Why Pakistan Is A Mess

Today, February 18, is a very important day in the history of Pakistan. After a gap of several years, Pakistan is holding what the world hopes will be a free and fair election. There are a lot of doubters, though, including some of the very political parties taking part in the voting exercise. It is very apparent that President Musharaf is desperately anxious to hang to the power he grabbed in a military coup seven years ago. He would love to rig the polls - just like he did the farcical referendum a couple of years ago – when the Pakistani people ‘overwhelmingly’ voted faith in his leadership. He may find that difficult this time, since the eyes of the world are on him. Whichever way it turns out, Pakistan is going to remain in a state of turmoil for quite some time to come.

To understand why Pakistan is such a mess, it is important to know a bit about its history. Pakistan – and independent India – came into existence in 1947, at a time when the world was still recovering from the trauma of World War II. That Pakistan even exists today is due mainly to the obstinacy of one man, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Mahatma Gandhi, who fought so long and hard for his country’s independence, was bitterly opposed to the partition of India – to the extent that he tried to persuade India’s Congress party to nominate Jinnah as the first Prime Minister of an undivided India. Jinnah mainly represented the Muslim minority, but if that was what it took, Gandhi was willing to accept it. Unfortunately, his chief lieutenant, Jawaharlal Nehru, was not. With both Nehru and Jinnah holding firm, the partition of India became inevitable.

Some would argue that Pakistan came into being almost under false pretences. By 1947, Jinnah was a dying man. Although he set himself up as a champion of India’s Muslims, Jinnah was no ascetic fundamentalist. In fact, he was fond of the good life, particularly fine wine and Havana cigars – and he was a chain smoker. By 1948, Jinnah’s lungs collapsed under the combined assault of TB and cancer. The subterfuge lay in keeping Jinnah’s ill health a closely-guarded secret. Many historians believe that, if Lord Mountbatten had known Jinnah was dying, he might have stopped the partition. It was too late, however. The problem was, for Pakistan, it was too early. The nation was not ready for a life without Jinnah. Under him, civil institutions were being set up; and the world was waking up to the reality of Pakistan. But, 1948 proved ruthless. It snatched Jinnah from Pakistan. Suddenly, there was no direction. The people of Pakistan felt themselves orphaned.

Many outsiders have wondered why, coming from the same stock, India and Pakistan chose such different political paths. In spite of its numerous flaws, India has always been a fully functioning democracy. Pakistan has intermittently flirted with democracy, but it never took firm root in that country. Both India and Pakistan were mired in a feudal past, with Maharajas and powerful landlords holding almost unlimited power over the general populace. However, while India has learnt to come to grips with it, Pakistan remains a largely feudal society. One year after gaining independence, Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan – who tried to bring in the concept of true democracy - was shot dead in Rawalpindi. The fundamental pillars of democracy never took roots. To compound the problem, the feudal lords worked overtime to subvert democracy and hang on to their power. Pakistan’s next turning point came in 1958, when the country’s only stable institution, the army, stepped in, scrapping the constitution, cracking down on politicians and turning the country into a military state under Gen Ayub Khan. That was the first coup. More were to follow.

The year 1968 was one of global rebellion. It was the year of Prague spring. It was the high point of the feverish 60s. In such a charged atmosphere, Ayub Khan’s regime made the fatal mistake of issuing an ordinance that empowered the government to withdraw students’ degrees. The result was that Pakistan’s streets were jammed with protesting students; who were soon joined by workers, peasants and unions. In similar situations, some nations would have turned towards socialism, but Pakistan did not. However, it did hasten the end of General Ayub, a year later.

Ayub was replaced by another general, Yahya Khan, but the dynamics of Pakistan’s politics changed. People began to talk about equality. In this charged atmosphere emerged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (father of Benazir Bhutto), a feudal lord who promised change; and a return to democracy. He talked of exploitation, egalitarianism; and swept the nation’s imagination but, in reality, changed very little. Bhutto’s attempts at democracy boomeranged on him. Until then, Pakistan was made of two wings, East and West Pakistan, on either side of India. Eastern Pakistan had been carved out of the huge Indian state of Bengal; and its people were, ethnically and culturally, quite different from the Punjabis and Sindhis of West Pakistan. Also, it had a larger population. When Bhutto held a general election, East Pakistan’s Awami League, headed by Sheik Mujibur Rehman got more votes. Bhutto’s professed love of democracy did not extend to giving up power. He annulled the elections. The East Pakistani’s were understandably furious; and started a rebellion. India cleverly exploited the situation and ‘liberated’ East Pakistan, giving rise to the new nation of Bangladesh. Now it had only one Pakistan to worry about.

The loss of East Pakistan, naturally, did not go down well with the people of West Pakistan. Bhutto’s popularity got seriously eroded. The Pakistan army, ever ready to step in and take control, engineered another military coup and overthrew Bhutto, eventually hanging him in 1978. The new military strongman, Gen Zia-ul Haq made himself the President and started the "Islamization" of Pakistan.

In the 80s, with the Soviets rolling into Afghanistan, the balance of power changed in the region and Pakistan became a front in America’s fight against communism. As scores rushed to Pakistan to join the mujahedeen, Zia’s regime lived off doles from Washington. Then fate intervened. Gen Zia’s plane exploded and Pakistan became the first Muslim country to have a woman as its democratically-elected head of state. It was the beginning of Benazir Bhutto’s era.

Benazir did not have it easy. Within a year of taking over, she had two challengers: Nawaz Sharif and corruption. It did not help that her own husband was perceived as the most corrupt of them all. Benazir was sacked; and Nawaz Sharif was elected. Sharif’s brief reign was no role model of good governance either. Soon, he was sacked. Benazir was elected again and sacked again. Sharif was elected again. It seemed like the country was playing a game of musical chairs.

Sharif soon realized that his popularity was slipping; and that he needed a diversion. And what better way than to explode an atomic bomb. Pakistan went nuclear in 1998. But even the bomb could not save Nawaz, who was deposed by Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999. The good General became a master at playing up America’s worries about terrorism; and managed to milk George Bush for $30 billion – only a miniscule proportion of which was actually utilized for his supposed war on terror.

The year 2008 is the beginning of another decade for Pakistan. It could well be the biggest turning point in the nation’s history. This year all the ghosts of the past are back with a vengeance. Benazir has been assassinated and the country is in turmoil once again. Pakistan is again fighting America’s war; the people are again fed up with an army ruler; the country is again crying for democracy. Pakistan seems to be doomed to repeat its tragic history.