Emergence of a New Establishment
I connect the dots and emerges the picture. Many of my friends say to me that I usually blindly tow the PPP line, and my honest response to them is, I think of those things long before they become PPP line. And so is the recent unfolding of confrontation between PPP and N.
Pervaiz Musharraf and forth military rule has been a cancer for this country that has destroyed every single foundation of this nation state. In last few months, the military has decided to have a strategic retreat from the fore of power struggle to redeem and reconstruct its image and Pervez Musharraf is nothing but a lame duck who is desperately trying to make last ditch efforts to stay clinched to power. This situation has made obvious the fundamental battle for Pakistan.
If someone needs a proof of changing paradigm, there is enough to be seen. Just one incidence of release of Akhtar Mengal tells a whole lot about the state of influence of Musharraf, military and establishment. As a result of 40 years of struggle of anti status-quo forces, there exists no establishment in Pakistan at this point in time. 5 segments of old establishment are fighting tooth and nail to win the prize-slot of new establishment. First is fundamentalist jihadists, the likes of AlQaeeda, Taliban and JI. Second are anti-India, nazariya-e-Pakistan jihadists, who are not as extremists as the first quarter but have some out-of-this world sense of nationalism and are sympathetic to fundamentalist jihadists. Third is the traditional soldier class of Pakistan Army who thinks that it is their divine right to be Brahmins of Pakistan. Forth and somewhat similar is bureaucracies with its quest for stronghold. And last but certainly not the least are the quarters who want to create a new balance between different power centers in the country with political institutions and classes being the front-face of the system, just as any other democracy in the world. PPP seems to be at the forefront of this effort. And their realization that in order for this system to be stable, it has to include all stakeholders, is the prime motive behind their efforts of national reconciliation.
Their efforts to include N, ANP, JUI, MQM and others as stakeholders in this drive was aimed at this new establishment. However, here lie two fundamental dichotomies which have been the basic reason of failure of democracy in Pakistan. First is lack of trust on part of urban educated classes for the masses' representatives. This phenomena is not limited to Pakistan only but is worldwide. In functioning democracies, the society has been made to accept the mandate of the masses, no matter how bad the elite educated urban centers feel about it. For instance, in India despite middle classes' and urban centers' euphoria with India Shinning, it was poor of India who voted Congress in. Similarly in US, for all the hate of East Coast and West Coast for Republicans and Bush regime, they get elected by the heartland and issue of acceptance of peoples' mandate has been long resolved in these established countries where despite their detest for the popular mandate these urban classes are made to live with it. Not so in case of Pakistan. These classes for 60 years welcomed military dictators as their saviors against the "corrupt politicians" and when after Musharraf experiment, it became evident that military rule is no solution, they have pinned their hopes on a supra-parliamentary judiciary which will save them from the "self-perceived devil of poor peoples' representation".
Second dichotomy lies in our West. Unlike the popular belief in Pakistan that democracy in Pakistan failed because of West, in my humble opinion, our immediate West is more responsible for failure of democracy than the West. Is it a mere coincidence that the countries (Pakistan and Turkey) struggling the most with battle between democracy and tyranny lie at the border of Middle East and democratic world? A democratic, progressive and growing Pakistan will be the worst nightmare of crony capitalist system that exists in our Western neighborhood. Despite their sectarian differences, this will be one unifying factor between Iran and KSA. They will be much happy with tyrannies and Amir-ul-Mominiyats in this country than functional, institutional democracy.
The reservations of these two lobbies and his obligations to them (one being his vote bank, the other his backers) are the biggest hurdles in Nawaz Sharif's way to join this new establishment. These two jinx would have been real hard to break in ordinary circumstances, but the continuous struggle of people of Pakistan coupled with global geopolitical compulsions has given us an opportunity to achieve this. This will be no small achievement. However to achieve this, it requires involving all stakeholders and power centers and reconciliation and not confrontation is the way forward.
Pakistan is heading towards a new establishment. Let us hope we succeed. Like any achievement, this too will not be totally pure and there will remain a room for more progressive forces to take anti-establishment role left void by PPP becoming epicenter of newly formed establishment. This role cannot be taken up by amir-ul-mominiyator fundamentalism, neither can an Istaklali lawyer take this, nor will the Bhutto name be sufficient any more. Whether we succeed in forming the new establishment and if so who fills the anti-establishment vacuum, I have my fingers crossed.
Pervaiz Musharraf and forth military rule has been a cancer for this country that has destroyed every single foundation of this nation state. In last few months, the military has decided to have a strategic retreat from the fore of power struggle to redeem and reconstruct its image and Pervez Musharraf is nothing but a lame duck who is desperately trying to make last ditch efforts to stay clinched to power. This situation has made obvious the fundamental battle for Pakistan.
If someone needs a proof of changing paradigm, there is enough to be seen. Just one incidence of release of Akhtar Mengal tells a whole lot about the state of influence of Musharraf, military and establishment. As a result of 40 years of struggle of anti status-quo forces, there exists no establishment in Pakistan at this point in time. 5 segments of old establishment are fighting tooth and nail to win the prize-slot of new establishment. First is fundamentalist jihadists, the likes of AlQaeeda, Taliban and JI. Second are anti-India, nazariya-e-Pakistan jihadists, who are not as extremists as the first quarter but have some out-of-this world sense of nationalism and are sympathetic to fundamentalist jihadists. Third is the traditional soldier class of Pakistan Army who thinks that it is their divine right to be Brahmins of Pakistan. Forth and somewhat similar is bureaucracies with its quest for stronghold. And last but certainly not the least are the quarters who want to create a new balance between different power centers in the country with political institutions and classes being the front-face of the system, just as any other democracy in the world. PPP seems to be at the forefront of this effort. And their realization that in order for this system to be stable, it has to include all stakeholders, is the prime motive behind their efforts of national reconciliation.
Their efforts to include N, ANP, JUI, MQM and others as stakeholders in this drive was aimed at this new establishment. However, here lie two fundamental dichotomies which have been the basic reason of failure of democracy in Pakistan. First is lack of trust on part of urban educated classes for the masses' representatives. This phenomena is not limited to Pakistan only but is worldwide. In functioning democracies, the society has been made to accept the mandate of the masses, no matter how bad the elite educated urban centers feel about it. For instance, in India despite middle classes' and urban centers' euphoria with India Shinning, it was poor of India who voted Congress in. Similarly in US, for all the hate of East Coast and West Coast for Republicans and Bush regime, they get elected by the heartland and issue of acceptance of peoples' mandate has been long resolved in these established countries where despite their detest for the popular mandate these urban classes are made to live with it. Not so in case of Pakistan. These classes for 60 years welcomed military dictators as their saviors against the "corrupt politicians" and when after Musharraf experiment, it became evident that military rule is no solution, they have pinned their hopes on a supra-parliamentary judiciary which will save them from the "self-perceived devil of poor peoples' representation".
Second dichotomy lies in our West. Unlike the popular belief in Pakistan that democracy in Pakistan failed because of West, in my humble opinion, our immediate West is more responsible for failure of democracy than the West. Is it a mere coincidence that the countries (Pakistan and Turkey) struggling the most with battle between democracy and tyranny lie at the border of Middle East and democratic world? A democratic, progressive and growing Pakistan will be the worst nightmare of crony capitalist system that exists in our Western neighborhood. Despite their sectarian differences, this will be one unifying factor between Iran and KSA. They will be much happy with tyrannies and Amir-ul-Mominiyats in this country than functional, institutional democracy.
The reservations of these two lobbies and his obligations to them (one being his vote bank, the other his backers) are the biggest hurdles in Nawaz Sharif's way to join this new establishment. These two jinx would have been real hard to break in ordinary circumstances, but the continuous struggle of people of Pakistan coupled with global geopolitical compulsions has given us an opportunity to achieve this. This will be no small achievement. However to achieve this, it requires involving all stakeholders and power centers and reconciliation and not confrontation is the way forward.
Pakistan is heading towards a new establishment. Let us hope we succeed. Like any achievement, this too will not be totally pure and there will remain a room for more progressive forces to take anti-establishment role left void by PPP becoming epicenter of newly formed establishment. This role cannot be taken up by amir-ul-mominiyator fundamentalism, neither can an Istaklali lawyer take this, nor will the Bhutto name be sufficient any more. Whether we succeed in forming the new establishment and if so who fills the anti-establishment vacuum, I have my fingers crossed.
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