Book Review
Pakistan: A Possible Future by K. Tausif Kamal
Title: Pakistan: A Possible Future
Author: K. Tausif Kamal
Publisher: Archway Publishing (Simon & Schuster Group), Indianapolis, IN 47403, USA
Publication Date: November 20, 2019
Available in all formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BAM, Thriftbooks, Powers, Ingram, Booktopia, Watersons, etc.
This book offers in a remarkably lucid language the history of the inception of Pakistan, its setbacks in infancy, stunted growth and catastrophic loss in 1971 of the Eastern wing which had 55% of the population, and which in its initial years generated most of the country’srevenues from the export of jute.
The author, Tausif Kamal, is a Dallas-based lawyer and current affairs analyst and has written on Pakistan.
In the foreword he tells us that Pakistan has the sixth largest population in the world, second largest after Indonesia among Muslim countries, is diverse in ethnicity and the home of the 1700 BCE Mohenjadaro and Harrapa civilizations.
Kamal claims that the book “is not about Pakistan’s past but rather about its future - a possible future, not a guaranteed future.”
He dwells on the “nation’s resiliency, remnant nationalism and survival instincts” that enabled Pakistan to endure despite many existential challenges such as the separation of half of the country, military coups, political assassinations, bankruptcy, poverty, mounting debt, and natural disasters. “For future survival and viability Pakistan must forward and change along the direction of a non-revisionist, nonviolent, peaceful, tolerant, modern, mercantile nation state”. H e quotes the well-known scholar, Ayesha Jalal, "The logic of its creation and the causes of its survival ... need to be answered...". and notes that "the country has survived wars, natural disasters ...and the separation ...bankruptcy ... fanaticism, terrorism." May I offer the comment that many countries - Indonesia, Nigeria, and several others in Africa, Middle East and South America - have survived bigger upheavals without dismemberment.
Learning from the past is a worthy idea. Kamal advises that the country "must identify ...acknowledge the blunders its leaders and society have committed”, asks if "endless hostilities with India have helped or hindered ... militant groups ... Pakistan ...sole reliance on external aid, ethnic uprisings in KPK, Balochistan and Sind ...sinking deeper ...fundamentalism".
I wish the author had offered the names of persons, groups and political parties which could proceed in the direction.
He moans the sorry state of roads, water and electric supply and pollution in Karachi and demands allocation of a 'decent fraction' of the 60% of the country's revenue that the city offers to the country, to rebuild its infrastructure.
He decries the discrimination perpetrated against Balochistan since Jinnah sent the army to take over the tribal fiefdom, Kalat.
Under Moving Forward, Kamal highlights four critical issues that must be tackled forthwith. Firstly, the freedom of opinion and press, the lack of which perhaps crushes the people like never before in the history of the country. It must be genuinely restored. Secondly, an effective democracy that caters and is responsive to the needs of the people should be the sole sustainable political alternative. Thirdly, the city of Karachi should be developed and financed as the anchor city spearheading the economic growth of the nation. Fourthly, the simmering insurgency in the country’s largest province, Balochistan, should be ended via a fair and consensual settlement.
May I offer the opinion that "democracy is a function of capitalism" and it exists in no country of the world which does not boast of a capital-controlled economy. Free speech and media are just delusions as they are controlled/owned by capital all over the world.
Assault on the Constitution: Kamal traces the overthrow of Pakistan’s constitutional rule though five coups starting with Gen Ayub Khan and ending with Gen Musharraf.
The judiciary played a supportive role in legitimizing all such acts of treason. “The story of Pakistan is a story for pre-eminence and domination of the nation’s milieu primarily by two actors, the judiciary and the military” along with the grabbing of power and pelf by other predatory forces of feudal lords, politicians and opportunists. It was actually the bureaucrats headed by Ghulam Muhammad who first subverted the rule of law and the Constitution by dismissing Prime Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin and the Constituent Assembly when it supported the PM.
The judiciary, Chief Justice Munir of the Supreme Court, improperly and unlawfully legalized all such seizures of civilian power by army dictators on the premise of a fictitious 'Doctrine of Necessity' that had no place in constitutional law.
Later on, Chief Justices Chowdhary Iftikhar and Saqib Nisar, manipulating the constitution, rendered judgements in such cases as the Arslan (Chowdhury's son) case, removal ofan elected prime minister on the charge of Contempt of Court, Panama Paper cases, Election Act case, Turkish cases, Memogate, Avenfield, etc. Their judicial excesses were based on misuse of Article 184 (3) suo moto powers of the SC jurisdiction, improper adjudication of purely political matters, violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers, misinterpretation of constitutional text, and so on.
Military Coups:
The author dwells on the history of military coups. In the first one, President Iskander Mirza had in fact handed over power to Ayub Khan, who went on to sack Mirza and send him into exile, but that does not take away the onus of responsibility of blighting the rule of law and the civilian rule over the country. Ayub went on to introduce the Basic Democracy-based constitution and so on.
It must be emphasized that the general public, disgusted as it was with the bureaucratic rule, heartily welcomed Ayub'stakeover.
Ayub's fortune flourished, he announced another election and Maulana Bhashani, a socialist Mullah, who had initially supported Ayub, somehow persuaded Miss Fatima Jinnah to contest against him. Miss Jinnah won in Karachi, Dacca and tribal areas; Ayub would have lost if the contest werea one-person, one-vote election.
Bhutto, a flatterer par excellence (in a letter, he placed Iskander Mirza above Jinnah!), persuaded Ayub to launch a war against India to regain his pre-election position. The venture was, overall, a failure and Ayub had to accept a deal confirming the pre-war status. Demonstrations broke out, and to counter them, Ayub foolishly agreed to a 'celebration' of ten years of his rule and that led to larger and more militant rallies.
Ayub gave in and flouting his own hand-made constitution, handed over power to General Yahya Khan, the army chief, rather than to the speaker of the National Assembly. Yahya declared Martial Law, announced the date of elections on the basis of one-person, one-vote scheme.It seemed the elections would produce a house with no party commanding an electoral majority and the president would resume conducting 'musical chairs’ between party heads.
But that was not to be. East Pakistan was struck with huge floods. Bhashani demanded that elections be postponed; Yahya did not agree, the Maulana boycotted the elections and Shaikh Mujib ur Rahman, on a platform of de-facto secession, won an overwhelming majority in the East, in fact an overall majority of two in the whole country and could, with the support of KPK, Balochistan and other supporters in the West, command a two-third majority and pass a constitution with most powers including finance in the hands of the provinces.
Bhutto supported the army. Mujib became the de-facto ruler of East Pakistan.
After flying a huge number of soldiers to Dacca, Yahya perpetrated a reign of terror on the Bengalis.
Indra Gandhi, prime minister of India intervened, the Pak army was humiliatingly defeated and Bangladesh was declared an independent state.
Bhutto took over West Pakistan, aped Hitler, perpetrated terror on his opponents and in his megalomania, took on the 'Empire' led by the USA and snubbed Kissinger in the matter of an 'Islamic Atomic Bomb'. In the elections held in 1976, US Dollars flooded the coffers of the opposition. Bhutto was accused of manipulating the results and when a deal with the opposition for new elections had been reached, the army chief Zia ul Haq had him arrested as he tookover the country. And Pakistan since has been ruled by the three A’s - Army, America and Allah (Mullah).
The author moves on to Chief Justice Choudhury Iftikhar and his confrontation with Musharraf. I happened to know the Chief Justice. He was from Quetta where I went to school and college. He was a mediocre student, went on to the Law College in Hyderabad, Sind. He visited our home in North Nazimabad, Karachi, in the late-1970's to solicit the vote of my sister, who happened to be an attorney, for the Bar Council. I am not quite clear how he rose to the office of CJ.
Musharraf had appointed an international banker Shaukat Aziz to the office of prime minister. Shaukat, following the policy of International Capital, started selling national assets. When he tried to sell Pakistan Steel, the prospective buyer was an Indian steel magnate; the CJ took suo moto action against it. Musharraf was terribly upset and on March 9, 2007, declared the CJ "non-functional". Lawyers came out on the streets and on July 20, 2007, the CJ was reinstated by the Supreme Court.
Correcting the Constitution- Kamal stresses the imperative of a fault-free, consensual constitution, the core document of a country. “A constitution is a beacon light to point thenation towards the country’s future direction …and national vision.” In his opinion, the present constitution is “a hodgepodge of anomalies, contradictions, ambiguities.” Hence the need for streamlining the text via constitutional amendments that involves modifying or repealing provisions such as Articles 62(1)(f ) and 184(3), being overly broad and ambiguous; Articles 41(2) and 91(3), being discriminatory and inconsistent; redefining and clarifying separation of powers, civilian-military relations (Article 243 etc.); revising Objectives Resolution, and abolishing the Shariat Appellate Court. On the hot issue of the extension of term of the COAS, he advises that merely amending the Army Act would not be constitutionally adequate till, to provide a constitutional umbrella, the constitution (Article 243) is also amended accordingly.
Pakistani Welfare Nationalism- After examining some variant forms of nationalism, the author proposes the adoption of the Pakistani Welfare Nationalism - rooted in the goal of welfare and well-being of the people as the most sustainable motivational and cohesive and unifying force for the country.
He defines nationalism as pride-passion for performance of the state, goes on to Muslim, Islamist, ethnic, linguistic, Martial and Welfare nationalism and the Two-Nation Theory. He insists on strengthening the Legislature, revamping the Judiciary, improving government and bureaucracy, provision of effective education, organizing the military, control of corruption, and revitalization of political parties.
Kamal quotes the Pak army chief, General Bajwa, "Having achieved stability against terrorism, Pakistan is on a positive trajectory ...". He cites the December 16, 2014 attack on an Army Public School in Peshawar by Tahreek e Taliban,Pakistan which killed 145 students and 6 teachers as "a watershed moment...Terrorism had killed 60,000 in Pakistan".
The author gives credit to the army for launching 'a series of effective military operations' ...and recommends '... militarily defeating ...on all the battlefield ... without ...stalemate'. The radical mindset, of which terrorism is a physical manifestation, has to be eradicated.
But one must note that Pakistan is way down in Gross Domestic Product and way up in international loans. Bangladesh has leaped far ahead in economy and also in crushing religious bigotry (one US dollar is worth 155 Pak Rupees, 84 Bangladesh Taka and 70 Indian Rupees). About 80% of Pakistan's budget goes to Defense and payment of interest on international loans (what % goes to Defense is a closely held secret).
The author then delves on "Strategizing the Economy-broad economic strategy, immediate achievable measures, long-term structural measures, incremental industrial development, institutions, capital and investment, honoring international contracts, wealth creation, tackling poverty and inequality, modernizing the environment, role of technology, etc.
On Human and Women's Rights, he says, "We must confront ... civil violence in Pakistan ...", not harass women on the street, and avoid marginalization of women as "98% of top managers in banks, corporations and industry are male...".He notes that honor killing is prevalent and the scourge needs to be erased.
Reforming the Institutions- Kamal suggests a phase by phase approach of reforming various national institutions including some organizational aspects of the military. In streamlining the educational system, urgency must be given to the establishment of vocational institutes that could provide skills and employment to the huge youth bulge in Pakistan approximating 43 million youngsters under the age of 23 years.
As far as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is concerned, Kamal concedes that corruption is a big problem in Pakistan but its scale is much smaller than what it is in many Asian countries, like India, China, Indonesia which are rapidly progressing (not correct; Pakistan is unarguably the most corrupt). NAB is a monstrosity that must be modified or disbanded as it’s a tool for victimizing political opponents, violates the due process guarantees of the constitution and throttles business activity and economic growth. The author, however, does not offer an alternative and feasible means of fighting corruption.
The author advises that Pakistan should adopt a non-belligerent policy with India.
He also says that national interest must override the interest of the elite-waderas, sardars, business and professional elite. He lauds the rulers for developing ties with China.He opines that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not an equivalent of the Marshall Plan; in that case Germany and Japan had adopted a "never say die attitude".
Fighting Terrorism & Extremism- Kamal commends the Pakistan Army for curbing terrorism, though somewhat belatedly and half-heartedly. He fails to mention that it was the army, supported by the Mullahs, which bred terrorism in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
Economic Strategy- The author points to Pakistan’s “dwarf economy” and wants the government to focus on creating wealth, increasing productivity and economic activity by taking immediate and long-term measures. He recommends a Pakistani Model for growth: Discard unnecessary regulations, honor international contracts, tackle poverty and inequality.
Modernization –For rapid growth and progress, modernization of society and the milieu are as important as the building of physical infrastructure. Modern work ethics, women’s uplift and participation, emphasis on sports, culture, health essential are imperative for a wholesome change.
The book offers a vision for a well-managed, financially and politically organized country that isfree of fanaticism of all sorts, upholds civil and women's rights, allows revitalization of the finance, commerce and industrial sectors, rids dependence on foreign capital and loan, enjoys peaceful relations with all countries, including India. It proposes solutions but does not offer means to attain the laudable goals.
It does not refer to the fact that regardless of who the prime minister or the party of majority in the National Assembly is, levers of power are controlled by a combine of the army, feudal lords, mullahs and bureaucrats - what I call The Evil Quad.
The author also ignores the general contempt for law and order in the country-the lawyers getting on the streets in Musharraf’s time (recently groups of lawyers attacked a hospital in Lahore, beating up patents, snatching masks from their faces, and assaulting doctors and nurses).
One must also keep in mind that the recent sentence of Musharraf to be hanged and his body to be dragged on streets for three days, is not just overreach but abjectly moronic.
Change State Policy and Conclusion- After an analysis of Pakistan’s official stance on the country’s security and foreign policy and its critical version, Kamal recommends adoption of change in policy that is necessary for leading the country towards a progressive, constructive, peaceful, tolerant, modern and prosperous nation state. The new policy should put an end to hostilities with neighboring countries, adopt a universal outlook focusing on trade, commerce and openness rather than a narrow religious-obsessive one.
Again, he does not define the ways and means to accomplish these goals.
(Dr Ehtisham, a semi-retired orthopedic surgeon, is a political, social, HR and Women’s Right activist, and lives in NJ, USA.He has written many articles on international affairs, comparative religion, honor killings, and has published two books,"A Medical Doctor Examines Life on Three Continents" and "God, Government and Globalization."He is currently working on a book entitled "Deen e Muhammadi", a comparative analysis of religions.
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