Daily Times

As a nation, we have never been as divided as we are today. The situation in Balochistan is not improving, a military operation in FATA has begun with the hope of bringing the area under state control and Karachi is in turmoil. There are irritants between the military and the government, and opportunists are, as ever, waiting to pounce on the opportunity to take advantage. When things looked like becoming a little calm on the political front after the North Waziristan operation, suddenly the Punjab government decides to shoot itself in the foot and, out of nowhere, the Lahore incident occurs. Imran Khan, who had earlier announced to cancel his Bahawalpur rally, suddenly cashed in on the adverse circumstances created by the Lahore incident and the rally has been reorganised. Sheikh Rashid loves a situation as bad as this one and for the Q-League leadership it is a God given opportunity. Dr Tahirul Qadri’s visit has the potential of a bigger drama than expected.
None of the political parties, leaders and members of the establishment ever become exhausted of claiming the highest pedestal of patriotism. The question is: are they really pursuing national interest or are they making noise for short-term gains? The number one problem in Pakistan is lack of leadership and, consequently, we have not been able to gel into one nation. Why is it that we have not been able to obtain a leader who can put us on the path of progress? There are many countries like Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc, who have gone way ahead of us.
During the 1950s, when we were finding our feet to establish a political system, our military assumed responsibility for steering the country out of crises, thus starting the saga of repeated military takeovers. These kept the country politically unstable, thus driving away any possibility of progress. It is true that our so-called civilian leaders could not provide a proper leader in the 1950s, which encouraged the military to fill the leadership gap. For the next 40 to 50 years our military top brass, on one pretext or another, continued to dominate the political landscape of Pakistan. Our political parties were not allowed to strengthen — instead deliberate attempts were made to either destroy them completely or weaken them.
Terms like ‘controlled democracy’ or ‘Islamic democracy’ were used to keep tight control over politics and political institutions while prolonging military rule. The leadership that we have today is not the outcome of a natural political process; they are propped up leaders. It is not that Pakistan does not have the material to provide national level leadership but the process that produces leaders was not allowed to flourish. This is one unpardonable sin that our military has committed. This could have been overlooked if, during various military takeovers, our military had provided the required national leadership. We lost half the country, Siachin during military rule and the decision to help the Afghans in the 1980s, and our policy of strategic depth and strategic assets is still haunting us. It has resulted in thousands of deaths and loss of billions of dollars — all this in the name of national interest.
Still, despite so much loss and pain, our military and political leaderships are still not on the same page as our national interest and how to achieve it. Our military is still a powerful institution and holds considerable political clout by various means to pressurise the government into falling in line with military policy thinking. Because of past experience, every government is in constant threat of military takeover. Some politicians, who have only gained in the past during military takeovers, are continuously on the lookout to either woo the military or pressurise the government for a military takeover. In the past, this trick has worked and they are still hopeful that their day of attaining power through the military may come again.
Pakistan in the 1970s was much more peaceful when compared to the Pakistan of today. Our march has been continuously digressive since then with military leadership taking decisions at the national level, decisions that have backfired. General Kayani did acknowledge that mistakes have been committed in the past by the military but this mere acknowledgement is not enough; it is time to act and ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. The perception is that the military still holds sway in matters relating to security policy and foreign policy. The military still has a lot of clout with some political leaders and some of these politicians make no secret of this.
In the present circumstances, it is very necessary to have political stability and all political parties should come together for the war on terror in North Waziristan. The military is fighting a war that will decide the future of the country. This is a war for our future generations; are they to have a stable, tolerant and progressive Pakistan as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam or the one where the authority of the gun is supreme? The national brain drain was never as high as it is today. Our minorities are insecure. Mosques and imambargahs have to be guarded by the police so that worshippers can say their prayers in peace — the problems are endless. This war will decide the future of our country. Victory, with total annihilation of the enemy, is the only option and this will take time and resolve while we face a backlash in our major cities. The start of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in FATA coincided with the Lahore incident.
Our political leaders as well as the media are both expending their energies in point scoring by using the Lahore incident. Political stability and unity were never as important as they are today. Imran Khan had cancelled his rally in Bahawalpur, Sheikh Rashid’s train march had also somewhat derailed and the landing of Dr Tahirul Qadri had lost steam but, after the Lahore incident, all three have been given a boost. Short-term gain is the order of the day. Political stability is the most important element in Pakistan today and would remain so in future. The impression that the PTI is being backed by the establishment must be dispelled. Similarly, Sheikh Rashid gives the impression of being the establishment’s man and the latest is that the Q-League has to jump in the fray to destabilise the government. All these elements are still hopeful that the army will intervene if circumstances can be created to the level that intervention becomes justifiable.
The PPP, from its experience of the 1990s, has shown maturity and has repeated that it will not destabilise the government. It is not in the interests of the military, political parties and the country that the military’s name is used either by political leaders or the media as a threat to step in. the army should categorically come out in the open to state that no such ambitions exist in the military any more so that the politicians who bank on the army’s rule either change their tactics or leave the field for good.
We talk of composite dialogue with India but we need to have a composite dialogue with ourselves. Political leadership, the military top brass and the media should sit together to decide on one top national interest: political stability and civilian rule. This is the only way forward. Timely elections again and again will naturally bring out leadership as political parties get stronger than individuals. As Mr Clinton said for the US, “It’s the economy, stupid.” For Pakistan, it is ‘political stability, stupid’. Good leadership and unity as a nation will give us political stability. Our military has made all the policies since General Zia’s takeover and the consequences are clear. It is time to change the formula that has not worked and let the civilian leadership form policies, which is a precondition for political stability.

The writer is a freelance columnist