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Musharraf's cat is out of the bag
By
Wajid Shamsul Hasan |
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 President Pervez
Musharraf has let his cat out of the bag. His latest
announcement is short of ban on contesting election for the
person having "BB" as initials, born on the longest day of the
year 1953. Now Musharraf has, through a new ordinance, barred a
third term of prime ministerial office to those who have already
done it twice.
Earlier, last month his Aristotle --Lt.Gen Tanvir Naqvi-- had
proposed a constitutional package, followed by changes in
Political Parties act, full of contraptions that have the
objective of denying the people their inalienable right to rule
and to keep Bhutto out of Pakistani politics.
The constitutional package aims at giving final shape to the
formal launch of the military as the most formidable political
party with Musharraf as its leader. The package has sculptured
him into a national supremo with all powers vested in him.
Since the creation of Pakistan, it was search for a permanent
constitutional arrangement that had kept the country's political
unity on tenterhooks. In 1956 the elected representatives of
East Pakistan took the patriotic initiative of sacrificing their
numerical superiority by agreeing to the principle of parity to
resolve the constitutional stalemate.
Had generals Iskandar Mirza and Ayub Khan not played foul with
the Constitution of 1956 and allowed fair play to it, Pakistan's
two wings would not only have remained united, the country would
also have blossomed into a model democracy.
Pleadings by founding fathers like Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy,
Khawaja Nazimuddin and Madre Millat Fatima Jinnah not to play
foul with the 1956 Constitution and parliamentary system of
democracy were ignored. Indeed, Ayub Khan by abrogating the1956
Constitution and the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Muhammad
Munir, upholding it as legal, inflicted the first fatal blow to
Pakistan's integrity.
It was the beginning of the end. Ayub's 1962 constitution was
one-man made to protect his power and it vanished with him
opening floodgates of traumatic events including creation of
Bangladesh, surrender by Pakistani generals and troops around
90,000 in number and loss of 5000 square miles of West Pakistani
territory to the Indians.
Despite national humiliation Yahya and generals had no intention
of relinquishing government. They had the brazenness to float a
constitutional package of their own-much on Tanvir Naqvi's
pattern-to keep themselves in power.
Revolt by young army officers who had yet not lost their
integrity, forced Yahya coterie to transfer power to Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto. And had it not been for ZAB, Pakistan would have
ended as a footnote or as an Indian client state.
Yahya had left a fractured Pakistan as a legacy for Bhutto.
 Bhutto saved it from further disintegration by providing it the
1973 Constitution thereby resolving the tricky issue of the
quantum of provincial autonomy according to the wishes of the
federating units.
Musharraf has been warned not to open a Pandora's box. The 1973
Constitution has proved to be a greater binding force than
religion in keeping the country glued together. When Zia tried
to play dirty with it, he gave birth to strong fissiparous,
ethnic and sectarian forces that have now grown into a major
threat.
Musharraf's referendum, grossly rigged, has not added to his
strength or legitimacy. Now the new Praetorian power scheme
forewarn of suicidal consequences as had been the case following
the abrogation of 1956 constitution.
While leading parties like PPP, PML(Nawaz) and Muttahida Majlis
Amal have out right rejected the constitutional package and
changes in the Political Parties Act, Altaf Hussain, leader of
the third biggest party in the country and other regional and
ethnic political parties fighting for the rights of the smaller
provinces-have demanded that instead of making 1973 Constitution
more over centralised, a new constitution needs to be framed in
the letter and spirit of the Lahore Resolution of 1940 that had
envisaged autonomous states.
Besides that, the 1973 Constitution has also failed to protect
itself, Parliament, elected governments and prime ministers
against extra-constitutional interventions by the Bonapartic
generals. Despite presence of Article 6 that provides death
penalty as an act of treason for those found violating it, the
1973 Constitution has remained ineffective against military
coups.
Pakistan today does not need any constitutional package for
establishing "sustainable federal democracy". What it needs for
that objective is a decision as to who is the real ruler: people
of Pakistan or the successive Bonapartic generals. It is the
most vital issue and unless it is resolved in favour of "we, the
people" democracy in Pakistan will always remain at the mercy of
the Praetorian whims.
Political issues today have crystallised. Musharraf junta has
now made it clear that there are only two political parties that
matter: Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People Party and General
Musharraf's Pakistan Military Party.
ZAB's battle cry was 'all power to the people'. It was relevant
then. It is relevant now. Ziaul Haq tried to break PPP but
failed. So did Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Nawaz Sharif and Farooq
Leghari. Now again Musharraf is trying to prop up political
orphans-much the similar way as done by Hameed Gul and Asad
Durrani-to oppose Benazir Bhutto and PPP.
Like Bhutto, it is now in his daughter's fate to be the main
challenger and threat to the "PMP" that wants to continue as the
sole arbiter of power.
It is regretfully stated that the present set of generals have
condemned themselves by their follies to repeat the same
mistakes as their seniors had done in 1971 when they refused to
surrender to their own compatriots and showed preference to lay
their arms before General Jagjit Singh Arora.
Ban on any one becoming prime minister more than twice and the
packages are a crude attempt to keep Benazir out of power and
deny genuine democratic participation in the affairs of the
state. It was time generals cured their diseased aversion to
Bhuttos and learnt to live with the invincible Bhutto
phenomenon-the key to national unity.. (samwonline)
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