Pakistan avoided yet another crisis. Although oscillating between corrupt civilian governments and military dictatorships, crises have been a way of life for Pakistan. But this crisis was different. It was not particularly for or against a leader. It was the third act of a grass-roots movement, led by the lawyers, in favor of the rule of law under a constitutional framework.
Pakistan appears to be on the verge of emerging as a functioning Constitutional Democracy, with primacy of laws and constitution that has eluded Pakistan for 61 years of its checkered history.
Three times in the span of two years the lawyers, men and women in their somber black coats defied the illegal edicts of the government and succeeded in forcing the government to back down.
The Current Crisis
The current crisis precipitated when, presumably with the connivance of President Zardari the current Supreme Court (largely considered illegitimate) barred the leader of opposition Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shabaz from contesting elections and holding offices. President Zardari recklessly dismissed the Shabaz led government of Panjab, the most populous province.
This brought out the lawyers back on the streets for the third time with planned marches to the capital, Islamabad, demanding that Mr. Zardari keep the promise he made during the elections of February 2008 to restore the Supreme Court justices fired by the former President Musharraf. The leader of the opposition Mr. Nawaz Sharif joined in the protest.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of President Zardari, in the face of massive civil demonstrations averted its breakup when President Zardari yielded to the pressure from the senior leaders of the PPP led by Prime Minister Gilani, the United States and the Pakistani military. Prime Minister Gilani diffused the crisis by announcing that the Supreme Court Judges and the former Chief Justice Iftekhar Chaudhry will resume offices following the resignation of the current justices (considered illegal) on the 21st of March. It led to widespread nation wide jubilation.
This was not a win for Mr. Sharif, though he is the beneficiary of it. Large sections of the population consider Mr. Zardari and Mr. Sharif as corrupt and there have been legal verdicts against them. It is the victory of a movement led by lawyers demanding respect for the constitution and the rule of law.
The First And Second Civil Disobedience Movement Of Lawyers
The first time the lawyers led the movement for the rule of law was in March 2007, when on spurious charges President, General Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Chaudhry for taking up the petition on behalf of hundreds of people missing, allegedly at secret detention centers accused of terrorism. Eventually he was exonerated and General Musharraf backed down.
The movement sprang up the second time in November 2007, when only days before the Supreme Court of Pakistan was to give its verdict on a petition challenging the constitutionality of President, General Musharraf’s re-election in October 2007, because he held on to the post of the Chief of Staff of the Army simultaneously. President Musharraf suspended the constitution, jailed several justices of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice Iftekhar Chaudhry and appointed a new slate of judges who ruled in his favor. But under the intense pressure of the civil disobedience led by the legal profession, General Musharraf had to yield and gave up the post of the Army Chief of Staff, appointing General Kayani in his place.
The Elections Of 2008 And Mr. Zardari’s Rise To Power
New Assembly elections were held in February 2008. The two main opposition parties, the PPP led by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the faction of Pakistan Muslim League (PLM) led by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had one thing in common, the promise to reinstate the fired Chief Justice and other judges.
PPP leader Benazir Bhutto fell to an assassin’s bullet at an election rally on the 27th of December 2007. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, a reviled figure in Pakistan, stepped into the vacuum; and partly with the sympathy vote for popular Benazir Bhutto the PPP won the largest share of seats followed by PLM. Since no party won an outright majority, the two largest parties the PPP and the PLM formed a coalition government.
The coalition broke up when Mr. Zardari reneged on his promise to reinstate the ousted judges by President Musharraf. In August 2008, President Musharraf resigned under a threat of impeachment, and in September Mr. Zardari was elected the President of Pakistan. Since then Mr. Zardari has reneged on all the inconvenient promises and has tried to accrue power.
Pakistan has floundered rudderless in the crosscurrents of internal power struggle between the corrupt civilian governments and endemic coups by the military dictators; and external pressure from the United States to serve its foreign policy aims through the Pakistani military for the last fifty years. The result has been complete decimation of the Pakistani judiciary. The Supreme Court has become the handmaiden of whoever holds the reins of power. Chief Justices have been appointed and fired at the whims of the government in power many times.
The New Opportunity For Pakistan
Fortunately for Pakistan Mr. Zardari was thwarted by the third civil disobedience by the lawyers. The power equation has also changed. Unlike the past, the forces that traditionally supported those in power in Pakistan had to take other realities into consideration.
The American government is the main economic backer of Pakistan, but under President Obama, it realizes that the war on terrorism cannot be won by propping up corrupt oppressive regimes. President Obama conveyed his strong disapproval of Mr. Zardari’s grab for power. The army, the most important instrument of power in Pakistan has had enough under President, General Musharraf. The new Chief of Staff General Kayani told Mr. Zardari in no uncertain term that the army would not intervene to support him. The top leadership of the PPP including the Prime Minister Mr. Gilani, weary of Mr. Zardari’s leadership, let him know that they were not behind him. And finally the police that were supposed to stop the marchers refused to use force on the silent peaceful marchers, except at some places in Karachi the strong hold of the PPP.
The change in circumstances will exert an enormous pressure on all concerned. The reinstated Chief Justice Chaudhry will feel the weight of responsibility to make the Supreme Court a true guardian of the constitution. The army has had enough for the time being and will try to influence the government, but not as heavy handedly, and the politicians have learnt at least for the immediate future that they cannot take people to be supine as before. The lawyers movement has shown no ulterior motive to form a competing center of power, it has disbanded after every success to pursue their private lives. Yet it has rejuvenated in the times of need.
The maturing of Pakistan as a Constitutional Democracy; I hope a liberal democracy, with safeguards for religious, ethnic, linguistic and other minorities, will strengthen the authority of the elected government and will obviously be good for Pakistan. It will also be beneficial to countries with interest in Pakistan. Though it will take time, but after eight years of floundering in Afghanistan the new Obama administration realizes that US efforts in combating the terrorism will succeed only if Pakistan is not a failed state. A constitutional democracy in Pakistan will also be better for India because the relations will not depend on the whims of individuals. It will lead to better cooperation and enhance the possibility of reconciliation between two democratically elected constitutional governments.
Photo: Pakistan Navy
The victory of democratic forces and the rule of law in Pakisatn is a good portent for the shape of things to come.
The biggest triumph was the reinstatement of CJ Iftikhar Chowdhary. The benefit to the Sharifs was a by product.
With this, the sane millions in Pakistan should get a boost in their resolve to fight the reactionary forces that are causing instability in the region.
The problem with the people who claim to be democrat is that they are forcing it by use of brute military machine. This is again extremism which they openly call to be fighting. Those who live by claim of ‘things they stand for’ should never have been forced on others the way it is being done. The problem with the copycats is that if they have some active thinkers of other line, they use these ‘active thinkers’ in carrying forward their agenga. The Zardaris, Sherry Rahmans (Rehman) etc never wanted to be part of the population which is evident from their ‘values’. It is not religion or culture which is against democracy but the way that is forced down the population’s throat. In fact, all of these ‘leaders’ are cowards and the media has covered in open details why Mr Shareef was cold feeted by USA. His proximity to the Saudi dispensation was the worry though we know how close the US administration is with the KSA system. They want to have all the spoils and this should open the eyes of all the so called Arab Muslim Moderates as to what is their value. They have forgotten history and continue to do so. To them the size of Iran is a worry while common man around them is killed by the Amerian soldiers. As far as India is concerned, we are more content of the infliction continues on the presumed historic enemy, while we ignore the present and future impact of this on our country. Those wo might claim that there is nothing like ‘religion’ in this line of policy, please do not clarify more than required, cause it shows the complicity of in the things denied. Pakistan too must learn it faster than they are doing.
M Naqqaad
“As far as India is concerned, we are more content of the infliction continues on the presumed historic enemy, while we ignore the present and future impact of this on our country.”
What can india do to the happening in pakistan. Till now there has been no instance of indian intelligence fiddling the pakistani. They have created enough mess for themself. India is just watching the same to safeguard its border as the country is moving towards fundamentalism and self destruction.
“want to have all the spoils and this should open the eyes of all the so called Arab Muslim Moderates as to what is their value. ”
Arab muslim moderate values, you must be joking. At this juncture, they just want to enjoy the fun of oil. they do not mind going along with america to ensure that the technology supply is there and they can continue in power.
I hope you know that even a country like UAE has differential balance sheet for different emirates. In the financial mess, dubai is in deep shit where as abudhabi with oil money want to fish out of the murky water. That is arab diplomacy or politics.
The real hurdle in the victory of constitutional democracy in Pakistan is not the corrupt regimes and dictators trying to subvert the law, but the Islamic law itself. It is easy to confront a leader like Mr. Zardari and win against him but its infinitely harder to oppose Shari’ah. The Islamic law opposes any constitution and recognizes only the law of Islam.
The problem in front of these lawyers is how they will reconcile Shari’ah with the constitutional law or whether it is even possible?
I know that Quran is beyond debate however why can’t shariah laws be bettered or modified in an Islamic society. Also if certain things can not be changed or altered and cause equal confusion in Muslims and non Muslims then why not simply keep them aside and choose those that show humanity, compassion and mercy.
Finally its not democracy but a sense of Live and Let live which will take Pakistan out of its current crisis.
It is projected that pakistan might break up in another 6 to 12 months time. Pakistan is trying to black mail india to support them fight taliban.
However i think the better sense has prevailed on our administrator not to fiddle in the internal issues of pakistan. I think india learnt it lession from ltte / sl
Good is the country focussing on its strength by launching spy satellites to cover the borders with help of israel. With taliban nearing the borders, india must increase its alert on the borders to avert any further problem
In case if the talibans takes over the pakistan, the positive side, is that it will be faced with more international bans but the flip side is that they will sow, grow distribute terrorism in the name of the religion.