August
03, 2007
The
Panacea for Pakistan
Can there have been
deliverance in one document for Pakistan?
If its citizens can shed their transfixion
with personalities and work on processes
and make the independence of the judiciary
the foundation of Pakistan, it would
not be histrionic to say, that the document
reinstating the Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry might as well have
“deliverance” written on
it.
Leaders are vital for any movement and
nation. We honor Quaid-i-Azam, Allama
Iqbal and Liaquat Ali Khan, and stop
there. Institution building and developing
processes has not hit the national psyche
and the educated, in a nation of 160
million, all aim to be leaders. Contrary
to a movement where charismatic leaders
are vital, in a nation, institution
building and the placement of processes
are indispensable to its development
as a sustainable, successful society.
In Pakistan, we have allowed leaders
to crucify our institutions. We perpetually
confuse the person with the office.
In the manner that power has been wielded
in Pakistan, and the fawning that we
could copyright, new meaning is given
to the aphorism of absolute power corrupts
absolutely.
Martial Law has served the powerful
well in Pakistan. When the going got
tough out came the rule of force. Assemblies
got dissolved, prime ministers were
made ordinary and Pakistan retrogressed
another decade. Zia-ul-Haq was able
to hang not just Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
but actually the office of the Prime
Minister.
On March 9, 2007 General Musharraf was
crucifying the judiciary. Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had the courage
to refuse to resign, surrounded by intimidation,
garbed in civilian and military might.
A hearing before the Supreme Judicial
Council and then a trial before the
Supreme Court occurred and the rest
history has recorded, probably a bit
surprised itself.
Nawaz Sharif insulted the judiciary
while he was in office, and when General
Musharraf usurped power from Nawaz Sharif,
the office of the Prime Minister was
violated. Leaders and personalities
wield wide power, institutions barely
there get quashed with each upheaval
even more.
The complexities of Pakistan’s
failed attempts at civilian rule are
made even more migrainous by the massive
corruption of its two recent civilian
leaders. So distraught was the nation
by their personal portfolio padding
and neglect of office that military
rule was welcomed.
The greatest disservice by far of the
Benazir and Nawaz Sharif corruption
in office is Pakistanis adopting the
“Democracy does not work in Pakistan,
look at what Benazir and Nawaz Sharif
did” as the gospel truth. It is
a tragedy that the personal corruption
of two civilian leaders has damaged
the national psyche so much that even
now, in some quarters military rule
is preferred over civilian.
And the military won out in the personality
of Musharraf. No airs, down to earth,
honest, dynamic, quick and courageous,
few civilian leaders if any would do
better. And that messes with the national
psyche even more. We are supposed to
love democracy, the rule of law, an
independent judiciary and thus security
and economic prosperity. But when civilian
leaders get not one but two chances
at prime minister-ship and fail at both,
the national psyche instead of blaming
the corrupt individuals that the two
prime ministers were, blame the institution
of democracy and civilian rule. And
that is nothing short of suicidal.
The integrity of the National Accountability
Bureau, another institution, has been
played with rather glaringly as well.
Benazir was the arch enemy and millions
in taxpayer money were spent in prosecuting
her in Swiss courts. Now a quid pro
quo is in the offing, and so all cases
have been dropped. She cannot land in
Pakistan just yet, but that may be in
the offing, should it suit the dispensation
at the time.
The most vital institution of any nation
remains its constitution. And how it
has been mangled to suit the leader
of the day is sad commentary. Now it
is threatened again, albeit in the whispers
backstage: prime ministers cannot serve
more than two terms. If Benazir is able
to work out a deal, then the edifice
of the constitution will be hacked,
again, to accommodate her aspirations
for office.
Seeing me delirious at the Supreme Court
verdict for the Chief Justice, an Egyptian
patient wistfully said, “Yes,
Pakistan has it now, the independence
of the judiciary, Egypt does not”.
For the first time in its 60 years,
and after the loss of precious lives
and deep heartache, Pakistan has a stab
at true advancement as a society. Well
before democracy and more important
to its orchestration, is the independence
of the judiciary.
The reinstatement of the Chief Justice
is a new dawn, that long awaited ray
of hope that the Pakistani nation did
not even know it still had. We must
make good on it. We cannot relapse like
an alcoholic or drug addict does into
an all too familiar daze. We must make
good on building institutions, developing
and maintaining principles and processes.
We must bypass the personality-cult
politics of old and move to issues and
edifices. Pakistan is burdened with
mind-boggling problems: a burgeoning
population, poverty, illiteracy, lack
of potable water, lack of electricity,
terrorism, militancy and political upheavals.
If we realize the gravity of what we
have now in the independence of the
judiciary, and especially if we are
able to ensure that it remains independent
and the fountainhead of justice, it
may well by the panacea for Pakistan’s
myriad ills.
(Dr. Mahjabeen Islam is a physician
and freelance columnist residing in
Toledo Ohio. Her email is mahjabeenislam@hotmail.com)
