Pakistan: The Long March and the Bumpy Road
By Dr. Nazir Khaja
Los Angeles, CA
The long March of the lawyers in Pakistan is over but the long March of the People of Pakistan, which started at the nation's birth, continues.
Democracy is a" habit "which people learn over a long period of history. Raised on the staple of religion in a corrupt political culture the people of Pakistan are burdened by dysfunctional forms of religion and statehood. In both of these aberrant forms that have the people of Pakistan in their grip the idea of "social responsibility" is absent or has remained dwarfed.
This is hardly the fault of the masses, which, languishing in poverty and illiteracy have only their leaders to depend on. The repeated cycles of hope and despair that the people of Pakistan seem to be eternally trapped in unfolds for them all kinds of political dramas full of "sound and fury" and as Shakespeare said"signifying nothing".
It was the lawyers turn this time. They decided that they are able or wish to exert a positive influence on the direction of events. By demanding free judiciary and constitutional rule they were addressing a fundamental need for Pakistan in its` struggle to emerge as a functional democracy. Repeated cycles of military rule and corrupt and inept civilian governments would have to end.
Mass demonstrations instigate and indicate grassroots involvement. The masses seek redress from the government or from those who deny them their rights. These demonstrations also provide for the masses an opportunity to blow-off steam. There is catharsis in shouting slogans, comfort in chanting demands and consolation in being together with others weighed by the same burden of misery. Clear objectives, capacity to organize, and forging a consensus between all the participants and the stakeholders is required and renders success.
The people of Pakistan have a lot to demonstrate against and demonstrations and protests are commonplace. Not too infrequently the politicians and the religious leaders who have the masses in their grip utilize demonstrations and protest marches more to serve their interest rather than for the common good. Also this takes the people who have no place to go or be heard, away from the daily drudgery giving them some excitement. They come out on the street, stopping work, traffic, and commerce in the name of a perceived injustice whether religious or political
In many instances incitement of the mob by leaders causes damage to property and bodily harm. Yet again it is the poor who suffer the most.
The lawyers showed great capacity to organize the march. They have been agitating for sometime now since the removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. He has come to represent the entire issue of the primacy of constitutional rule. The lawyers must be commended for their willingness to come out and help with the transformation of the country's` fragile undemocratic political framework. Yet Pakistan's fatigued masses, involved in a bigger and bitter struggle against crushing poverty seem more focused on feeding their families in the face of food shortages and rising prices. Therefore it is not surprising that the march fizzled out without significant change in the status quo.
There can also be several reasons for the lack of success of the march but none more important and more basic than the urgent needs of the people of Pakistan.
The lawyers' main argument rightly is to see that the primacy of constitutional rule and a free judiciary is established and guaranteed in the political culture of Pakistan. Starting with this overarching principle the march and the sloganeering seem to have drifted into the corner of personality issues and political agendas transmitted from the contending political leaders and parties. The rallying cry became the reinstatement of Chief Justice Ifikhar Chaudhry and other justices who were dismissed by Musharraf. Though the Chief Justice stood up against Musharraf in the end, it cannot be overlooked that he had earlier legitimized Musharraf`s coronation as president. This was not the first incidence in Pakistan` history that the judiciary had compromised and capitulated to the will and wishes of the mighty and the powerful. There were other occasions in the past history of Pakistan that the judiciary at crucial juncture had failed the people of Pakistan in living up to its high ideals.
In the present existential struggle going on in Pakistan, there can be no winners. The lawyers will be well advised to stay with the demand of constitutional rule and primacy rather than to keep insisting on the reinstatement of individuals. Though as it may seem, the reinstatement is an essential part and proof of the principle of free judiciary, yet at this time when the whole nation is struggling with basic issue of survival in the face of multiple problems, the lawyers must take heed of the priorities of the common man. They need to move beyond their own rhetoric and not remain trapped in the competing agendas of the politicians. Politicized judiciary is not what Pakistan needs and this they know well. The demand for free judiciary must continue and remain transcendent rather than making the issue entirely personality-centered. They must seek to rehabilitate the system rather than personalities.
It’s` time that the lawyers have their ears to the ground. What the majority of the people of Pakistan seem to be saying is that the dismissal of judges of a court in which seldom any of their issues are heard, is not their pressing need. Pakistan is in great peril. The political turmoil has created conditions of great insecurity for the people and it appears as if Pakistan is adrift on a stormy sea without anyone at the helm. The bickering of the inept politicians, the rise of religious extremism within, and the war at its borders, all have made the lives of the people a nightmare. The lawyers must stay above the fray of politics. The message from them who are barely eking out an existence seems to be clear.
The masses are saying that for them reinstatement of the dismissed judges of a court in which seldom any of their issues are heard is hardly a priority. What the people need and deserve and that which the lawyers and the rest can demand from this government is that they stop the political wrangling and pay attention to the abject plight of the poor and their pressing problems.
Surely the learned lawyers do not need the reminder from an erstwhile example from history---"Let them eat cake" was the response to the cries of the hungry then; the lawyers would be well advised to keep their head!!
*Founding Member, Council of Pakistani-American Affairs.
Nazir.khaja@gmail.com
