The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr.Abdul Ruff

Already immersed in a nasty US-led war against Afghanistan's so-called Al-Qaeda, killing hundreds of Muslims every month, Pakistan has been undergoing a turbulent era for quite some time now. December 27, 2007 at military based Rawalpindi city seems to mark another culminating point for a country embroiled in a struggle between politicians for power, foreign interferences, religious groups legitimately demanding Islamic Pakistan and the so-called liberal "democratic" forces looking West which former premiers Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif led. Destiny of Pakistan is clouded amid the resultant ugly scenes in regions like Baluchistan, Sindh and Waziristan do not indicate that the Pakistani leaders are seriously thinking about Pakistan's future or Pakistan is heading for a great power status.

The country's political problems started earlier in the year, when movement started targeting on President Musharraf's exit and exuberated after Musharraf suspended the country's chief justice in March. The move outraged many in Pakistan and sparked violent street protests. Encouraged by media of India and West thousands of "pro-democracy" activists continued to demand ouster of Musharraf and were detained, judges believed to be hostile to the government were dismissed and Pakistan's independent television stations, which came into being under Musharraf, were forced off the air. Return of Benazir and Sharif added new dimensions to the turmoil in the country with poll dates declared. Abetted from outside interferences, Pakistan seems to be wedded to crimes, and Benazir was no stranger to violence either. Her father was hanged in 1979 following a military coup. The Islamic nation's first premier, Liaquat Ali Khan, was shot dead in 1951, and her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 for allegedly conspiring to kill a rival. All three died in Rawalpindi, the garrison city of the Punjabi-dominated army - a fact not lost on the thousands who gathered for Benazir's funeral at her ancestral home, where she was buried beside her father. Her return to Karachi in October after years of exile resulted in a suicide bombing attack which narrowly missed the 54-year-old former prime minister. But more than 130 people were killed in the bombing. The government blamed the attack on pro al-Qaeda "militants". Problem with Pakistan is that every political party and every media chief here talk favorable things that benefit them exclusively.

Emergency is bad for any civilized society, but political bickering resulted in emergency clamped in Pakistan. Upon lifting of emergency the stage seemed to have been set for the murder of Benazir. President Musharraf defended the emergency rule, citing political turmoil and rising terrorism in parts of the country. He said, "Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan and I cannot allow this country to commit suicide." Under intense internal and external pressure, Musharraf relinquished his military post in November to become a civilian president, withdrew emergency and promised to hold free and fair elections in 2009. Some have rightly warned that the integrity of the elections however is seriously compromised and not seen as representative of the will of the people, so this nation could face increased civil conflict and the military could become further entrenched in the nation's political life.

While President Musharraf lifted emergency rule and amended the country's constitution, some political observers believe the elections are now in jeopardy because of Bhutto's assassination-another sign that turmoil in Pakistan will continue during and after the poll. Under the circumstances, turbulence would increase as the elections scheduled in February approach. Critics say President Musharraf will try to keep a strong grip on power by manipulating the polls. "One certainly cannot sacrifice the stability and the development of the nation for the sake of your views on democracy or civil liberties or human rights," Musharraf said. Popular approval in the polls might discourage a hostile parliament and dissuade it from trying to impeach him for imposing emergency rule and amending the constitution. Most legal experts, however, reject Musharraf's assertions that amendments made during the six-week long state of emergency do not require approval from a new parliament.

Meanwhile, a new version of tragedy says, Benazir was attacked when she emerged from the sun-roof of her car after addressing the rally in the garrison city. Musharraf said during an interaction with reporters that Benazir had thrown caution to the wind and gone to Liaquat Bagh despite being alerted about threats to her life. The investigations are on and are trying hard to link the murder to the so-called "terrorists".

One could question Ms. Bhutto's political farsightedness too. As premier for two terms she did not do much for Pakistan quite sincerely and was keen only swindle the resources for future use. But cold-blooded murder of Benazir cannot be attributed to the end of an unsuccessful dynasty, though like any other dynasty, Bhutto family was interested more in their own welfare in the name of democracy. In politics Benazir, who keenly observed her father's political maneuverings up close, and always believed she was the chosen one and the fact is that she is the daughter of ZA Bhutto and everything else is secondary. Equally true is that Benazir Bhutto's record in power twice left ample room for skepticism. During her two stints in that job - first from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996 - she developed a reputation for acting imperiously and impulsively.

Fate of Benazir came crashing down as poll was fast approaching when possibly anti-Pakistani and anti-Islamic forces knocked her own once for all. After the first unsuccessful attack, Bhutto blamed President Musharraf for allowing extremists to hold the country hostage. "The political process is under attack, political leaders are being bombed, political activists are being bombed our country is in danger. Our country is in danger from the extremism that has spread under dictatorship," she said. Did she want to die for her party and children, when she violated the security rules? Or, for Pakistan?

Rejecting allegations of a security lapse, local authorities in Pakistan's Rawalpindi have blamed Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's personal security staff for not stopping her from exposing herself which allowed her assassins to target her. A detailed report regarding security arrangements made by the Rawalpindi city administration for Benazir during her December 27 rally in Liaquat Bagh had been submitted to President Musharraf. The report makes it clear that there have been no security lapses regarding the protection of Benazir Bhutto and held the personal security staff of Benazir, including her security advisor Rehman Malik and a police officer and other persons sitting in her bulletproof vehicle, responsible for not stopping her from coming out of the sun-roof to wave to her supporters.

Death of Benazir would by all means add a lot of more votes for her PPP party in the forthcoming poll. Benazir's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who now officially heads the PPP, like his mother did when she was abroad for many years, has begun his press meets and statement issuances from London. Elections, no matter when they are held are likely to favor PPP thanks to the sympathy waves across the country for Benazir's tragic end. Such sympathetic gestures are uncommon in the world. In India, for instance, the same sympathy waves worked for the Congress party at least twice, when former premiers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were killed one after another in similar situations. In fact the first round of poll was over with Congress party doing very badly when Rajiv Gandhi was murdered in a blast, but the results of the remaining rounds were overwhelmingly for the Congress party that saw Narasimha Rao becoming PM. Remember, during his tenure, considered as weak period, the Grand Babri Mosque was destroyed by the anti-Islamic forces operating in the country and he immediately pledged to the nation that the Mosque would be rebuilt at the same sight very soon. Still that " very soon" has not yet come for the government and nation.

Ethnic Pashtuns who live in areas bordering Afghanistan where they are the majority - mostly in the volatile northwest - also said the political balance must shift. "Pakistan cannot run the way they are running the federation: that Pakistan is Punjab and Punjab is Pakistan," said Asfandyar Wali Khan, president of the Awami National Party, Pakistan's largest Pashtun nationalist group. Still, few citizens even in the three minority provinces want outright separation from Pakistan. Memories of the country's last painful division are still fresh. There people just want more autonomy. It was under the presidency of Bhutto's father that eastern Pakistan splintered off into today's Bangladesh in the early 1970s after a humiliating military defeat by India. His charismatic rule during that time spawned the political legacy that carried over to his daughter. "If Baluchistan is given control over its resources and the province is allowed to participate in national affairs, and the province is given representation in the establishment and foreign services, this conflict will end," he said. Secessionist" sentiments remain strongest in Baluchistan, Pakistan's biggest and poorest province, where the army is deployed to fight ethnic rebels who often attack energy infrastructure - much of the natural gas piped into homes in Punjab originates here. Sardar Attaullah Mengal, chief of Baluchistan National Party, alleged the rebels were motivated by torture and abduction of young men by government forces. Mengal, a former chief minister of the province, said: "Punjab will have to give rights to Baluchistan and other provinces on the basis of equality if they have to live in Pakistan. Any other status lesser than that is not acceptable."