| Published on 25-02-2008 In World | | Viewed 1612 times | | Zardari-Sharif have a lot to learn from Indian Experiences; Is Musharraf really a villain? |
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| Written by
Girish Nikam | 
The unfolding events in Pakistan after the last week's elections are fascinating and for us in India, one even feels a sense of déjà vu. It's quite amazing that even on the day of the polling in that troubled nation, all TV channels and media in general were predicting doomsday. No one gave even a remote chance of a free and fair election, and every journalist worth or rather not so worth his or her salt, were predicting rigging, manipulation and generally an unfair election.
The Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was depicted as this manipulative leach who would never allow a free and fair election and he will rig it to his convenience. And lo and behold when the results came out, mind you within 12 hours of the polling ending--- unlike in India when we have to wait endlessly, sometimes for even a month after casting our ballot----shrieks of surprise and astonishment filled the air. Surprise not at the fact that Late Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party or Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N), had together cobbled up a majority. But at the fact that they were allowed to win a majority!
In all the cacophony which has followed about Pakistan finally moving to the path of democracy, and hopes ringing all over, of the almost "failed State", recovering from the brink, there is not a word of praise for Musharraf. All the talk now is about how his time is numbered and how he will have to leave or be prepared to be sacked and so on. Sharif of course minces no words, and the reporters and commentators also echo his feelings.
What one cannot understand is that if Musharraf was such a master manipulator, and had no intention of bringing in true democracy and was out to have a controlled Parliament, as we were made to believe, than how did this result emerge?
Did it happen despite him? One should remember that all through the campaign, he went on proclaiming that his intention was to bring the country on the path to democracy. But no one believed him, and thought it was one of those statements, which had no ring of truth or sincerity to it! Of course there was some justification to such cynical reactions. He had after all rigged the election in the past and imposed an autocratic military rule. But one should also remember, that all through these nine years that he held sway over Pakistan, he was the most outspoken and on-your-face Pakistan leader. He had repeatedly stressed that Pakistan was going through rough times, and it has to be eased into a democratic system, very carefully. But no one believed him again.
Did he allow free and fair elections because of the pressure of United States? Was there no conviction in his statements that he wanted to restore democracy to Pakistan? Would he now try to stick to his position, come what may? These are all questions, which will find answers as we go along. As the frenzy subsides about the elections and Pakistan settles down to a new and interesting spell of coalition Government, Musharraf's role in bringing it about will have to be analysed afresh, without prejudice and cynicism, which fills the air now.
Having said that, why the sense of déjà vu for us Indians? Because the situation in Pakistan today resembles so much like what we had witnessed here in our country in 1977. After Mrs.Indira Gandhi suddenly lifted the emergency, going against all conventional wisdom of those days, she found herself drubbed in the elections, which followed. And who were the people who did it? A hastily cobbled up group of leaders belonging to completely different political thought and ideas, from the rightist Jan Sangh to the left-leaning Socialists to the Centrists like Morarji Desai, backed by the left parties like CPI (M). Just like Benazir Bhutto's husband Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif today in Pakistan, bitter political rivals till not too long back, with no love lost.
Like then in 1977, when the Janata Party's sole binding factor was the anti-Indira mood, Zardari and Sharif are now together with Musharraf as their common enemy. It did not take too long for the Janata Party to start cracking up, as the vaulting ambitions of various satraps who made the party, started showing up. Meanwhile as the anti-Indira mood started waning the glue which held them together also started giving up, bringing down the dream Government in less than 30 months.
Not wanting to sound like a prophet of doom, but anyway sounding a warning note, is the Zardari-Sharif newfound love going to last? What is the common factor between them? The pious proclamations of laying a sound foundation for democracy, not allowing authoritarian military rule again, are fine. We had heard that from the warriors against the emergency here in India also. So unless the Zardari-Sharif combine takes it beyond their hatred of Musharraf, and have the troubled country's real interest at heart and work to resolve the various crises, which it finds itself in, the combine can just crack up at the first sign of ambition from either side. As of now, both are in no position to become the Prime Minister, but atleast one of them, Sharif more likely, will be itching to become eligible again. What happens then?
The Pakistani duo is riding on a huge wave of hope not only within Pakistan. Every country in the world will be keeping a close watch on how they will deliver on their promises. They have a coalition model in India, which can be their guiding light. After the disastrous Janata experiment, India finally seems to have come to terms with working genuine coalition Governments. The Pakistan situation is of course slightly different, as both the PPP and PML (N) have won almost equal number of seats, unlike here where there is one dominant party. The choice however before Zardari-Sharif duo is whether they want to go the 1977-80 India way, or to adopt the present Indian coalition model. If they go the 77-80 way, Musharraf, like Indira Gandhi back then, will be waiting in the wings. Fascinating times indeed in our neighbourhood. |
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