BOOK REVIEW: Political commentary —by Dr Amjad Parvez

Taliban Ya Jamhooriat: Pakistan Dorahey Par
By Wajahat Masood
Nigarshat Publishers; Pp 400; Rs 500

Pakistan is undoubtedly facing many challenges today. Apparently, 9/11 had no connection whatsoever with Pakistan. Its planners were based in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, it was used as a pretext to initiate the implication of Pakistan in the long run. Pakistan is an atomic power with the seventh largest army in the world. Unfortunately, its economy is in shambles. The state institutions are on the downward slide, devoid of any sympathy for the masses. In the diction of the Cold War, Pakistan is a security state and is a victim of religious terrorism. This is the opening analysis of Wajahat Masood in his book titled Taliban Ya Jamhooriat: Pakistan Dorahey Par (Taliban or Democracy: Pakistan at a Crossroads), which is a compilation of articles. He adds that Pakistan has always been controlled by the armed forces, which used the religious powers to curtail democracy. Masood believes the mullahs have always played a dominant role in devising curricula and controlling the media. There are four unwritten elements of state policy formed jointly by the armed forces and the mullah. These are: army’s supremacy over the political dispensation; the mullah’s supremacy over social structures; foreign policy based on geographical and cultural aspects; armed forces provided with government funds more than what was budgeted for the people. According to him, this policy had been the basic reason for the tragic situation Pakistan faces today. Basically, there is an element of distrust between the government and the masses. Lack of transparency is gradually permeating into all parts of the state.

The state tries to wriggle out on all the issues it is confronted with by providing lame excuses. For instance, the lack of agricultural growth is simply a technical issue. The energy crisis was created by the previous regime, and the present regime, by not undertaking planning and construction of any new projects to produce energy is acting incorrectly. Then there is a new obsessive belief that with the restoration of the judiciary, all the problems would be resolved, whereas the judiciary states it is there to implement the constitution and does not want to be dragged into politics. Thus the nation’s attention is diverted from the main reasons for disorder. The rational way would be to analyse all these socio-political, cultural and economic issues. Additionally, it needs to be seen how weak political parties affect democratic growth, how media adversely affects the democratic dispensation and so on. Only then the common factors may be identified and actions taken accordingly.

Masood also talks about the aftermath of Benazir’s assassination. The critics equate this tragedy with two other parallels in our history — the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, and ZA Bhutto’s judicial murder in April 1979. PPP, he says, is a loosely knit party and the future of PML-N seems uncertain too. It may be premature to say that the army has no role to play in elections. Even Yahya Khan intervened in the 1970 elections, albeit unsuccessfully, as Pakistan broke into two. Writing about the reasons for the defeat of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the 2008 elections, Masood says the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) did not carry out any terrorist activities, probably due to government having captured many terrorists nationwide prior to the elections, or probably by giving latitude with a quid pro quo to let the elections be held peacefully. After the elections, the terrorists struck again, negating the expectations of peace. Pakistan is the victim of an international conspiracy and there is insurgency everywhere turning into a guerrilla war, hence the need for the political forces to be united.

Masood stresses upon the need for balance between the army and the political forces. He writes about conspiracies against democracy as discussed by Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Asfandyar Wali on April 15, 2008. He emphasises that any attempts to reconcile with the Taliban would be repeating the same mistake that the British premier Chamberlain made with Adolf Hitler in Munich.

The struggle between some political forces and the presidency has been discussed in one of the articles. Here Masood highlights the differences between President Musharraf and parliament. He discusses the constitutional amendment or restoration of the spirit of the constitution, concluding that our political leadership was like the portrait by Spanish painter Francisco Goya of a woman who was a symbol of perplexity — a victim of inner turmoil.

This book is a compilation of 47 articles, some of which are about General Kayani, democracy, return of Dr A Q Khan, restoration of the constitution, relations between Pakistan and the US, the question of a security state versus a welfare state, the terrorist attack in Mumbai, the Taliban’s attacks against women’s education, the Swat peace treaty, restoration of the judiciary, etc. Masood’s approach is to throw a ray of light after touching upon the difficulties faced by Pakistan. He says that it is the joint responsibility of the masses, political leadership and international community to eradicate the threat from Pakistan’s enemies, both internal and external. The book is indeed an absorbing read.

The reviewer is based in Lahore and can be reached at doc_amjad@hotmail.com/i>