Pakistan to celebrate 63rd Independence Day

By Qamar Zaman Kaira

Another Day of Independence has dawned seeking from us the account of 63 years of the emergence of Pakistan, achieved after the largest exodus of the world when 100 million people crossed borders. Still a greater price was the bloodbath of some 150,000 men, women and children who were killed in addition to looting and arson that shook the entire humanity. Despite the unfortunate that befell, the people arriving here felt no despondency because they had a hope kindled in their hearts by founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah who declared in an unequivocal terms that they would not remain like this for ever. They drew inspirations from what the Quaid-e-Azam told the first Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947 at Karachi upon being elected its first president. “…we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor… no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, he is first, second and last citizen of this state with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there is no end to progress you will make”, was the first and the foremost message of the father of the nation.

This was the Quaid’s policy, a Magna Carta for the new country that he envisioned would be a state guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities, civil liberties and socio-economic justice. He envisaged Pakistan as a state that will ensure “... we are all citizens, equal citizens of one state …we should keep that in front of us our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.... I shall be guided by the principles of justice and fair play without ... My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and cooperation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world”.

First blow: But all the succeeding governments rejected with contempt the vision of the Quaid and started indulging themselves in practices alien to democracy and other high national ideals. The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by governor-general Ghulam Muhammad in October 24, 1954 at a time when all constitutional disputes had been resolved and the assembly was to pass the first constitution within a week or so, was the first blow dealt to the state that laid the foundation of cessation. Then Commander-in-Chief Gen Ayub Khan supported the move and was later taken in the new cabinet along with Lt Gen Iskandar Mirza paving the way for military intervention.

Provinces were also dissolved to create a One-Unit the same month laying the foundation of an unending conflict of the provincial autonomy issue. Then came military regimes of Gen Ayub Khan, Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf and they consumed 33 of the 63 years of the national life leaving behind a trail of tragic events including the fall of Dhaka, introduction of drugs (heroin) and Kalashnikov culture and the rise of terrorism and extremism on the heels of sectarian violence.

These dictators weakened political process and added to instability of the country. But a majority of those in politics those days and even today, as Gen Zia once said followed all dictators wagging their tails. They were in Liaqat Ali Khan’s Muslim League, Iskandar Mirza’s Republican Party, Gen Ayub’s Convention League, Gen Zia’s PML formed under Muhammad Khan Junejo after non-party elections and finally the PML-Q as founded by Gen Pervez Musharraf. Incidentally, all dictators had (mis)used the name Pakistan Muslim League that always had several factions at one time and all claimed to be “true followers of the Quaid-e-Azam”.

By contrast, the Bhuttos sacrificed one member of the family after the other because they stood by the Pakistan People’s Party’s founding principles. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was put to the gallows in what is generally believed to be a judicial murder. Shahnawaz Bhutto was poisoned to death in France and Murtaza Bhutto was killed in the middle of a Karachi Road. And finally, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi. No family across the world still matches the degree of sacrifices that the Bhutto family has offered for Pakistan and its teeming millions of the people.

Rise of militancy: No one can dispute that religious parties seats in the National Assembly ranged between six to a maximum of 10 and this is reflected in all elections from 1970 to 1997. But what transpired in 2002 elections may be an electoral wonder as the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the alliance of six religious parties, won more than 60 seats in the National Assembly and won enough seats to form their governments in NWFP and Balochistan bordering Afghanistan. The fact that the same religious parties were once again relegated to their original electoral strength in 2008 elections, shows that some handiwork by the Musharraf regime enlarged them beyond their genuine electoral share. Evidence is available that the MMA governments in the two provinces had patronized militants and the recent arrest of an MMA MNA on the charge of abducting and killing a Polish engineer augments the claim of their contribution to the rise in terrorism and militancy.

Hope at last: However, there is also no reason to be disappointed either although a huge mountain of problems accumulated in more than six decades has been placed ahead of the PPP-led coalition government. The people, after a very long time, now have a hope for the future because an elected parliament is in place and is fully functional; it has the singular credit of not indemnifying the acts of a dictator although all the previous assemblies granted indemnity to autocratic rules. Besides, a dynamic judiciary is there and its historic judgment on July 31 also goes in history as the first verdict against a dictator in 62 years.

Last but not the least, a determined PPP government is there with all its commitment to a polity bedecked with a democratic order, political conciliation, constitutionalism, strengthening of national institutions and involving them in all national affairs. One example of the politics of reconciliation is a draft 18th Amendment that was mutually agreed between the PPP and the PML-N in implementing the Charter of Democracy, has already been seized by a parliamentary committee for the preparation of the amendment to do away with the president’s power to dissolve the National Assembly and removing other constitutional imbalances.

The will to resolve certain national issues, as shown by the government, also adds to this faith. For example, the government reflected its determination to curb the twin menace of terrorism and militancy, that was posing a potential threat to the very existence of the country. But our armed forces have not only succeeded in accomplishing a major part of the duty but also started the process of rehabilitation of hundreds of thousands of the displaced persons sending them back home. The almost eradication of this menace within four months is by no mean a small achievement.

Second, a concerted effort is underway to end power shortage, a major national issue, by the end of the year. Electricity shortage was first felt in 1981 and Gen Zia’s regime failed to take notice in the remaining seven years of his autocratic rule. This phenomenon lingered on for another six years before the second government of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto entered into agreements with independent power producers and by the end of 1996, Pakistan had started generating surplus electricity and at one time India was talking with Islamabad for import of Pakistani electricity. Then came the second Nawaz Sharif government and the eight-year dictatorial regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf and, unfortunately, not a single kilowatt of electricity was added to the system in the next 12 years. This problem also became part of the PPP government’s agenda and there seems no unwillingness on its part to achieve the goal.