Daily Nawaiwaqt, Pakistan

Next American Elections and Musharraf Dictatorship

By Ata Ur Rehman

Translated By Hamad Kiani

January 2, 2008

Pakistan – Daily Nawaiwaqt - Original Article (Urdu)

The British newspaper The Financial Times forecasts that if Hillary Clinton wins the 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections, it will be difficult for General (retired) Musharraf to hold on to power. It is understandable because military dictatorship in Pakistan always faces problems whenever a candidate from the Democrat Party wins a U.S. Presidential Election. The U.S. presidents from the Republican Party have more openly supported Pakistan’s military dictators. Yet the role of Democratic presidents is neither very transparent nor clear. But it can be said without any fear of refute that Republican presidents have fully supported the military dictators. 

It was in General Eisenhower’s time when Ayub Khan imposed martial law in Pakistan in 1958. This anti-constitutional and anti-democratic act was fully backed by the U.S. During the wicked reign of General Yahya, the Republican Party president Richard Nixon was in Washington. Our country disintegrated and the military faced defeat. The U.S. did not help Pakistan in this precarious moment. Rather, President Nixon and his special advisor on security, Henry Kissinger, who later became foreign secretary, acted as patrons to General Yahya. Immediately after the debacle of East Pakistan, a wave of concern and insurgency rose in the medium and lower ranks of the Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi. Yahya Khan was forced to resign. On the night between 4th and 5th July, General Zia ul Haq, exploiting his military weight, seized power from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In the U.S. was the government of President Jimmy Carter of the Democratic Party. Although Carter disliked Bhutto because of Pakistan’s nuclear program, he did not develop good relations with the military dictatorship of Zia ul Haq.

In the 1980 U.S. Presidential Elections, the Republican Party candidate, Ronald Reagan, defeated President Jimmy Carter and entered the White House for next eight years. He also backed Zia ul Haq. The Red Army of the former Soviet Union had occupied Afghanistan. Afghan masses rose for Jihad. Pakistan was helped them and the Republican Party President provided immense support to the Jihad through Zia ul Haq.

On the night of October 12, 1999 General Pervez Musharraf in a military coup dismissed the government of elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and established the fourth military government in Pakistan. In the U.S., Bill Clinton of Democratic Party was the president and was unhappy with Sharif for making Pakistan an atomic power on May 28, 1998, after ignoring his five telephone calls and an offer of five billion dollars of aid. But, in keeping with the traditions of the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton avoided giving the impression of good relations with the dictatorship of General Musharraf.

He even avoided shaking hands with Musharraf in public when he came to Islamabad in March 2000 for a brief stopover of five hours. But in the March 2000 Presidential Elections, George Bush Jr. won and came to power in the White House. The cold ice for Islamabad’s military dictatorship began to melt. And then came September 11, 2001. General Musharraf did not waste a moment to accept the American conditions with closed eyes and threw Pakistan into the U.S. war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban that is burning our country still today. The people of Pakistan are sick of it. The world is fed up with our military dictatorship but there is no big obstacle in the relations between Bush and Mush. From this perspective, the chances of Hilary Clinton’s being successful in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections are very strong.

There is speculation that Hilary Clinton’s becoming president will occur simultaneously with the departure of President Musharraf from the president’s house. It is not a surprise, but we as Pakistanis, are more concerned with why the coming and going of our governments has been attached linked to the U.S.. Why should we look at the U.S. to see which party’s president makes his way into the White House, and therefore, whether the outlook for a civilian democratic government is bright in Pakistan or another military dictatorship is our fate? This situation is a constant insult to our nation.

For this reason, our sovereignty, which is the most precious asset of a nation, has turned to shambles.  Our internal politics is not subject to any constitution, principle or regulation. The military dictators get a free hand to destroy public representation and all norms of civilization and decency because they are protecting the interests of the U.S., rather than their own country. When they are in need, the rulers in Washington leave no stone unturned to be served as they expect, but soon everything is forgotten. However, as a result, Pakistan is in ruins. Our unity is in disarray. We have no dignity in the world.

Then, to change “the taste”, a democratic or civilian government is allowed to establish itself for a limited duration. Call it a coincidence, a joke of history or the outcome of a planned conspiracy, but the fact is that the chances of a Democratic government in the U.S. are better at that time. It is high time that we get out of this vicious circle. Decisions about Pakistani governments should be taken by Pakistani people. There are no words to describe the mayhem created by Musharraf’s dictatorship. The cruel assassination of late Benazir Bhutto has disclosed this fact in a sorry way. But earlier dictatorial steps, in particular those taken on March 9, 2007, have also destroyed our judicial system. Our courts are docile. To strengthen the dictatorship of one man, the constitution of Pakistan has been mutilated in such a way that there is no such thing as democracy in it. Even our foreign and defense policy has no name. It is merely the following of U.S. desires.

Under these circumstances, it is mandatory that we decide to uphold the constitution and return to democracy, rather than pinning our hopes on Hillary Clinton and her becoming president of the U.S. to help us get rid of dictatorship. It should be clear that the U.S. will hold its naked interests supreme in every circumstance. In Pakistan, general elections are imminent. They may be held on January 8th or could be delayed for a few weeks. In every situation, it is the duty of Pakistani people to decide their future and fate at the ballot box. We should engage our minds and open our eyes so that results of 2008 are not like those of the elections of 2002 which invigorated Musharraf’s dictatorship. This time, the result of the election should be good news for democracy in Pakistan. If not, the whole election process will be futile. Our eyes will be set on Washington and we will be as docile as ever. It is time that we get rid of this national menace for good.