When we in Pakistan could not find hope anywhere in the dismal situation prevalent in the country in 2007; when it felt that every where one looks, corruption, dishonesty, nepotism, is rampant; when one despaired of the ever-stretching Musharraf dicatatorship and wondered whether anyone was able to tell him what he was to his face; there came a thin ray of light at the end of the tunnel.The chief justice of Pakistan, despite having used his authority in the past to secure his son's future, got the courage and told Mr. Musharraf he will not do as he was dictated. A big NO to a dictator who had forgotton what dissent was. That kick-started the now historic lawyer's movement, with civil society, students, human rights activists, media, the ordinary Pakistanis asking, demanding, wanting a fair and free judiciary. They were beaten, tear-gassed, jailed, arrested, tortured, but the movement refused to die. It created a scenario where finally the exiled politicians were able to come back to the country, when Musharraf was finally forced to admit that he had made a mistake, when Musharraf fell by his own hand, when it was a common slogan in processions " Go, Musharraf, go". Finally, he had to go. The power of the people brought him down.
The movement did for the Pakistani people what nothing before could do. Suddenly, ordinary citizens, elite,educated or illiterate people, men, women, children woke up to the fact that we have a voice, we can choose to disagree, we have a right to speak our ming, we want a fair judicial system....Justice became everything for us....We fought against anything wrong that the Governments did....the students, the middle class of pakistan for the first time came out and took an interest in what was happening.... A revolution in the making....
There were great hopes that once democracy came, the justices would be restored but no, we got an extension of the Musharraf regime, albeit in a civilian garb. Now, we are once again at cross roads on the eve of another long march by a rejuvenated lawyers movement supported by all and sundry except few in the ruling class. The world has honored our movement and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary; He recieved the highly prestigious Freedom award by Harvard University, the third person to get it after an American justice and Nelson Mandela. Yet the rulers are blind to the fact that pakistan has changed. We are no more suffering masses...we have a voice now.
It is wrong to think that the lawyer's movement ahs not gained anything in its two years....It's achievements are many but the major being having created a revolution in Pakistan where we can atleast dare to speak up against injustice, where we want democracy and justice and equality in our country and not American stooges. We have changed and history ahs been written. Those in the ruling class, who cannot see the writing on the wall, fail to understand that no matter how hard and long the journey, truth prevails in the end because God is always on the side of the opressed, the weak, the downtrodden, the just, the people who have the courage to speak out against evil....The journey is along one, but we are at least going....Cheer up, Pakistan.....We, the people, are changing
You are equating restoration of Ifthiqar Choudhry with Democracy in Pakistan.The people who run the country in any Democracy owe it to the big fat cats of business.How the voting is maneuvered is the game of democracy.Zardari , may be 10% but he is elected President of your country and owes his chair to Big business of your country. They donot want Ifthiqar because it is connected to Steel privatization of your country.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know of Pakistan (mainly through the writings of Tariq Ali, Musharraf & bit of Dalrymple), the one major difference from India, in how its society shaped up after 47 is:
ReplyDeleteNo (or very little, insufficient) land reforms took place there. So "zameendars" and (exploited, powerless, mazloom) serfs still exist. No democratic govt tried for it either, cause they belonged to the elite class.
Common public has as much (or as little) voice under a musharraf as under a zardaari.
Pakistan shares this condition with almost all the nation-states which became independent in the post WWII period, when the colonial powers became too weak to remain qaabiz on them, with (partial) exception - india which was "lucky" to have got some nice guys at the top who thought about the common public as well, most notably Nehru (somebody from almost royal background, but with a desire, willingness, and power to good for the common public).
What these countries need is somebody from the elite class (cause nobody else can get to power) but with an urge to do good for common public. In other words, a miracle.
But they do happen. Nehru did, and very recently, Obama too.
@ captain johann
ReplyDeleteWell, you are right in this notion that the elites don't want him back. Zardari owes his lide to the most controversial legislation in Pakistan to date i.e. NRO, a gift from Musharraf. He fears that Justice Iftikhar, once restored, will give a verdict against NRO, as he had also previously stayed the ordinance. These elite people can't risk their necks and so advance their own agenda at the cost of people of Pakistan
@ humanist
ReplyDeleteIt's right that tribal elders, army generals, feudal lords, nawabs, have traditionally been very powerful in Pakistan's political scene.There has always been a status quo. That's what I wrote about in my post: that all this is slowly but surely changing. Now, people do dare to speak against these feudal lords. Recently, a woman rights activist in a famous talk show directly confronted a sitting minister( feudal lord) with proof of his deeds, knowing very well that she had no protection, but she has the courage and the media and the people support it
Each day, countless such stories break in newspapers, talking of things which were taboo before. I have seen young, educated university students, MBA's, bankers, spilling out on the street and facing every tough charge but standing firm on truth. Pakistan is slowly passing through a very important phase and it is indeed heart-warming. After all, it's the people who make a country, not its rulers. There's a verse in the Quran that Allah never changes the condition of a people unless they themselves struggle to change their condition. We are indeed trying to do this.
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ReplyDeleteas before, I hope (and pray for) what u ve hoped for, and as before I don't expect much ... :(
world is, as roy has put is, "hopelessly practical" :(.
None of the revolutions (i think) were brought by common public (if u see the leadership of the revolutions - it came from the elite / middle classes, not the oppressed masses), so ... not expect much. But i ll be so very happy to be proved wrong.