Daily Times

Many Pakistanis have been wistfully looking towards the Tahrir Square uprising and questioning why the same cannot be done in Pakistan. These uprisings have happened many times in Pakistan, whereby army dictators were forced out of power by popular movements of one kind or the other. However, the people did not experience any improvement in their living conditions or even civil liberties during democratic periods. By now they are disillusioned and do not know against whom they should rise.

The Ayub Khan era was not as long as Hosni Mubarak’s but the democratic rights in Egypt were almost the same as those in Pakistan of that time. Ayub Khan was secular and an enemy of the Jamaat-e-Islami like Hosni Mubarak was against the Muslim Brotherhood. Up until 1967, Ayub Khan had such a strong grip on Pakistan that it appeared as if his family would rule for generations just like a few months back, Hosni Mubarak’s son seemed all prepared to take over Egypt by the next elections. However, a small incident in Rawalpindi Polytechnic Institute, in which some students were killed, triggered such a popular movement that Ayub Khan was out in a few months. In a way that incident was not unique because the then Governor of West Pakistan, Amir Mohammad Khan, the Nawab of Kalabagh, was notorious for his repressive techniques. However, the masses were fed up with Ayub Khan’s rule and a mammoth movement was born in both parts of the country. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the leading forces in East and West Pakistan respectively.

The people who had seen massive crowds on both sides of the GT Road, from Rawalpindi to Multan — making a human chain of hundreds of miles — would agree that the scene was not any less impressive than what we have seen in Tahrir Square in the last few weeks. Just like in the Egyptian uprising, the political environment was so tolerant and non-discriminatory that several Ahmedis were elected to the provincial and national assemblies. In short, what we are seeing in Egypt now did happen in Pakistan some 40 years back.

Now, if we skip the details of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) against Ziaul Haq, which brought back the PPP and PML-N, and jump to the 2007 movement for an independent judiciary, we see another Tahrir Square-style uprising. Once again, the people turned the GT Road into a Tahrir Square as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s motorcade made its way to Faisalabad/Lahore from Rawalpindi in 24 hours. Once again, the people’s movement forced General Musharraf to quit power and run away from the country. But what did people get from the democracy they struggled for so many times?

In a way, the Egyptian uprising for democracy was not as mature as Pakistani democratic movements. Not only is the Egyptian movement leaderless, it also has illusions about the military. Egyptians are genuinely excited and feel proud of themselves because they may see a civilian rule for the first time in their entire history. After the end of the monarchy, Egypt has always been ruled by military men. Nonetheless, it seems that Egyptians are not very clear about the military as an institution. The Egyptian army is no different than its counterparts in the developing countries. After a peace treaty with Israel, the Egyptian army’s sole function was to maintain a corrupt and unjust economic system in which a small section of society owned most of the national wealth. As time goes by, the Egyptian military’s obstructive role will become clearer.

Like the post-Ayub era in Pakistan, the ideological struggle will be sharper in Egypt. Most likely, religious parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood will be able to dominate the ideological discourse because no secular group is as well organised as them. Eventually, the army and the ruling classes will try to use the religious right to maintain the status quo. The Egyptian right may not express itself through terrorism because the US will not preach international jihad like it did in Pakistan to defeat the Soviet Union. However, we should not forget that political Islam started rising during the Bhutto era when there was no Ziaul Haq and the US

Just like in Pakistan, the inner dynamics in the democratic space will help the religious right in Egypt. Theocracy will start affecting different state institutions, suffocating the enlightened and liberal elements. And, since the religious parties always stress secondary issues instead of core economic issues, the ruling classes and the military will happily accommodate them. The situation will be more or less like Pakistan.

In this backdrop, the Egyptians may become just as disillusioned as Pakistanis who have seen the rotation between military dictatorships and democratic spells. For them, neither has delivered much. Probably a potent political force that can bring economic justice has emerged neither in Pakistan nor in Egypt. However, such a force will come to the fore at any time in the future and one does not have to be pessimistic.

This analysis may give the wrong impression that the great Egyptian uprising for democratic rights is not being appreciated. As a matter of fact, the Egyptian emancipation had to start by getting rid of Hosni Mubarak-type dictators. However, the Egyptians have to go through several stages of history like Pakistan. The Egyptians have won a very tough battle but they and Pakistanis have still to win the final war for democracy and justice.

The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com