speed and tinted windows.

And every time, he said, it infuriates him.



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"Big man," he said scornfully. "Big car. Big house. And for what?"

More than three months after his party's decisive defeat in national elections, Musharraf remains a lightning rod for the resentments of many ordinary Pakistanis.

His foes clamor for his ouster. Newspapers editorialize against him. Old rivals publicly mock him. Last week, he was compelled to deny rumors that the new ruling coalition, with the support of senior army generals, had extracted from him a pledge to step down soon.

"It's really open season for Musharraf-bashing," said Rasul Baksh Rais, a Lahore-based political analyst and professor.

Even visiting lawmakers from the United States, Musharraf's biggest backer, are speaking openly of what a mistake it was in years past to build America's Pakistan policy around one man. But despite diminished powers and a ravaged reputation, the 64-year-old Musharraf, the consummate political survivor, has managed to cling to some semblance of his former life.

He makes official trips to foreign capitals. He receives visiting dignitaries. He still lives in the spacious home reserved for the head of the military, a position he relinquished under pressure late last year.

And although Pakistan's parliament within weeks could take up a package of constitutional reforms expressly intended to curtail his remaining authority, he still wields enough power to make the country's new rulers nervous.

As president, he technically has the ability to dismiss the government and dissolve the parliament. He appoints provincial governors, who in turn dispense patronage in return for loyalty. He retains the support of many in Pakistan's powerful and change-averse bureaucracy.

Musharraf has said he intends to serve out the five-year term he won last fall from the previous rubber-stamp legislature. His rivals say the vote was legally invalid because he was still army chief at the time.

The new parliament could impeach him but that would require a two-thirds majority in both houses, and the government coalition does not have that level of strength.

Although his party's electoral defeat in February was a body blow, Musharraf might now be taking some grim satisfaction in watching his successors struggle, with little success so far, to gain some political traction.

After two months in office, the ruling coalition, made up of the Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League-N, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is deeply divided, with no real policy accomplishments to point to.

Cabinet ministers from Sharif's party last month quit in protest over the coalition missing its own deadline to reinstate judges fired last year by Musharraf when he declared a state of emergency. The resignations were not accepted, but the result has been nearparalysis of the government.

The judges' reinstatement -- including that of the outspoken chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry -- would make it extremely difficult for Musharraf to continue in office, not least because they could move to invalidate his reelection. The Supreme Court was thought to be poised to do so when Musharraf imposed the emergency decree in November, suspending the constitution and jailing thousands of opponents.

While the deadlock over the judges drags on, urgent issues -- a faltering economy, soaring food prices and rolling power blackouts that afflict even the once-orderly capital, Islamabad -- have gone unaddressed.

Those problems came to the fore in the months just before the elections, and many Pakistanis pinned the blame on Musharraf. But the new government is uneasily aware that without some sign it is finding solutions, it could find itself the focus of public ire in what looks to be a summer of discontent.

"Look, it takes some time -- everyone understands that," said storekeeper Pervaiz Khan, mopping his brow in the midst of the third hourlong power cut since opening time. Darkened and sweltering, his electronics shop had drawn almost no customers that day.

"But even if these are problems that were inherited by those in charge now, they still must be tackled soon," Khan said. "Very soon."

Aware of this restiveness, the new government has resorted to symbolic popularity-enhancing moves such as easing restrictions on Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist who confessed in 2004 to providing nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea and has been under house arrest since.

The scientist, regarded by many Pakistanis as a national hero for his role in making the country a nuclear power, has lately been allowed to grant interviews to the Pakistani press for the first time in years. In one, he spoke scathingly of the president, saying Pakistan "went to the dogs" during Musharraf's rule.

The Bush administration, belatedly in the eyes of many Pakistanis, has been trying to build a relationship with the country's new leadership, made up of onetime opposition figures who were largely ignored by the Americans before winning the February elections. But continuing support for Musharraf, still seen as a vital ally by the Bush administration, serves to fuel already strong anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.

Some other Western governments share the American view of the postelection landscape: that Musharraf's abrupt ouster could lead to dangerous instability in Pakistan. But three Western diplomats in Islamabad, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said the United States blundered badly by not reaching out earlier to figures from across the political spectrum.

As much pressure as Musharraf is under, some of his rivals have been feeling comparable heat -- because of Musharraf.

Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and the leader of her party, had initially telegraphed willingness to allow Musharraf to stay on as president, though in a largely ceremonial capacity. But Zardari's popularity has been slipping as a result of that stance, while his coalition partner, Sharif, piles up the political capital.

Sharif, who was overthrown by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, has said repeatedly he wants the ex-general impeached and put on trial.

Zardari has now sharpened his tone regarding Musharraf, recently calling him a "relic of the past."

Lawyers groups, the driving force behind a pro-democracy campaign that helped force Musharraf to give up his military role, have grown impatient with the new government's failure to speedily reinstate Chaudhry and the other fired judges. They are threatening a "long march" on the capital beginning next week.

"I think he is in a hopeless situation," said Rais, the political analyst. "If he goes, he wants to make a dignified exit, and not be pushed out. But it might be too late for that."

laura.king@latimes.com

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Very unfortunate!

 

[Energon]

This is in fact unfortunate; but not entirely unexpected. The history between Musharraf and his political rivals has been highly turbulent (to say the least). Also, there is a historical precedence for score settling in Pakistani politics when adversarial groups usurp power from one another in tandem. IMO this is just a phase that needs to be played out. Give it some time; eventually nobody will care about Nawaz Sharif's games and the country will have no other choice but to move on.

 

[muse]

Musharraf’s last legacy




By Syed Sharfuddin


IT is an old subcontinental proverb that an elephant costs no less than a 100,000 but a dead one costs even more. The same applies to President Musharraf. He is more important today than he was when he was combining all powers in one person — as president, chief of army staff, chief executive and the sole undisputed decision maker in Pakistan.

He was then so important that his enemies aimed thrice at his life but failed.

Today, when President Musharraf has given away most of his powers save the authority under Article 58-2 (b), which he says he has no intention of using, he appears to be even more important for the country — so important that Pakistan’s international development partners and strategic allies want to make sure that the elected government works in tandem with the president in order to complete the unfinished business of rooting out terrorism and eradicating poverty through sound economic policies and sustained political stability.

But the real reason why President Musharraf is important today is because he is the sun around which Pakistan’s small universe revolves. In an ironic way, he is the apple of the eye for the judiciary, political parties, civil society and even the Islamists. The moment President Musharraf decides to throw in the towel, the grand shows that are being staged in different parts of the country, the speeches, the street marches, numerous press briefings and last minute revelations on television screens will come to a halt.

The continuing excitement in Pakistan’s politics which is providing a smokescreen to hide the grim reality of world economic recession, rising commodity prices and a bleak investment outlook for the foreseeable future will disappear quickly like vine withering away in a rainless hot summer.

It is important to understand why President Musharraf is good for the country even if he is being called names and held responsible for every thing that went wrong in the last eight years. After all, in a dictatorship there is no such thing as a team. For as long as the King rules, there is no shortage of courtiers praising his every move and taking advantage of his favours. Once the King is deposed, all those courtiers, save a few foolish loyalists, jump the ship and join the side of the rising Regent. No wonder then that a number of retired generals who benefited under Musharraf with positions and extensions in their service are today eager to spill the beans in the name of a clear conscience.

There are also numerous well looked after politicians who are eager to leave the King’s party and join the rising powers in parliament. In this grand march of shifting opportunity, all prominent professions are on parade — politicians, military chiefs, former diplomats, lawyers, bankers, media and civil society leaders. This is the way of the world and President Musharraf should have known when he was in total control that this is how power falls.

A famous Urdu poet and writer, Ibn-e-Insha in his book Urdu ki Akhri Kitab (the Last Book of Urdu) narrates the story of an old man whose sons were very unruly and spent most of the time fighting over petty matters. He counselled them many times on the advantages of being a united family but they never reformed. When on his deathbed, the old man asked his sons to fulfil his last wish. They started quarrelling with each other on whether their father should be allowed to make a wish. What if he asked for something impossible!

After exhaustive discussions, they agreed. The dying father asked them to bring him some wooden sticks that he wanted tied together with a rope. This led to a near riot. Finally, the eldest son said to his siblings: our father is dying; let us do it for him one last time. At last better sense prevailed and they tied the sticks together with a rope. When the old man, who was by then too close to death, asked them to break this bundle the sons unanimously declared their father insane. There was no argument this time. They all said to their father; forget it sir; we have unanimously agreed to ignore your last wish. The old man was contented and died happily in the knowledge that he had finally succeeded in uniting his sons even if the price was his own humiliation at the consensus on his insanity.

If Ibn-i-Insha were alive today, he would agree that President Musharraf is like that old father who is on his way out, yet he is making every effort to keep all the disparate groups, political parties, civil society, media and people of various dispensation in Pakistan — whether they were his supporters or critics — united over their dislike for him. Some of them want to see him resign as president immediately.

Others are united in the belief that he must be held accountable for overthrowing a democratically elected government and undermining an important institution of state. Still some more want him to be accountable for the hard strategic decisions that were taken during the last eight plus years, costing precious lives in Kargil, Balochistan, North Waziristan and Lal Masjid operations. Whatever their gripe, they are united in their hatred for Musharraf. As long as he is in office as president, the nation stands united — even archrival political parties whose leaders suffered so much at each others’ hands have decided to ignore their half healed wounds. They have become brothers just to take on Musharraf.

This is a great achievement for a man who said in 1999 that the army intervened in the political process because the politicians did not play their cards right. Musharraf said the political institutions were underperforming, inefficient and corrupt; political parties were at each others’ throats; the opposition pleaded with the army chief in every government to overthrow a working prime minister. By keeping them united and not making any mistakes this time, Musharraf’s presence has acted as a catalyst for respect, tolerance and liberal traditions among the political parties in order to reinforce democracy and political ascendancy over the institutions of state. But will this survive his exit whenever it takes place?[/B]

The writer is a former special adviser for political affairs in the Commonwealth Secretariat, London

 

[kidwaibhai]

dude with all due respect please use a smaller font. but i do think that musharraf is not going away. i think that both the parties should reinstate the judges and they CJP will take care of musharraf all of their efforts should go into restoring the stellar performance of the economy.

 

[Skywalker]

dude with all due respect please use a smaller font. but i do think that musharraf is not going away. i think that both the parties should reinstate the judges and they CJP will take care of musharraf all of their efforts should go into restoring the stellar performance of the economy.

I have serious doubts abt the integrity of the deposed CJP. How can he be impartial in the event of taking decisions against his current allies and this is what stopping Mr. 10% in reinstating him. As far as Musharaff bashing is concern there is an old saying "behti ganga mein sab haath dho rahey hein".

 

[vish]

"behti ganga mein sab haath dho rahey hein"

I was about to say the same thing; you beat me to it.

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

written by the old timer and guardian of karachi. ardeshir cowasjee comes from a well-known parsi family in karachi, he is the chairman of the Cowasjee Group. perhaps the only journalist who writes a BALANCED article on the political theatre of Pakistan.

Despair on the line

By Ardeshir Cowasjee

LEST we forget, let me reiterate. Those now at the helm of the affairs of the republic that is Pakistan, this God-given man-made nation, guiding us along the path to destiny, whether they sport glittering Colgate smiles, implanted pricey hair, dyed locks, wigs, perukes, toupees or whatever, thanks to that marvellously wicked NRO forced upon a willing President General Pervez Musharraf by his well-wishers, the Yanks, have been made to appear as white as driven snow.

This unconstitutional and undemocratic piece of legislation, which should have been rubbished by our courts, has imbued them all — the happy returnees and those who have been with us over the past eight years — with implicit faith in themselves, their allies and their sycophantic inept confidants.

But, lest they forget, let them remember that this amnesty forced upon the people has not proven to them, the people, or even gone halfway to convincing them, that the crimes with which these mercenary ‘high-ups’ were charged have not been committed. That they have been let off the hook is merely the worst form of expediency, under the hypocritical garb of ‘reconciliation’ (reconciliation? — it is a perfect con job).

That man of great perception (there were no others to follow him) our founder and maker, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, once prophesied shortly after the making of his country, realising the calibre of men and women around and about him, that each successive government of Pakistan would be worse than its preceding one. This prediction, made 60 years ago, has been eerily correct, and continues to be so.

Pakistan’s newspaper of record, this publication, founded by none other than Jinnah, yesterday editorialised on the present political mess — a masterly understatement. The heading cannot be disputed: ‘Depressing scenario’.

To summarise and to add a few comments: Asif Zardari, unelected representative of the people and himself a relic of the 1990s, has flexed his unrepresentative democratic muscle and referred to his and the republic’s president as a “relic of the past”.

Flying into uncharted realms of fantasy, he has maintained that the people (that flailing horse forever being flogged) are not interested in their stomachs or their erratic electricity supply but only in the departure of Musharraf. Dawn, without elaborating, states that Zardari’s outburst has “sent shockwaves through political circles” and “exacerbated the sense of uncertainty and anxiety in the country”.

Why did Zardari utter? Well, says Dawn, it could mark a change in his policy of reconciliation, or it could be brinkmanship. On the one hand, one member of the famous coalition (we are not sure whether it is on or off) has it that the people want nothing other than the ousting of Musharraf whilst on the other hand, the other member tells us that the beloved awam wants nothing but the restoration of the judiciary.

Since our politicos are convinced that they are not worried about their creature comforts, let them come to an understanding at least about the premier importance of either Musharraf or the judiciary. As says the editorial, Zardari has been castigated for his retreat from the Murree Declaration vis-à-vis the judiciary, so in sticking to his reluctance to agree on the restoration he perhaps found it expedient to have a go at Musharraf hoping to ease tensions, in view of the “pressure from his allies and even elements in his own party” who were unhappy with his ostensible game of footsie with the president.

Musharraf is naturally not too pleased about this public display from the man he has done so much for. But then, what is the old saying about the dog biting the hand that feeds it? And, Zardari opened fire only after his last and final case (so he thinks) had been dismissed by one of the many courts forced to come to his rescue.

Yes, right is the editorial when it opines that the optimism that came with the dawning of Feb 19 “appears a distant memory”. But why does it not wish to point a finger of blame? They, the men running the national show, are all to blame. They are neither politicians of stature nor statesmen — they are minnows when it comes to political responsibility and statesmanship. If Musharraf has let us down, and if things progress as they seem to be progressing, these men he has brought in to play democratic politics are well on the way to letting us down with a bigger bang.

Dawn says that the “will of the people as manifest in the election results has not been entirely respected”. Putting it factually and bluntly, the will as manifested — relief from the inflated prices and shortages of the basic needs of the masses — has been trampled underfoot.

But yes, the “key players” have indeed chosen to “sacrifice the larger national interest at the altar of personal gain and ego”.

Now, why should we pretend to be so naïve as to be surprised by this? Did these key players, the two main democrats plus their sidekicks, not do exactly the same during the decade of the 1990s as they yo-yoed with the fate of Pakistan? Those of us who kept our heads firmly out of the clouds during this past year expected nothing more. In fact, what is surprising is that so far their shenanigans have not been more outrageous. However, time will tell.

And yes, there are “few reasons for optimism”, and that “we will find leadership at all tiers and in all areas of state” is indeed “a forlorn hope”. It is nowhere on the horizon. The danger lies in further deterioration, both political and economical. It also lies in the presidency. Musharraf tends to be reckless and if he is cornered, this recklessness may provoke him into doing something both he and his country may later bitterly regret. It is imperative that he keeps his cool, that he thinks long and hard before he acts.

One headline yesterday proclaimed ‘A foreign hand is involved in violence’ — the perennial excuse now offered by the Senate Standing Committee for the Interior on the prevalent absence of law and order.

Is it a foreign hand that has brought about the dog-eat-dog manifestation and vigilantism? Is it a foreign hand that captured and burnt to death alleged robbers in Karachi and Lahore? Is it a foreign hand that caused the slaughter (literal throat-cutting) in the precincts of Islamabad’s NDC of the wife and children of a serving military officer posted overseas? No, it is native desperation.

Nil desperandum no longer applies.

arfc@cyber.net.pk

DAWN - Cowasjee Corner; May 25, 2008

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

An unwanted year


By Ardeshir Cowasjee

MOST of us commentators, indeed if not all of us, and a good many of those who are supposed to report things as they are, not as they are not, suffer from a lack of objectivity.

There are too many personal axes being ground into the mud, there are too many angles, obtuse and acute, there are too many chips on too many shoulders — and this applies not only to the writers and commentators but to the media barons themselves, many of whom are compromised by their own personal interests and leanings.

Minds need to be opened up and refreshed. We need to stop attacking, picking on old bones, and do a bit of cool analysis, criticise objectively and, if possible, constructively, point out the wrongs without forgetting the rights, and hope that someone or some persons who are in a position to act and come up with some solutions to this sorry mess are out there heeding.

What has happened to the grand reconciliation scheme? It has faltered. It has been one person and several other linked persons-specific. It has not been and is not evenhanded.

Unelected unrepresentative Asif Zardari, in his interview with the Washington Times published on May 29, reiterated several times that it is now ‘time for reconciliation’. Having had his substantial reconciliation, thanks to that unconstitutional and unlawful ordinance thrust upon the country through the machinations of Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf in thrall to the US and its ‘national interest’, it is time that he himself applied his mind and persuaded his wilting coalition partners and his own party people to enter into the spirit of national reconciliation.

How is it that President Musharraf is omitted from this grand process? How about a bit of reconciliation where he is concerned? His sins, largely, are no greater and no less (though they may be different) than the sins of those who have so illegally and un-evenhandedly benefited from the NRO. After all, it is he who is partly responsible, in hand with his American friends, for having cleared Zardari and his friends of the many charges (some iron-clad) levied against them many years ago. Reconciliation, if it is to be with us, should apply all round — to Musharraf, to the Mian of Lahore and his party people, in fact to us all.

It is Zardari’s wife’s assassination, and only and simply that, which has shot Zardari into the position where he now finds himself — unelected, having no constitutional nexus, but almost the sole spokesperson in this flailing Republic, sought out by locals and foreigners for his words of wisdom and policy. If miracles do happen, then Zardari can certainly claim one in his case.

Now, let us return to the objectivity factor and the state of the nation. For many a year, the American journalist, a true professional, Paula Newberg, has watched and commented on Pakistan and its peculiarities, its usually nefarious and occasionally comical doings, and its infrequent ups and very frequent downs. She writes for various US and international publications and has her wits about her. The comments she comes up with are valid and should be pondered upon. Posted on the Internet newspaper The Huffington Post on May 27 was Newberg’s article ‘Pakistan’s governance imperative’. It is lengthy and comprehensive. But she says it as it is from the opening paragraph right up to the bitter end.

“After the kind of year that no country ever wants, with its government in crisis, repression replacing even the most remote notion of good government, political assassination, and terror standing in the wings, Pakistan elected a new parliament in February.” A coalition was formed of three parties “previously deemed outcasts” which quickly agreed, at least in public, on a “daunting political agenda”. Then things went into reverse gear and it stands now broken down on the various issues facing it.

As of now, “Domestic politics and foreign policy alike are fair game for ambitious politicians long removed from power.” The “long removed from power” should make us all stand back and absorb shame. What sort of a nation is it that cannot, in the long period of eight years, throw up some new faces and new minds, untainted by past doings and failings? The voters cannot be blamed, they had little choice.

The blame must be laid fairly and squarely in front of Musharraf’s boots for it was up to him to find, nurture and bring out to the fore men and women of integrity, substance and ability who could lead this county into the 21st century. For his own selfish and myopic reasons he thrust upon us some of the most discredited men in this country’s political history and introduced into the political system others who are complete rogues and vulgar vagabonds. That he had no choice but to then bring back the relics of the 1990s and throw them to the voters is thus not surprising.

So where are we now? “The recent blur of pronouncements, plans and policies reflects this history as it touches on Pakistan’s perennially sensitive topics: jumbled electoral rules, imbalances between provincial powers and central government authority, political corruptions long deemed acceptable, and a testy relationship between parliament and the president ... daily life in Pakistan is increasingly punctuated by targeted, violent incidents and a prevailing insecurity that has not diminished since Musharraf’s government was defeated.” A sad commentary on all the euphoric rhetoric and pronouncements of glory to come with which we were inundated in February.

Newberg is right when she states that it is not the names of individuals which should dominate government and the headlines. It is political parties and parliament which must lead the government. Institutions are in a shambles. “Pakistan’s politics has almost always been in conflict with major state institutions ... no state institution has escaped the high-handedness of party rule ... the simple concepts of representation, political participation and honest constitutionalism are so eroded that Pakistan’s history is usually narrated as a contest between those who seek power and those who wield authority ... the space between them ... has nurtured corruptions of many sizes and shapes.”

What we need are leaders “to defy their own, and the world’s low expectations” for Pakistan’s success. For now, this or any government must demonstrate that after living for decades with coercion, the citizens of Pakistan, the grand awam, “have claims on the state that the state can and will honour”.

arfc@cyber.net.pk

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Muse,

Do use smaller fonts or the regular ones.

Musharraf is in no hurry to go. People will have ample opportunities to bash him since it is the flavour of the season and so one need not emphasise with monstrous fonts to give a point of view!!

 

[ahussains]

I think the time has come in some days we will a change