Pak is ready for regime change General Mirza Aslam Beg* | The Asian Age | April 04, 2007
http://203.197.197.71/presentation/leftnavigation/opinion/op-ed/pak-is-ready-for-regime-change.aspx With the imposition of the first martial law by Ayub Khan in 1958, three power-brokers emerged in Pakistan, namely, the military, judiciary and the United States. They have manipulated power ever since to their advantage. The military has acted as the catalyst; judiciary as the facilitator under the cover of the "law of necessity" and the United States as the manipulator, using the political parties and the vested interest groups to bring military dictators to power to accomplish the agenda of "regime change." Situation is no different today, yet the unexpected has happened. For the first time, the US desires a regime change in Pakistan through the democratic process, as declared by President George W. Bush in his address to the people of Pakistan, during his last visit to Pakistan: "We support democracy in Pakistan. The elections scheduled for 2007 are a great opportunity for Pakistan. President Musharraf understands these elections, which need to be open and honest. America will continue to work with Pakistan to lay the foundation of a robust democracy." It is a late realisation, nevertheless, a very positive one, based on the declining image of the US, mainly because it had patronised authoritarian leaders and military dictators in Third World countries in order to serve its own interests. In the process it lost the "good-will" and respect of the masses, causing a cleavage and dichotomy between governments and states. A credible relationship could only be possible if the hearts and minds of the people were won rather than support lent to a non-representative ruler who usurped political power either through military means or by manipulating elections, while maintaining the façade of a democratic system. Deceit, coercion and intimidation hardly pay in the long run, as they spill over into "violence," upheavals and even culminate into "terrorism." Unfortunately, our political parties have not been able to take up the challenge offered by President Bush, because they have no past experience of initiating a democratic movement on their own. They are, therefore, perplexed and confused, wasting their energies for a "deal with the military" and "a nod from America" for regime change, through non-democratic means, while the initiative has been passed on to the judiciary to play its decisive role and to determine the right course for democracy. The reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was made because the CJ appeared to have crossed the "threshold of tolerance of the government" due to speedy dispensation of justice. In a short period of 20 months, about 30,000 pending cases were decided, providing relief to the oppressed and the poor. More than 550 human rights cases were taken up and decided. The verdicts in the steel mills privatisation and missing persons cases; the reprimand for the violation of the Supreme Court verdict on kite- flying by the Punjab government and the admonishment of the Sindh government for illegal detention of poor peasants' families, were seen as a "threat to the power wielders," who have made all the preparations to manipulate the elections this year, and have blatantly expressed the resolve to "elect General Musharraf as President-in-Uniform, ten times over if necessary." Now the bench and the bar have taken up the cudgels on behalf of Pakistan. It is their rendezvous with history to set the course for "a robust democratic order in Pakistan" which the people of Pakistan have been clamouring for over decades. The political parties have joined the agitation to wash away their sins of being accomplice to the military dictatorship of the past as well as the present one unless of course they have a hidden agenda to facilitate the grab of power by another military dictator. After all, such past political movements "for the restoration of democracy" have invariably produced dictators whom they served so gullibly. The role of the military is well-determined in the Constitution of Pakistan, yet the pledges have been violated several times, particularly the unequivocal pledge made by the armed forces of Pakistan on the fateful day of 17 August 1988, when General Ziaul Haq was killed in a tragic air crash. It was a pledge made by the three services chiefs. The Director General of ISI and the advocate general were also called for advice on national security and Constitutional matters. A unanimous decision was reached and the chairman of the Senate, the late Ghulam Ishaq Khan was requested to take over. When he came he was briefed by the three chiefs. He accepted the responsibility to hold fair and free elections, which he conducted so admirably. This pledge by the armed forces of Pakistan reposed our trust in democracy, but was again broken by the Army coup of 12 October 1999. It is time now to once again correct the course of history so that a viable political culture becomes the destiny of Pakistan. Let the bench and the bar decide the course for fair and free elections. They have emerged as the catalyst to the transformation at this moment of truth. Politicians must therefore wait to enter the arena when the level playing field is provided and the rules of the game are laid down so that they can be made uniformly applicable to all political parties without any discrimination whatsoever. The role played by the media, both print and electronic, is commendable, as it mobilised against the "oppressive forces." Uniformed democracy is repugnant to human sensibility and even anachronistic in an age where information and consciousness are universally shared under the compelling forces of globalisation. Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, being an astute lawyer, won the battle for Pakistan by mustering political forces. Now it is the Constitutional battle for democracy that has to be won by the bench and the bar. The important thing is that this time the decision for regime change will be totally indigenous here in Pakistan. The yatras to London, Delhi and Washington will be of no avail. The internal political dynamics have changed drastically offering new opportunities to the people of Pakistan and the power brokers to correct the course. Ambassador Crocker rightly commented, "It should be the people of Pakistan and not the United States, who should decide the type of democracy for Pakistan." Between the people of Pakistan and the US, convergence of interests has now emerged on the important issue of transfer of power through a democratic process. For the first time, the US is focusing on the people of Pakistan for return to democracy as the foundation for a meaningful and stable US-Pakistan relationship. Such convergence of interests could not be achieved during the past 50 years of the chequered history of Pak-US relations. It is an opportunity to be grasped, to lend meaning and substance to our relationship. The meltdown has started. Regime change has become inevitable. On a quiet moment, one can hear the rustling sound of the wind of change a peaceful transition to the rule of law and peoples' power the quintessential elements that lend grace and dignity to a nation. Any contrived soft image is a delusion. Note: This article is dedicated to the memory of the late Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who was executed on April 4, 1979 *General Mirza Aslam Beg is Pakistan's former Chief of Army Staff
