Pakistan at Knife's Edge by M. B. Naqvi

Author:M. B. Naqvi [Naqvi, M. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Political Economy
ISBN: 9788174367907
Google: FGcaSQAACAAJ
Goodreads: 13216689
Publisher: Roli Books
Published: 2010-01-15T11:55:52+00:00

A New Beginning

Pakistan has had its sixth election in the last twenty years on 18 February 2008. Pakistan’s record on elections is peculiar. Its first free election took place after twenty-five long years of its life. Out of seven general elections so far, six are commonly adjudged as having been ‘managed’ by intelligence agencies, including the fifth one, in 2002 that was expertly ‘managed’ by military sleuths of Musharraf. But the February 2008 election stands out as quite acceptable. There were many factors that made it a reasonably free election. How could that be? There are many reasons that need to be noted.

1) The public opinion in the country has, up to a point, come of age.

2) During the Musharraf regime there was much effort to project an image of modern and moderate Islam that ensures progress. The February 2008 polls remained fairly free in pursuit of convincing the sceptical West, the donors. Also, Musharraf regime had permitted over fifty satellite TV channels, half a dozen of which were devoted to news, comments and discussions. In step with the political movements, the news channels’ comments became progressively free and usually anti-government. This was tolerated long enough. That had a huge impact on public opinion.

3) Political awareness has characterized the people belonging to middle class in Punjab. Punjab is the province where maximum economic development has taken place and a fairly well-to-do middle class has emerged. It is also educated and demands, for the first time, political space to speak and act freely and participate in political activity.

4) Certain political events have contributed to the growing political awareness in the country, particularly in Punjab and NWFP. The reason for it is that America’s war on terror in Afghanistan that has now moved into NWFP and its tribal areas. This was a matter close to the hearts and minds of the people of the NWFP and most people in Pakistan, being overwhelmingly Muslim, reacted angrily to American actions in Afghanistan and Iraq and their general policy of supporting Israel against the Palestinians. Anger against American policies has been a notable factor that has created anti-American feelings in Pakistan. Americans are the most distrusted and hated country in Pakistan, despite the fact that the relations of the American government with Pakistan’s Musharraf regime were of the closest kind. Americans are responsible for pumping in anything up to $ 15-20 billion into Pakistan, thanks to Musharraf’s role, if secret and unaccounted funds are included in eight years. But incidents like Lal Masjid and various aggressive military operations against Taliban and other Islamic militants in NWFP’s tribal areas have inflamed opinion against Musharraf regime which is seen as America’s stooge, doing things on Washington’s dictation.

5) The year 2007 saw three major developments: first was the Lal Masjid affair. Complicating matters no end were the original linkages between the Pakistan government and the so called Islamic terrorists in both the Frontier’s tribal areas and the NWFP. Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had organized a whole war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in 1980s.

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