Impeach the system

NOW that he has made his exit, Pervez Musharraf will surely fade into history. In Pakistan’s chequered 61 years, the ouster of all-powerful rulers from the top seat is nothing new.

These are games that the hard-core establishment has often played and will continue to play unless civil society asserts itself, and mainstream political parties transform themselves into well-organised, truly democratic and participatory organisations.

Remember what happened to powerful and ‘indispensable’ rulers like Ghulam Muhammad, Iskander Mirza, Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq? They were thrown out ignominiously by the very establishment which had created them once they had served its purpose. With their departure nothing changed, and the mantra of the powerful vested interest remained ‘the king is dead. Long live the king!’

Currently, media hype has been created that with Musharraf’s departure everything will change in Pakistan. Of course his ouster from Army House will bring an end to the shenanigans he was indulging in, and will provide an opportunity to politicians to strengthen the process of change, presuming they want it. But should that be enough?

Starting from March 9, 2007 we have had indications that there is a strong desire at all levels that there should be basic changes in the country’s governance. But with Pervez Musharraf’s departure from the scene, we should not be lulled into believing that everything will be fine in the state of Denmark. Now our focus should be on impeaching the system. The system is like the proverbial dog in the village well. It will not be cleansed if we take out a few pots of water. We have to throw out the dog itself.

In order to elaborate this point, let us take three basic areas of our national life i.e. the structure and functioning of political parties, the administration of justice, and our economy, and see what needs to be done.

First, let’s take our electoral system. Most of our political parties are at best personalised institutions. Quite a few of them have been converted into family dynasties, where the mantle is passed from one generation to the next. Even if internal elections are held, they are nothing but a farce as the top leadership remains the same. A common ailment afflicts them all.

No party member dares to challenge the word of the leader, no internal debates are encouraged, and there is no merit-based system of promotion from the junior rungs of the ladder to the top echelons. The parties do not have any active think tanks to try and find solutions to problems like sustainable growth, social development, housing, health and education.

The MNAs and MPAs, once elected, are conspicuous by their absence from their constituencies. Instead of maintaining an active presence in their area, they are found mostly in Islamabad (when not travelling abroad). Most constituencies are family fiefdoms with members of the same family elected at the tehsil, district, provincial and federal levels, year after year. They resist any fundamental change that may threaten their power base. It is not surprising that they are supporters of the status quo, because it ensures their constant hold on power, and provides them with pelf and privilege.

Next, take the judiciary and the administration of criminal justice. The lawyers’ movement is commendable and we have hardly witnessed anything like this previously in Pakistan. Their cause — the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law — is lofty and noble.

However, hardly anyone is striving for the reform of the entire judicial system. No one is addressing the ailments that are hampering the process of the delivery of justice. No one is talking about how judges are appointed, how cases are fixed, how much money is to be paid to the staff at every step, why abnormal delays take place and whether the poor can afford to seek justice under the present system.

The current state of lower courts (the incapability of the civil judges to decide cases, the conditions in which they are forced to work, the paucity of staff and furniture) paints a dismal picture, but no one is paying attention.

This is not due to the shortage of money: $350m were spent on the Access to Justice programme but with what result? What is lacking is political will and priorities. Look at anything. It is in a shambles. After the much-touted devolution plan, billions were spent on police reforms. But has anything changed? Police stations, jails, the condition of the under-trial prisoners, all remain the same.

Last but not least, take a look at the economy. It is an admitted fact that we are in dire circumstances and millions of people are facing the scourge of runaway inflation and rising unemployment. This is not because Pakistan is a resource-poor country.The basic problem is that our conventional planning, development and distribution mould is deeply flawed. It has not worked in the past and will not work in the future. We have to impeach the current paradigm and look for alternative models which have worked in many countries and changed the lives of the people in one generation.

In Pakistan, governments come and governments go, but the economic managers keep on prescribing the same old policies which help the rich. During the last seven years as well, the beneficiaries of ‘growth’ have been banks, automobiles manufacturers, multinational companies (mainly in the IT and oil sector) and stock brokers while the poor have perished. Now they can’t afford even two square meals a day.

We must fix responsibility for this fiasco and Pervez Musharraf’s economic team must be put in the dock and asked to explain why policies advocated by them have consistently failed. Simultaneously there is need to change our fiscal policies, resource allocation and budget-making process if we want to bring about any improvement in the lives of the people.

Owing to continuous political instability caused by intermittent military interventions, the state of Pakistan has reached a stage where it cannot perform even its core functions as very aptly pointed out by columnist Ayesha Siddiqa in this paper recently. It is high time we realise that merely a change of face is not going to work.

Our ruling class must redefine the role of the state and the first priority must be to make its writ effective. At the same time, civil society must exert pressure on those who are in a position of power and make them accountable on a continuing basis.

Courtesy Daily Dawn Lahore / By Tasneem Siddiqui