General Petraeus’s extramarital affair is no match to General Yahya’s uncountable similar affairs. Both gentlemen generals fell from grace though for different reasons: Petraeus’s fall is because of his affair, which is taken in the US as the most heinous offence, second only to tax evasion. Yahya was removed from the posts of commander-in-chief and chief martial law administrator because of the agony that the Pakistani army faced at the hands of the Indian army during the war of 1971. He got no punishment for his love affairs. His extra-official deeds did not become scandals either. The Pakistani media, the sacred entities and the rich, despite being deeply religious, take extramarital affairs as a routine affair. Though we have laws against extramarital affairs, they are not applied because they are harsh and the offenders are usually powerful people.
Inference: the Pakistani rich, bureaucrats, generals, judges and others enjoying authority and prosperity do not commit crimes of any kind, and this is empirical as this is established by the evidence that hardly any one of them has ever been punished. All of them except the rich have been one way or the other declared sacred in the constitution. The rich are above the constitution because their patrons are the constitutionally declared sacred souls. In most cases, the rich are the initiators of this mutually fruitful relationship.
Yahya Khan was punished because he was at the helm of affairs when Pakistan disintegrated. The poor fellow who used his days and nights while living in a world of ultimate pleasures had no hand in the disintegration, which was the outcome of the ‘rebellion’ of the slaves against their sacred masters from West Pakistan. Imagine the intensity of isolation Pakistan faced in those difficult times. The whole world openly supported the ‘rebellion’ and helped the rebels win their freedom from Pakistan. This had to happen. Yahya was simply made a scapegoat.
Our constitutionally declared sacred lot have been until recently bosom friends. They are still the same in spite of their apparently unfriendly statements. These statements define the limits of the authority of the judicial and military institutions and they have one thing in common: they stress the rule of law notion, the rule of law that is buried when it tries to touch the noses of the sacred entities and the others who are above the law, and which rises from the grave only when handling of common people and politicians is needed. Inference: the common people and the politicians are the only crime-doers in Pakistan. They are harassed, abducted, tortured, condemned, caught, jailed, tried — and sometimes not even tried — and punished for the sake of upholding the rule of law.
The developments of the past half decade that saw the politicians surviving and stabilising their constitutional authority have created shock waves that have cracked the rock-like sacredness that the constitution has bestowed on these particular sections of Pakistani society. The shock waves have also jolted the rich. The rich and the bureaucrats are fighting back using the instrument of lawlessness in general everywhere, and in particular, in Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ‘no law’ observing Taliban and other mercenaries are their human weapons. No target killer, Taliban or extortionist has so far been punished. Many of them are caught but they are ultimately released. The inference is that either the innocents only are caught, or there is oneness among all — the criminals, the bureaucrats, the investigating and intelligence agencies and the other sacred entities. The sacred entities are doing their part of the job also by issuing aggressive statements against each other, which are meant to achieve three more objectives; first, to remain in the limelight; second, to show that they are still the ultimate powers, and the third, to undermine the achievements of the ongoing political process. All this is being done out of frustration, because never before were the sacred ones challenged in the manner as is happening today. However, whatever horrible is happening around us is a reflection of ‘the dying kicks of the old order’.
The statements of the two chiefs notwithstanding, the good omen is that there is strong dissent in favour of democracy within the two sacred lots. Moreover, today all political forces are united on a national agenda. Come what may, they will continue to protect and develop democratic procedures. Their determination is the answer to the ‘dying kicks of an ending order’. Sooner rather than later the constitutional discrimination will end, and all Pakistanis no matter which institution, party, class, religion and clan they belong to, will be equal before the law. It has started happening. As said by Mr Zardari recently, “Though slowly, people’s power, parliament, is gaining respect from all quarters.” The inside story of Pakistan nearly ends here.
Much more will depend on the outside story related to the developments in the region. Our strategists are predicting the return of the Taliban as the rulers of Afghanistan. It will not happen; the Taliban were our creation and they were never popular with a vast majority of Afghans. What will happen is that Afghanistan will become stable and democratic and Pakistan, if it does not change course, will remain attached to a devastating obsession: strategic depth. Nations that are short of internal harmony, natural resources, intellect and friends do not have much time to waste. Pakistan has reached a point where even seconds count. On the economic front, we cannot move an inch forward without the help of the Americans. Agreed, we can survive on our own, but that will mean living with the devastating obsessions and the bare minimum; and given our population and capacity, in the Stone Age.
The Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act is our guide. It not only draws a perfect picture of our social conditions, it also gives perfect solutions. Sticking to the counsel given in this law would mean that we would be finally on the right path: Adopting it half-heartedly, as we are doing presently, means that we are interested in petty institutional interests and not in the national interest. The Americans are going to stay for a long time in Afghanistan even after the majority of their troops leave by 2014. The first phase of their stay has been for bringing about stability and building of institutions and infrastructure, and the second phase will involve expansion of their economic and strategic interests in the region. In this regard they have taken into confidence Russia, the Central Asian States, China, India, and even Iran. India with its huge presence is already in Afghanistan; others will follow suit. India has been on the right course since independence; Afghanistan is certain to do the same. What does Pakistan need to do?
That we were a part of the American bloc was not particular to us only; given its economic and military might, the US had/has a great influence, good or bad, over the entire world. In our case its influence has been terribly bad since 1979. We stand ruined as far as the economy, social bonds and intellect are concerned. Yet, it is in our interest to change course, as the Americans did. Let us take a 180-degree turn to be on the right course of history. Let us commit ourselves to end our current isolation, which is much more terrible than the one that we had faced in 1971. Let us not repeat history. Let us strengthen democracy and make a resolve to eliminate all kinds of militants to engage with the region and beyond.
The writer is a freelance columnist