The Centers
of Power in Pakistan
By Riaz Haq
www.pakalumni.com
As a student of Pakistani history and based on
watching the ground reality over the past several
decades, I have understood that there are three
main centers of real power in Pakistan: The Feudal/Tribal
Lords, The Military and The Clergy.
The power of the feudal/tribal lords comes from
their vast land-holdings and the traditional fear
and respect that peasants/followers show them,
the power of the military emanates from the guns,
and the power of the clergy is derived from people's
deep religiosity.
The civilian "democratic" governments
in Pakistan have generally been dominated by feudal/tribal
leaders with support from the clergy. In all democratic
elections, the winners have been the well-known
landholding families in various parts of Punjab
and Sindh and the tribal/religious leaders in
NWFP and Baluchistan that form the so-called civilian
democratic governments. The military governments
have been led by generals with support from the
clergy. The clergy has, therefore, played a significant
role in who controls the reigns of power in Pakistan.
So the two most important alliances that have
controlled Pakistan at various times are the feudal/clergy
alliance and the military/clergy alliance. The
people that usually constitute the backbone in
most really democratic societies are the educated
middle class which has been largely absent from
any participation in the democratic process in
Pakistan. It is believed that one of the reasons
India has been much more successful in establishing
and maintaining democratic institutions has to
do with their land reform effort undertaken by
Prime Minister Nehru immediately after independence
in 1947. On the other hand, the continued power
and dominance of the feudal class in Pakistan
has had the most pernicious effect on any attempt
to produce a large, well-educated middle class
in Pakistan. The lack of any serious human development
is largely the result of the big landowners and
tribal leaders refusing any improvement in their
people. The lack of human development has also
led to the inordinate sway that the clergy has
over people who accept their ill-conceived notions
about Islam without question.
Unless there is a fundamental change in Pakistani
society that focuses on human development and
reduces the privilege of these three centers of
power, we are likely to see the real power continue
to be concentrated in these three centers that
excludes the real people of Pakistan.
(PakAlumni Worldwide, created and launched by
NEDian Riaz Haq, is a social network designed
for all Pakistani alumni and students to connect,
share and collaborate. It serves Pakistan Alumni
at home and abroad. Riaz Haq's Blog: http://riazhaq.blogspot.com)
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