BY: IM Mohsin
While such tactics have allowed the regime to remain in power its legitimacy is bound to be questionable. Co-opting people with a shady reputation is seen widely as patronising corruption. No wonder, Pakistan has become a laughing stock
As the crisis deepens in Balochistan conspiracy theories are being proposed in Pakistan as well as abroad. The Economist has propounded its hypothesis in the recent issue under the headline: ’Pakistan’s restive province’. The opening sentence reads: "In the Hindu ghetto, a maze of winding alleys and bright-coloured temples, Lal Chand sluices water over the dried blood and innards of his neighbour. Of 67 people killed in a battle in March between tribal militiamen and government troops in Dera Bugti, a small town in Pakistan’s western province of Balochistan, around half perished when the ghetto was shelled by the government’s men". It goes on to examine the allegations that India and the US are aggravating the trouble in Balochistan so that, at some stage, this natural-resources-rich area can be severed from Pakistan.
The military-led regime has caused new tensions through its unwise reliance on brute force. It is helped by some political elements, mostly from the Punjab, who sell their loyalties cheap. With support from the good old establishment and these power brokers General Pervez Musharraf has found it easy to run Pakistan by his ’my way, or highway’ axiom. The stunted development of political institutions means that Pakistan lacks a national spirit and ethnic, sectarian, group and other parochial considerations have become decisive.
General Musharraf has been able to exploit these weaknesses of the ’enemy’. He has put together a mock-parliament dominated by a king’s party consisting of those paroled by his National Accountability Bureau and other corrupt elements who had been equally demonstrative in their support for Nawaz Sharif. He is also accused of using monetary inducement and rigging to curry an understanding with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal - that pretends to be his nemesis.
While such tactics have allowed the regime to remain in power its legitimacy is bound to be questionable. Co-opting people with a shady reputation is seen widely as patronising corruption. No wonder, Pakistan has become a laughing stock.
The General’ underlings are now asking for more. The chronic lack of quorum in the National Assembly has reportedly forced the regime to bribe its MNAs afresh. It is said the MNA attending 60 percent of the sessions are being offered Rs 2.5 million. Those attending 75 percent of the sessions are also promised a free foreign trip to the country of their choice. The incentive scheme is likely to cost a billion rupees (just to keep the parliament in quorum).
The Baloch defiance of the regime started in the name of provincial autonomy promised in the constitution. Poor governance has since been providing the rebels new issues to highlight. The infamous Sui rape case is just one example of this. First the victim was denied early access to her family, medical assistance of her choice and a transparent inquiry. When finally a High Court judge was commissioned to gather and examine the evidence, the ’strongman’ exonerated the principal accused in a public statement.
Having bombed and shelled civilians from the air, the regime has offered some palliatives. But the Baloch leaders demand enforcement of the 1973 consensus constitution or else a new constitution.
The last sentence of The Economist column reads: "Without restoring real democracy, Mr Musharraf may find that the gifts he can afford to give Balochistan are never quite enough." It is high time that the entire nation stood up for democracy. All political parties with a genuine vote-bank must come together to make the regime bend before the constitution.
The writer is a former secretary of the Interior Ministry
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-5-2005_pg3_5 |
