How to end military rule in Pakistan?

‘Only fair elections can end military rule’
Staff Report
Daily Times, October 14, 2006

ISLAMABAD: The army will continue to interfere in the political process with the help of its “handpicked” political parties until transparent elections are held and the political process is allowed to go on, concluded speakers at a seminar on Friday.

The seminar was held at the SAFMA auditorium on Friday, organised by the People’s Rights Movement (PRM).

Sherry Rehman, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) and central information secretary of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), said that the military’s continued domination of state affairs had created a dysfunctional political structure in which mainstream parties had been rendered ineffective. She said that the military had considerable influence over government officials even while civilian governments were in power. “The military rule has destroyed politics at grassroots level that existed in the past through students and trade unions, professional organisations and intellectual activities,” she said. She said that mainstream political parties would only be able to challenge the military rule if a popular mass movement was started against it. “The use of accountability as a political tool has also weakened the two-party system in Pakistan,” she said, adding that the government had forced leaders of the two most important political parties in the country with the threat of accountability cases against them. She said that these political parties were finding it difficult to organise mass movements in the absence of their leaders. She said that a neutral interim government was necessary for restoring democracy in the country.

“Fears such as the country descending into anarchy and nuclear chaos are unlikely and have been cultivated by the government to ensure its rule,” she said. She added that the government had weakened all state institutions, including the judiciary, to strengthen its grip on power.

Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, a renowned scholar and political analyst, said that all country’s military rulers had the full support of the US government, adding that the present government got the unconditional support of the West after the 9/11 attacks. “The military has supported American geo-strategic interests in the region and it is accountable to the US rather than its own people,” he said.

He said that President Pervez Musharraf had backtracked from virtually all commitments that he had made to the Pakistani people, adding that the government’s foreign policy was still based on “jingoistic nationalism” rather than the wishes of the people. He said that Western governments also shared the responsibility of the continued presence of the military in politics.

Asim Sajjad of the PRM said that the government of former military rulers Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq had also claimed of making economic progress, but it proved to be short lived. “The present growth in the country’s economy is based on a massive aid given by the US and international financial institutes,” he said.

He said that most economic experts had now acknowledged that Pakistan’s economic growth was “anti-poor” and inherently unstable as it was based on investment in unproductive sectors, such as real estate and the stock market.

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a security analyst, said that the military had a share in virtually every sector of the economy. She said that Fauji Foundation and Army Welfare Trust were the two biggest business corporations in the country. She said that the practice of allotting land and other assets to military officers could be traced back to the colonial period.

The seminar passed a resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of the military from politics, complete transparency of all public resources and a reduction in the defence budget.