Pakistani Politics on a roller coaster
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Nov. 3, 2007. It was my daughter Risa’s birthday party at an amusement park, and I had just stepped off a roller coaster ride when I got a frenzied phone call informing me military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf had imposed an emergency and declared the constitution to be in abeyance.
As I rushed from the party to the office of the television news channel I was heading, my head still spinning from the roller coaster, I was thinking of similar political turbulence we’d already witnessed. I was born during the military rule of Gen. Ayub Khan, saw Gen. Zia’s martial law in my youth and now, emergency rule in my daughter’s childhood.
Soon, Gen. Musharraf’s acts triggered struggle for the freedom of expression, resistance for the freedom of press and the movement for the restoration of the judiciary. I courted arrest along with fellow journalists and rights activists as widespread protests were held across the country.
In time, things changed. Musharraf left the country, the judiciary was restored, the ban on media was lifted. It was probably the first time in the country’s history where the judiciary and powerful military establishment had a standoff - initiating a shifting in the equilibrium of power.
Prior to this, the judiciary had always sided with the establishment by validating military rules, be it the overthrow of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was later hanged due to a ruling of Pakistan’s superior judiciary, and then the 1999 bloodless coup of Gen. Musharraf, who booted out Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and had him put behind bars.
Twelve years have passed and it seems the judiciary and military establishment are once again at loggerheads over a decision by which Gen. Musharraf has been declared a traitor for suspending the Constitution.
In a country which has half of its history tainted by martial laws, this is the first time a military ruler has been sentenced for treason, a crime which carries the death penalty in Pakistan.
It took six long years and over a hundred proceedings before a special court handed the death sentence to Gen. Musharraf.
Many believe that 18 ill-considered words in the verdict have robbed an otherwise historic judgment of its moral and legal sanctity.
Owais Tohid
The 77-year-old General, who is critically ill and has been in Dubai for years, failed to appear before the court and the verdict was given in absentia. The unprecedented decision has triggered anger from the military establishment and created an uproar in an already polarised political arena.
The military has openly sided with the former military ruler, bubbling with anger, and in a press statement said that the verdict was ‘received with a lot of pain and anguish.’ A general who had fought wars and defended the country for over four decades cannot be a traitor, the statement said.
Many believe that 18 ill-considered words in the verdict have robbed an otherwise historic judgment of its moral and legal sanctity. One of the judges stated that Gen. Musharraf be apprehended, and if found dead, his corpse be hanged for three days at the Islamabad roundabout-- triggering strong condemnations. The government wants the superior judiciary to take stern action against the judge.
The Musharraf verdict also came on the heels of a court judgment on the issue of the extension in the tenure of the current military chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. The Supreme Court didn’t approve the request of the Imran Khan-led government seeking a three-year extension, instead restricting it to six months under the condition that the issue be finally decided by the parliament.
The decision is seen by many as a setback for the government and an embarrassment for the military, because the institution wouldn’t want the issue wrestled with in the political arena.
And now the verdict against Gen. Musharraf rubs salt on recent wounds.
The judiciary is flexing muscles and the hospitalized general believes its verdict against him is victimisation. He has 30 days to appeal. The verdict against him is extremely unlikely to be implemented but it has symbolic value.
Imran Khan and his government are backing the army and former military ruler, while his arch rival political rivals hailed the verdict as a victory, stating: ‘Democracy is the best revenge.’
Khan, in his recent public appearance with army chief Gen. Bajwa, recited the words of Pakistan’s great poet, Allama Iqbal, roughly translating to: ‘Other worlds exist beyond the stars, more trials of love are still to come.’
Indeed, the trials are piling up for Mr.Khan.
He is locked in conflict with the opposition parties and has to still get their support for the extension of the army chief. Now he has to stay unharmed in the recent standoff between the judiciary and military establishment. It’s not going to be smooth sailing, as opposition parties believe the ‘Khan-Bajwa partnership’ is the biggest support pillar of the current regime and they want to see it weaken.
For many, the standoff between the judiciary and military establishment threatens to weaken the already fragile system. For others, it reflects a shift in power leading to further frictions and a tug of war.
It’s a chilly day in the capital city of Islamabad as conspiracy theories blow alongside the cold winds. One can only hope there are no further roller coasters ahead.
- Owais Tohid is a leading Pakistani journalist/writer. His email address is [email protected]. He tweets @OwaisTohid