Democracy Vs. Dictatorship in Pakistan

Democracy over dictatorship
By Manjeet Kripalani
International Herald Tribune, May 16, 2007

Pakistan is in turmoil. A lawyers' protest against the unconstitutional dismissal of the chief justice of the Supreme Court in March has become a nationwide movement. The country's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, must be afraid.

Brutal clashes between political goon squads sponsored by the military and supporters of the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry - who is known for his willingness to challenge the government - flared in Karachi over the weekend, set off by the arrival of the suspended judge, who had come to Karachi to address lawyers of the Sindh High Court Bar Association. More than 40 people were killed. Then, on Monday, Syed Hammad Raza, a senior official of the Pakistani Supreme Court who was close to Chaudhry, was shot to death by unidentified gunmen.

Amid fears that Musharraf would follow in the footsteps of previous dictators and declare martial law, the president made an appearance behind bullet-proof glass at a public rally in Islamabad, reiterating that that was not his intention.

In the eight years that he has ruled Pakistan, mostly as a key ally in Washington's "war on terror," there has not been such a sustained anti-Musharraf, anti-military movement.

Pakistanis have much cause for dissatisfaction. Although American aid has helped increase the country's gross domestic product, it has not improved the life of ordinary people. A basic education is still not within reach of most Pakistanis, health care continues to deteriorate, the media is frequently intimidated and journalists are often killed, and several civil institutions - like the Education Ministry and even the Cricket Board - are headed by military officers.

But the latest protest movement is no ordinary swelling of public anger over the low quality of life. It is about something more lofty - the sanctity of the Constitution, which has been flagrantly abused by Musharraf's government.

It is a movement led by lawyers who are the kernel of Pakistan's middle class, professionals who form the intelligentsia throughout the country. Having watched the judiciary be manipulated for years by Musharraf, they have decided it's time to speak up.

Over the past two months, they have been joined by ordinary Pakistanis in urban centers from Rawalpindi to Hyderabad and even the more conservative city of Quetta in the west. As the determination to resist the army sets in, a nation-wide democracy movement could see the end of military rule in Pakistan by October, when elections are set to take place.

Pakistanis had been resigned to a repeat of the 2002 elections, in which Musharraf is said to have given himself 90 percent of the vote. The lawyers' movement has suddenly given hope that a real election is a possibility - and Pakistanis can elect their own leader.

But much depends on Washington. So far, except for a quote from a "U.S. official" deploring the violence that was published in the Pakistani newspaper The Dawn, there has been no official comment from the White House about the events of the weekend. It would be best if it stayed this way. It is vital that the United States recognize this as a legitimate and broad-based secular democracy movement in Pakistan - isn't this what America wants for the Muslim world?

The outcome in Pakistan could have a great effect in the entire region. And Washington would at last be able to expand its friendship, currently restricted to just one Pakistani - Musharraf - to the 160 million other Pakistanis who want to lead a life of dignity in their own country and on the international stage.

Manjeet Kripalani is the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.