Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

The price of democracy in Pakistan

By Syed Atiq ul Hassan - posted Monday, 31 December 2007


The West wants to see democracy in Pakistan but the democratic process in Pakistan has had a troubled history.

After the elections in 1970 - the largest democratic election in the history of Pakistan - events led to the loss of then East Pakistan. The 1977 general election led to more military rule and the hanging of the most powerful civilian leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. And now, the world has seen another blow to Pakistan’s political process that may result in further disintegration.

On Thursday December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at Liaqat Bagh (Park) Rawalpindi. This is the same place where Liaqat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated on October 16, 1951. And Rawalpindi is same city where Benazir’s father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979.

Advertisement

Musharraf has been forced to open the way for a democratic political process in Pakistan by the Western powers. The two top political figures, Mr Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group) and Ms Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party were both allowed to return from exile to Pakistan. The Bush administration reportedly brokered a deal between President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto.

On her arrival Benazir Bhutto was attacked by a suicide bomb blast which left about 140 people dead. She was lucky to escape. Threats to kill Benazir Bhutto came from al-Qaida and the Taliban of Afghanistan, but Benazir immediately blamed Pakistan’s secret agencies for planning to eliminate her.

Meanwhile she continued to lead the election campaign for the Pakistan Peoples Party, holding election rallies and large gatherings. But luck was not with Benazir this time and she was shot dead, followed by a suicide bomb blast which left 20 other people dead after leaving a large public gathering. The angry reaction to Benazir’s murder around Pakistan left many killed and millions of dollars worth of public and private properties damaged by the violence.

Pakistan is a country strategically important to the United States in the on-going war against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Though President Pervez Musharraf has been co-operating with United States and Western powers in the war against terrorism he has not delivered completely on what they were expecting: instead the Taliban’s power is spreading further into northern Pakistan. Because of this the US wanted to kill two birds with one stone: step down Musharraf and, in the name of democracy, use Ms Benazir Bhutto - an internationally known figure from the most powerful political dynasty of Pakistan.

For Benazir it was a golden opportunity and perfect timing to return to Pakistan from her long-term self exile. Harvard-educated and highly intelligent, Benazir used a well calculated slogan in her campaign to eliminate radical and terrorist elements from Pakistan and to gain support from within and outside Pakistan.

Since her arrival in Pakistan the Western media remarkably portrayed Benazir as an example of the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, despite the fact she was sacked twice from the premiership in the past on the corruption charges.

Advertisement

Benazir first came to power in 1988 but her government was dismissed in 1990 following the charges of corruption. She was again re-elected in 1993 but was dismissed again in November 1996 amid various corruption charges. The Supreme Court of Pakistan found Benazir and her husband Asif Ali Zardari guilty of corruption and sentenced them to five years in prison. Later Asif was sentenced to jail and Benazir left the country and went into self-imposed exile.

Also, at the time Benazir was in power in 1990, the Taliban was supported and provided with arms by the United Sates through her administration, in order to steadily gain control of Afghanistan from the northern alliance.

The Bush administration played a key role in brokering a deal between President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto. The civil rule of Benazir Bhutto - a strong political leader of a mainstream political party (Pakistan Peoples Party) - combined with that of President Musharraf - a strong ally of United States with the backing of the Pakistan army - might have served the US strategic interest well and provided support in the war against al-Qaida, the Taliban and other radical groups.

Benazir Bhutto, in her election rallies, openly slammed Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism. She vowed to allow US forces to launch operations against al-Qaida groups, if needed, inside the Pakistani border in northern Pakistan, something which Musharraf always denied.

The Bush administration has asked President Musharraf to continue with the up-coming election process, however, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto must be now a serious blow.

The anti-American statements made in the current election campaign by another former Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, who leads the second biggest party of Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Group), shows that US will not support him into power. However, according to latest reports, Nawaz Sharif has already announced that his party will boycott the January election.

In the current situation, the chances are the other political-religious major parties, apart from the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League, will boycott the election. And if President Musharraf holds the election on January 8, 2008 then nothing will change in Pakistani government except that Musharraf will continue to enjoy power as a civilian president with his own appointed military generals and a loyalist parliament.

To complicate matters, in Pakistan where there are enmities between smaller provinces (Sind, Balochistan and NWFP) and Punjab (the largest province of Pakistan and from which come more than 60 per cent of those holding positions in the army and within the civil bureaucracy) in various administrative and governing matters, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will be seen as the murder of yet another political leader and former Prime Minister (after Liaqat Ali Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) from Sind. This may further lead to political disintegration of Pakistan.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Syed Atiq ul Hassan, is senior journalist, writer, media analyst and foreign correspondent for foreign media agencies in Australia. His email is shassan@tribune-intl.com.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Syed Atiq ul Hassan

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment Comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy