Justice for all

The Chief Justice of Pakistan expressed his satisfaction with the completion of a year since the restoration of the judiciary. Addressing a meeting of National Judicial Policy Making Committee, he said the judiciary delivered crucial verdicts in its first year; national judicial policy was framed, the PCO judges were sacked and the NRO was declared null and void. The Chief Justice also said that the aim of the judiciary was to provide justice to the rich as well as the poor. This is anything but a reality and with the judiciary’s obsession to control the country more and more and impose its will; it seems that this target of the Chief Justice is seeable but not reachable. Chaudhry said that the judiciary needs to iron out its deficiencies. That is indeed true since never before in the history of Pakistan was the judiciary more “deficient”. Deficient in solving the problems of the common man, deficient in providing justice to the rich and poor, deficient in not being power hungry, deficient in not disturbing the tracheotomy of powers. It seems that the will of the State and the will of the Chief Justice are one and the same. There is an expression in the English language, “No matter how flat you bake a pancake, it always has two sides”. It has become a religion in Pakistan for presently influential people to condemn former President Pervez Musharraf as the worst nightmare that Pakistan experienced and as a man who will never muster enough courage to return to his country. It is being propagated that he will discover his unpopularity. This could not be further from the truth. A poor man in Chakwal told me that nowadays it is being written on the back of trucks, and some trucks have Ayub Khan’s paintings in their backs with a verse “Ayub teri bohut yaad aaye”. “Ayub (reference being made to Ayub Khan) we really remember you.” People are actually associating Field Marshal Ayub Khan with General Pervez Musharraf and they are fed up with the civilian establishment. The sins of the present establishment are so many that words fall short. There is change in Pakistan, negative change, which is eating away at all the positives. Wherever I go the poor rural people of Pakistan gather when they hear Musharraf’s name and remember him and express dismay over his never coming back; which takes me to what Musharraf explained to the foreign press time and again that they should not believe the opinion of the elite upper class and the NGOs as the national verdict rather they should explore the poor rural classes where he had a true following. They all have a common voice, “We are even worse off and going to the kuchehreys and courts is same if not more hectic. Nothing has changed for the better and the lawyers are extremely arrogant.”

Musharraf entered the scene in Pakistani politics as a General and a CEO. His credentials were his rank and the controversial battle of Kargil for which most held him single handedly responsible. As a fighting soldier Musharraf was both eccentric and effective but at Kargil he proved disastrous. The country had not recovered from the wounds of Kargil that Musharraf imposed a bloodless coup and himself on the country. He was ruling the country with an iron fist when 9/11 changed the world and Musharraf’s destiny and legacy. Musarraf sided whether willingly or unwillingly due to impossible US pressure to siding with the USA. He made a comprehensive effort to mending fences with India. Relations with China and Saudi Arabia improved considerably. He even tried to be a mediator in the Palestine-Israel conflict. Part of the reason why Shaukat Aziz was his Prime Minister was to resurrect the ailing Pakistani economy. Statistics prove that the economy improved from 1999 to 2007.

Pakistan’s economy grew by 100% — to become $ 160 billion Revenue grew by 100% — to become $ 11.4 billion Per Capita income grew by 100% — to become $ 925 Foreign Reserves grew by 500% — to become $ 17 billion Exports grew by 100% — to become $ 18.5 billion Textile exports grew by 100% — to become $ 11.2 billion Karachi Stock Exchange grew by 500% — to become $ 75 billion Foreign Direct Investment grew by 500% — to become $ 8.4 billion Annual Debt servicing decreased by 35% — to become 26% Poverty decreased by 10% — to become 24% Literacy ratio grew by 10% — to become 54% Public development Funds grew by 100% — to become Rs. 520 billion. Poverty level dropped from 34% to 24%, there was an increasing trend in education, and 47 universities were created. He proposed “Enlightened Moderation” than religious extremism in Pakistan .There was an effort made towards women emancipation, and empowerment, which became restricted to the “Women Protection Bill”. In August 2005, Justice Rana Bhagwandas (a Hindu) was sworn in as acting Chief Justice. Other noticeable positive steps taken by the Musharraf government were the declaration of the abolition of separate electorates, banning of extremist and sectarian groups, greater influx of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims and, during 2004-5, the Punjab government allocated funds to renovate the Krishna Mandir temple in Lahore. In addition, the Pakistani Constitution reserved 10 national assembly seats for religious minorities.

How effective Musharraf was, is another argument, we can say that Musharraf was partially successful. But was Musharraf headed in the right direction? Yes. Should Pakistan not strayed from its path, direction and priorities? Again the answer is, Yes. But the Lal Masjid operation, deeply hurt the sentiments of the majority of the Pakistani people, the return of Nawaz Sharif from exile, the assassination of two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and Musharraf’s ongoing losing battle with the judiciary and defeat of the PML-Q in the 2008 elections led to Musharraf’s curtain call. At his resignation he said that “Time” will decide whether the step he was taking was correct or not.

Everyday the present government is failing; people are making comparisons, the past looks better, the present gloomy and unbearable. Statistics are not favouring the present government and the back of the poor is completely broken. Why is it that civilian governments always end up failing the people and fall seriously short of expectations? If the civilian government keeps performing the way it is, then hypothetically speaking if tomorrow there is a military government, the Pakistani people will react in two ways, what had to happen has happened and most will encourage the change. It is true that democracy is no silver bullet but if the system rather than liberating its people from its troubles turns into anarchy than it leaves coercive powers like the army no reason other than to react and take over. Let us hope that democracy succeeds in Pakistan. All the best!