An Opportunity For Pakistanis To Begin Rebuilding The Nation
The Age
Wednesday August 20, 2008
The departure of Pervez Musharraf provides complications and hope.
THERE was dancing in the streets of Islamabad when the news of Pervez Musharraf's resignation became public. There are many justifiable reasons to celebrate the end of this unpopular president and former army chief with a whirl or two, not least because he had become a divisive element in a society so desperately in need of unity.But it would be unwise to herald Musharraf's resignation as anything more than the first, if significant, step in what will be a long and fraught process of consolidating political and economic stability in this nuclear-armed country of 165 million people.Of greatest concern is that Musharraf's departure may inflame the simmering tensions that have weakened the fragile ruling coalition since the national elections in February.While Musharraf remained in office the feuding partners in the alliance, the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), set aside their differences to focus on arguing about what to do about their common foe. Now that their enemy has been vanquished, these traditional rivals will now have to do what they were elected to do and that is govern the country.The critical question is: can they do it? There is much at stake if this opportunistic and complex friendship dissolves into the selfish pursuit of their own political interests ahead of the next election in which they are likely to compete against each other. And the internal squabbles of the coalition are only magnified by the army's mistrust of it.Should it fail as a government, so may this fledgling democracy. While new army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has disavowed playing any role in domestic politics, it is worth remembering that Pakistan has been governed by the military for most of its short, turbulent existence.Both the PPP leader, Asif Ali Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League, are more aware of this than most, given that Sharif and Zardari's wife, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated while campaigning in December, were deposed by military coups when they were prime ministers - Sharif, as it happens, by Musharraf. Nor is it a coincidence that Musharraf resigned only when it became clear he had lost the support of the army.While the removal of a symbol of the army takeovers that have cursed the country since its inception can be rightfully regarded as a success by the Government, it is still hard to be optimistic about the future. Cracks have already appeared in this unnatural coalition. Since it was formed, the alliance has been consumed by infighting and came close to fracturing in May when it could not agree on whether to impeach Musharraf or to reinstate the senior judges he ejected in November.But with Musharraf out of the way, Zardari and Sharif will now need to demonstrate they can work together by firstly restoring the judges, which, in addition to the obvious implications for judicial independence, would be a highly symbolic declaration of unity on an issue that is close to the hearts of most Pakistanis.But like many things in Pakistan, this will be easier said than done. Sharif has been pushing hard for recalling the judges, but Zardari has been strongly resistant for fear that, if reinstated, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry would call him to account on corruption charges that had been previously withdrawn to enable his return to the country in the run-up to the elections. Elsewhere, the coalition urgently needs to focus its attention on tackling the country's economic turmoil. Spiralling inflation and food prices, a widening trade gap, serious water and electricity shortages and widespread poverty continue to afflict the country. Investors have fled. Equally important, particularly for the stability of the region, will be how the coalition (and the army) battles rising Islamist militancy in the north-western border provinces from which the Taliban launches attacks into Afghanistan and provides shelter for al-Qaeda. Musharraf's duplicitous policies in this area have only increased pressure on the civilian Government to make some headway in dealing with what has developed into a potentially disastrous internal problem.When the dancing stops and the cheering subsides, Pakistanis will be left asking themselves the unsettling question of whether Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are the people they can rely on to provide the leadership the country needs.Both are infused with the stench of corruption - Zardari was widely referred to as Mr 10% - and Sharif and Benazir Bhutto were overthrown by the military on charges of corruption and incompetence. Now is not the time for another weak and corrupt government that could tempt the military to intervene as it has done so often in the past.There are many challenges ahead for the people of Pakistan, but the transition to a sustainable democracy is perhaps the greatest. Despite the reservations about the stability and suitability of the present Government, Musharraf's exit does present it with an opportunity to begin rebuilding the nation and its frayed institutions. The challenge for the international community is to provide the Government with the support it needs to make this happen.Graham Reilly is a senior writer.
© 2008 The Age