Leaps, Slips & Falls

Most of the good things in Musharraf’s legacy are, at best, negative externalities of his autocratic actions, says ARSHED BHATTI

General Musharraf, who resigned on 18 August as the President of Pakistan, is reportedly experiencing emotional bipolarity – one moment of cheerfulness, another of great depression—after the PPP-PML(N) parted ways exactly a week after his forced resignation.

His cheer results from uncanny satisfaction that he was inadvertently the binding force of the alliance. On the other hand, Messrs Zardari and Sharif can legitimately draw greater satisfaction that this one achievement of their erstwhile alliance is enough to absolve them of many subsequent follies.

“What next?’ is the billion dollar question in today’s Pakistan. Though, in one’s view, the path ahead is quite clear and obvious, the leading TV talk shows are competing with one another in concocting the most bizarre yet possible scenarios.

In my view, only Zardari can change the course of things in the next two weeks. There are two and a half possible scenarios from this point on. But these scenarios are not regarding Asif Zardari’s becoming the next President of Pakistan; they are about what he can do, before or after his election to the presidency, to judges and democracy in Pakistan.

In the first scenario, it is widely and wishfully speculated that he would reinstate the judges as his first act as the President of Pakistan. Whether that generous act includes the reinstatement of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary as the Chief Justice depends on the degree of risk President Zardari likes to take versus the degree of surprise he might offer.

The second scenario is based on the recent dramatic moves of Zardari; that is another dramatic move by him before his elections to woo Sharif, yet again, and trade his unopposed election to Presidency in lieu of pre-Defense Day (6 September) reinstatement of judges.

The half scenario is that PML(N) and Q join hands, and pull along Maulana Fazalur Rehman along with significant floating votes, and since the election will be through secret ballot, they are able to upset the apple cart of Zardari. In case this comes closer to a reality, Zardari can always opt for the second scenario.

This interesting democratic bustle can be termed as one of the many – good, bad and ugly – legacies of General Musharraf, who did all he could in his whim and power to deny true democracy but a true democracy is what we have today, albeit in its imperfect form. Let’s take a moment to reflect upon Musharraf’s legacy, intended or inadvertent, that we have in Pakistan after his 3,233 days (55 days short of 9 years) in near absolute power.

Military dictators in Pakistan have been like hurricanes to a coastal town: they are very likely, they are predicted, they come and play havoc with country, constitution, democracy, politics, economy, governance, resources, and above all, foreign policy. But like most hurricanes, they also leave behind a new type of fertility in the land, in the form of more resilience of the people and increased knowledge of the depth of their devastations, along with stronger resolve to avoid them at any cost the next time around.

Much like the aftermath of a hurricane that has left behind a lot of cleaning to do, we are about to sow a new crop of hope, progress, peace and a better future of Pakistan, the momentary faltering of main leadership notwithstanding.

It is difficult to assess Musharraf’s legacy in black and white, because there is more of grey to it, which we have suffered, celebrated and escaped during his eventful years. He was a different dictator, different from his predecessors in Pakistan—which we have in plenty. Skindar Mirza, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Ziaul Haq. Musharraf would stand out for being a larger failure, less manipulative and someone who got a guard of honour on his exit. Ziaul Haq leads the abominable league both in terms of violent exit and causing deeper devastation and rot to society, politics and culture.

Musharraf also remained adamant from the very first to the very last day in power that he was not a dictator. To some, this hampered his vision – if he had any – both in clearly seeing his path, in understanding constraints and in effectively delivering his promise to the divergent interests he encountered.

We often hear the proverbial repetition of history. In the case of Pakistan, it seems it does not move in certain arena. In his address as Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on 17 October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf said, “My dear countrymen, Pakistan today stands at the cross-roads of its destiny which is in our hands to make or break… Today we have reached a stage where our economy has crumbled, our credibility is lost, state institutions lie demolished; provincial disharmony has caused cracks in the federation, and people who were once brothers are now at each other’s throat…. In sum we have lost our honour, our dignity, our respect in the comity of nations.” If Zardari, as the next president goes for these contents, he would sound so irrelevant!

Justifying the coup, General Musharraf had said: “My dear countrymen! The choice before us on 12 October was between saving the body (that is the nation) at the cost of losing a limb (the Constitution) or saving the limb and losing the whole body. The Constitution is but a part of the nation therefore, I chose to save the nation and yet took care not to sacrifice the Constitution. The Constitution has only been temporarily held in abeyance. This is not martial law, only another path towards democracy.”

The metaphor of limb for the Constitution is noteworthy. It seems it was his perverted obsession with this limb that he fiddled and fondled it at whim, and the limb eventually cost him the whole body of his regime. Interestingly, there is an added limb to the Constitution in the form of Article 58(2)b, which is compelling both Zardari and Sharif to have someone in the President’s House they can unwaveringly trust.

Concluding his address, Musharraf had hoped, “And now I would like to share a prayer that I wrote for myself: Oh Allah! I promise my nation sincerity, honesty, integrity and give me the vision to see and perceive the truth from the false, the wisdom to comprehend the problem and find its solution.”

God, frankly, did not grant him his prayers. As it was, the demonstrated absence of these very blessings he prayed for (vision & wisdom) caused his downfall. Zardari, surely, is better placed in wisdom, if not vision. But he has been, and still is in the intimate and close company of people who have this trait in abundance.

Most of the good things in Musharraf’s legacy are, at best, negative externalities of his autocratic actions.The first two great bits of his legacy are vibrant civil society and watchful media. Both of them grew with the help of each other, and in huge proportions in their assertion, significance and impact after Musharraf sacked the Chief Justice of Pakistan in March 2007. Both of these seem to be irrevocable phenomena and the best bet for true democracy.

Something close to ‘true democracy’ in the form of powerful and rooted political parties and a politicised citizenry, is the next best combine of his legacy. It is ironical, though, that these four in combination have shown him the door.

Fourth seminal fragment of his legacy is demystification of Kashmir as cardinal issue in India-Pakistan enmity, and by corollary the diminished role of the third party in bringing the two neighbours closer. This is again ironic as it came from the author of Kargil crisis, which had brought both countries to the verge of another war.

Fifth attribute of his legacy that would cause a pleasant recall is his undoing of institutional discrimination and oppression against women and minorities. He helped defang the hated Hudood laws and introduced the joint electorate. Pakistan, after his nine years, is a better place for these two erstwhile wretched entities. However, there are still miles to go before these two entities can wish for a peaceful sleep.

The embedded power, privilege and prestige of the armed forces in Pakistan were hitherto uncontested and it was unthinkable to talk about them, their actions, their political influence and economic affluence in the public. Musharraf and his failed policies made it possible.

A promising popular culture and flourishing creativity in music and arts can be counted as the next prominent features of his legacy. His liberal lifestyle and candid talks — however silly at times— were two things that many in Pakistan and abroad adored him for.

The worst bit of his legacy, which outweighs his good bequest, is Militarancy (militancy in civil space by non-military actors because of military’s encouraged, active and sustained presence and role in civil space). Suicidal bombing have become an omnibus phenomenon in Pakistan. Here Musharraf seems to have beaten Zia who introduced a kalashnikov culture. Militarancy will take years, an arm and a leg to go.

As a concluding reflection, Musharraf’s fall is owed to the brutal – and clearly avoidable - assassination of Benazir Bhutto; not to the sacking of the Chief Justice as is widely believed. Things were not in his grip after 27 December 2007. Coincidentally, in Musharraf’s fall is Zardari’s rise. Hopefully, President Zardari will make two persons his political mentors: Benazir Bhutto, in choosing what to be done and how it must be done; and, Musharraf, in what not to be done and how it must not be done.

Arshed is a political activist; runs a café and lives in Islamabad.