Pakistani
Strongman Suspends Constitution
By Hassan Abbas
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
US
Desperate to hold onto power, Pervez
Musharraf has discarded Pakistan’s constitutional
framework and declared a state of emergency. His
goal? To stifle the independent judiciary and
free media.
Artfully, though shamelessly, he has tried to
sell this action as an effort to bring about stability
and help fight the war on terror more effectively.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If Pakistan’s
history is any indicator, his decision to impose
martial law may prove to be the straw that breaks
the camel’s back.
Musharraf appeared on the national scene on Oct.
12, 1999, when he ousted an elected government
and announced an ambitious nation-building project.
Many Pakistanis, disillusioned with Pakistan’s
political class, remained mute, thinking that
he might deliver.
The 9/11 attacks on America brought Musharraf
into the international limelight as he agreed
to ditch the Taliban and support the United States-led
war on terror.
Although the US viewed Musharraf as an agent of
change, he has never achieved domestic legitimacy,
and his policies were seen as rife with contradictions.
For example, he made alliances with Islamist political
forces (who in 2004 voted for constitutional changes
legitimizing his position and actions). At the
same time, he sidelined moderate political leaders.
Last March, Musharraf took his boldest step, removing
the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar
Chaudhry. To the surprise of many, hundreds of
thousands of ordinary people demanded the rule
of law and the supremacy of the constitution,
emboldening the judiciary and changing the country’s
political dynamic. In a ruling that Musharraf
had little choice but to accept, the Supreme Court
itself reinstated the chief justice in July.
Subsequently, the energized judiciary continued
ruling against government decisions. Government
officials were held accountable for actions that
were usually beyond the reach of the law, ranging
from brutal beatings of journalists, to illegal
confinement for national security.
Musharraf and his allies tried to adjust to this
new reality, but their patience ran out when the
Supreme Court took up petitions against Musharraf’s
decision to run for president. According to the
constitution (promulgated in 1973 by an elected
parliament), a serving military official cannot
run for an elected office. While Musharraf announced
that he would leave his military position if he
were elected president, his track record of reneging
on his promises haunted the judiciary.
Legally cornered, Musharraf has now decided to
abandon constitutionality, removing the leading
judges of the Supreme Court and provincial high
courts and putting curbs on the media. Lawyers,
human rights activists and political leaders have
since been arrested.
There is widespread public resentment in response
to these moves. Rather than taking responsibility
for the deteriorating security situation (as evidenced
by suicide bomb attacks) and the increasing Talibanization
of the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Musharraf
has blamed the judiciary and media.
Musharraf’s popular support is at its lowest
ebb. Pakistan’s armed forces - repeated
targets of suicide bombers - have become demoralized.
It is difficult to imagine them standing with
Musharraf should civil conflict erupt. Nor can
a weak, embattled, Musharraf be expected to fight
Islamic militancy effectively or bring political
stability to Pakistan.
Opposition political parties are drawing closer
together, and human rights bodies, media associations
and lawyers’ organizations are expected
to defy the emergency orders. Terrorists may also
benefit by attacking a preoccupied army and political
forces aligned with Musharraf. In the event of
sustained protests and potential violence, top
military commanders may decide to send Musharraf
home - a decision that would not be unprecedented
in Pakistan’s chronically turbulent history.
(Hassan Abbas served in the administrations of
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and President
Pervez Musharraf. He is a research fellow at Harvard
University’s Kennedy School of Government
and author of “Pakistan’s Drift into
Extremism: Allah, the Army and America's War on
Terror")
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