:: Nitish Sengupta

Pakistan: Failed state caught in a quagmire

By Nitish Sengupta

Mar 13 : An Army Chief issuing an ultimatum to an elected President of a country is unheard-of anywhere in the world, but is accepted as a fact of life in Pakistan, given the history of that country. And yet all right thinking people, including all those who believe in Islam's true teachings, will tend to side with the Army for the simple reason that Zardari's government has committed an unpardonable crime by signing an accord with the Taliban in Swat Valley agreeing to the introduction of the Sharia in place of modern civil and criminal law. The Taliban can now blow up girls' schools and colleges, confine women inside their houses, punish women who are found outside not accompanied by male relatives and burn down music shops and television studios. They can turn to the handful of Hindu and Sikh families still living in the frontier region and drive them out of Pakistan, as already reported. Clearly, Mr Zardari, who made a comic attempt to turn his ceremonial presidentship into an executive office has proved a failure. Pakistan's economy is infinitely worse than in the time of Musharraf. In fact, many Pakistanis are regretting the good old Musharraf days. The 12,000-strong military force stationed in Swat Valley has proved ineffective or unwilling to keep the 3,000-strong Taliban forces there in check. Hence this shameful comedown. That this was done with the knowledge and approval of the US remote-controllers is also a possibility. The fact that this event coincided with the findings of a US researcher identifying the exact location where Osama bin Laden has been living supports this conjecture. Clearly the US forces need a cessation of hostilities in this region to move ahead for Osama's capture. The next few days will provide a clearer answer.

Pakistan today appears to face an all-out clash between two Frankensteins, both created by the Pakistan state - the Pakistan armed forces and the Taliban. The former was made a law into itself by the first dictator, General Ayub Khan, who proclaimed Martial law and took over sovereign power, replacing the civilian government in 1958. He ruled for 10 years, during which he established the Army as the main power centre in the state. Yahya Khan succeeded him and was responsible, along with Zulfikar Bhutto, for the break-up of Pakistan. Bhutto made an outward effort at restoring democracy but was a prisoner of his authoritarian ideas and paid for it when he was overthrown by yet another general, Zia-ul Haq, in 1978. All these military rulers made the armed forces the real authority in the country.

It was Zia who was responsible for creating the second Frankenstein in Pakistan - the mullah-dominated religious orthodoxy leading to the creation of the Taliban. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the all-out support the US gave to Zia in fighting the Soviets provided ideal condition, for the creation of the Taliban which took over Afghanistan as a military force. Afghanistan became Taliban-controlled territory under the overall leadership of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar until the US and Western intervention following 9/11. But after the Taliban retreated from Afghanistan to Pakistan it established complete control over vast areas of the North-West Frontier Province. It has beaten back all military efforts by the Pakistan Army to regain control over the tribal areas of the NWFP. As of now the Taliban has emerged as a clear power centre in addition to the Army. Between these two Frankensteins, Pakistan, as conceived by Jinnah, has become a casualty. Parliamentary democracy for practical purpose is a myth. The Army wields the real authority. Vast areas are under the control of Taliban elements who want to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state with hardline interpretations of their religion. This is different from the kind of Islam that the founders of Pakistan led by Jinnah had. One has only to recall Jinnah's speech before the Pakistan Constituent Assembly on 11th August, 1947 "that there was to be no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another and there was to be one fundamental principles that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state". Also, we may recall a warning given by Suhrawady in a speech before the Pakistan Constituent Assembly on March 6, 1948 that if Pakistan was not founded on the cooperative goodwill of all the nationals a time will come when the state will destroy itself and "that if Pakistan formed a Muslim state Islam will be destroyed in Pakistan". Perhaps today's Pakistan is not far from these predictions. The Taliban elements must be neutralised, as Musharraf tried to do when he sent the Army to the Lal Masjid. The only way the Army can be kept out of harm's way is for politicians to work together to make parliamentary democracy work successfully.

Nitish Sengupta, an academic and an author, is a former Member of Parliament and a former secretary to the Government of India