Some Lessons Learnt - Many Forgotten

Nov 3 marks one year to the day that General Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. It was a black day for Pakistanis when their president, who was also Chief of the Army Staff, took a decision in what was clearly seen as a bid to save his government, regardless of the long-term implications of such a move.

The state of emergency in Pakistan was the trump card that President Musharraf played in order to check the growing challenge to his government from then-chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. It was not the first time he had contemplated it.

But by the time he played this card he was more or less out of options and was gradually being forced into a corner. Possibly that explains his desperation to go for the imposition of a state of emergency. Within 25 days of the declaration of emergency, President Musharraf took off his military uniform and continued in office as a civilian president.

President Musharraf’s troubles started with the sacking of the chief justice and it was the lawyers’ movement that played a part in his final removal. However, it needs to be mentioned that the president based his decision on the state of law and order in the country in opting for the imposition of emergency.

In the proclamation that was issued, the President General said that his decision came as there was a visible rise in the activities of extremists and terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED (improvised explosive device) explosions, rocket-firing and bomb blasts and the banding together of some militant groups.

Musharraf said that such developments were posing a grave threat to the lives and properties of the citizens of Pakistan and noted that there was also a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law enforcement agencies.

These attacks were nothing new. In fact, at the time of the imposition of the emergency, attacks in Balochistan had reduced in frequency and intensity while those in the Tribal Areas and the NWFP were not yet at the present level. While the threat to Pakistan was there, it was not as grave a threat, then, to justify the imposition of emergency in the country, many commented. The suicide attacks were from militant groups opposed to the role of the Musharraf government in the war on terror. Those attacks continue, even after the departure of President Musharraf.

Also in his proclamation, Musharraf did mention that some members of the judiciary were working at “cross purposes with the executive and legislature” but he said this in the context of the fight against terrorism and extremism, thereby weakening the government’s and the nation’s resolve, diluting the efficacy of the actions to control this menace. His consistent references to the War on Terror were seen as an attempt to appease the Americans, who later said that they were “disappointed” with the imposition of emergency.

President Musharraf also maintained that he took the step of imposing a state of emergency owing to interference in executive functions, including, but not limited to, the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning.

The president asserted that this had weakened the writ of the government and that the police force has been completely demoralised and was fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and intelligence agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists.

Looking back, one wonders when the police had efficacy in the first place. And when did our intelligence agencies have enough free time left from their harassment of nationalists and keeping tabs on politicians, journalists and others to actually go out and catch terrorists?

The president also said that some hardcore militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated were ordered to be released. The persons so released, he claimed, had subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities resulting in loss of human lives and property.

However, what he did not take into account was the number of such people released by his own government as part of surrender deals and peace agreements that were worked out with militants but never did yield any significant results. Their number is higher.

The crux of the proclamation of the emergency came much later. The president claimed that some judges, by overstepping the limits of judicial authority, had taken over the executive and legislative functions of the government. He also stated that the honourable judges should confine the scope of their activities to judicial function and not assume charge of the administration.

In all this, what came out clear was that the reinvigorated judiciary headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was the first real challenge to the army rule headed by Gen Musharraf. And after the challenge was mounted, the military government panicked. And when President Musharraf talked about the judiciary overstepping its limits, what this pillar of state was doing was nothing out of the ordinary. It was addressing (finally) the thousands of requests, complaints and pleas of people from all over the country to address the injustices they had suffered.

Following its second coup by imposing the emergency, the army government cracked down on the judges, showed no mercy for the protesting lawyers, muzzled the press and went on the offensive against anyone that came in their way. But there are many questions that linger on in the minds of most Pakistanis. For example, if the basis of the imposition of emergency was the rise in terror attacks, why was nothing done during the time it was in force to deal with the problem?

The banning of certain TV channels and the heavy handed manner in which the print media was handled only strengthened the belief that the government’s decision was taken only to save the throne of one man.

Today our country faces another challenge. This is the challenge of economic survival. It took two weeks and about six billion dollars that Pakistanis privately sent abroad in this period through the hawala system to bring the country to its economic knees. So much so for the economic miracle that had been worked by the Shaukat Aziz government.

A trip to the local convenience store in any city in the country will give one an idea of what went wrong with our economy. We can get all sorts of food, confectionary and other items that have been imported, legally or illegally, in huge quantities. On sale are twenty types of chocolates, exotic fruit and other absurd items. In the height of the Shaukat Aziz era we even imported mineral water, milk and meat – all of which are produced to international standards in Pakistan.

Our import of luxury and frivolous items and the free manner in which the Shaukat Aziz government allowed these to be brought in the country with our valuable foreign-exchange reserves speaks volumes about the “farsightedness” of our planners. To add to the flood of cheap legal imports, the corruption in the Federal Board of Revenue allowed heavy smuggling of many items. All this at the cost of the local industry.

We imported different types of mobile phones, luxury cars and a bizarre array of items for which there was no pressing need. Aside from the loss of foreign exchange, hundreds of our local factories closed down and thousands of people were rendered homeless. The Shaukat Aziz government also doctored poverty figures and insisted that poverty was going down. In fact, it was rising.

One year on to the day of the declaration of the emergency, one can see the hollowness of the claims of the Musharraf government. The tall claims of economic turnaround and financial miracles have all been laid bare. So have the claims of press freedom and respect for the rule of law.

While Shaukat Aziz cools his heels abroad, retired general Musharraf enjoys his time in Army House from where he will shift to his luxury villa – all at our expense. Under a deal which saw President Musharraf hand over power, he will not be touched in any way by the present government.Another understanding ensures that Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry will not be restored by the present government.

In her first term in office, Ms Benazir Bhutto also made some deals with the powers that be, owing to which she was unable to come up to the expectations of the people. One can only wish that the deals made by President Zardari do not come back to haunt his government.