Why Are the Moon and the Stars upside Down?
By Dr.Nazir Khaja
Los Angeles , CA
The New York Times very recently reported an incidence in which the flag of Pakistan flying with other flags flown at The Rockefeller Center was noted to be “inverted”. It appeared that the crescent in the flag was pointing down instead of up and the star in the flag had fallen towards the bottom instead of being up. This was brought to the attention of the concerned authorities and the mysterious error was corrected; the right flag with the crescent and star in the flag pointing in the right direction was installed. No explanation as to how and why this happened and who was responsible.
This may be of great interest to those who are astrologers and soothsayers. That aside for the rest of us who have been witnessing Pakistan’s star sink for a long time, it is metaphoric of Pakistan’s continuous decline into the “failed state” category.
The country’s economy is in shambles, the law and order situation within the country is fragile, and the border insurgency poses grave threat to Pakistan’s very survival as a sovereign nation.
Witness the current power struggle that is going on in Pakistan. The fragility of the government which is already struggling to survive in the face of the challenges elicited above is now pushed to the brink because of something like “Memogate”; this only exposes the weaknesses of the political system which is beyond dysfunctional and is yet again proving to be an obstacle to Pakistan`s progress towards democracy.
A widely acknowledged fact about Pakistan is that the State, whoever claims to lead it, is weak, and society in its various forms, is confused. The main institutions of the State, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, are all tainted and infested with partisanship even at the expense of national interest. The unaccountable operation of institutions, including that of the Army, whose leaders have major responsibility in implanting and encouraging a narrow and intolerant mindset which has fuelled fundamentalism that holds Pakistan back. Not just the Pakistani State’s own political blunders but of others with strategic interest in the region, are all viewed through the prism of religion or conspiracy by foreign powers against the state. The Army’s entire claim to most of Pakistan’s budget at the expense of development of the social sector rests on its claim of an imminent attack from India. The media in Pakistan has played a significant role in keeping the masses, that are mostly uneducated, confused and reactive.
Anyone or any group with the slightest power in society uses it (amongst other things) to plunder the state for patronage and favors, and to turn to their advantage the workings of the law and the bureaucracy.
The embarrassments that the weak Pakistani state has suffered last year with US Navy Seals operation against bin Laden and the takeover of the Naval Base in Karachi by extremists and the drone attacks with loss of civilian lives have generated a wave of anger among the Pakistani masses. In their state of impoverishment and frustration it is easier for their mindset to believe that it is entirely a foreign conspiracy against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan rather than the inherent weakness of the State itself. Popularity among the masses for any politician or a media outlet is directly related to ant-American/Western rhetoric and sloganeering. No one dare speak about the “elephant in the room” --- the Army’s stranglehold over the civilian rule
The Governments that have come to power throughout Pakistan`s history have been mostly dictatorships or military rule under the veneer of democracy or elected governments. There have been periods when the Army did not directly intervene but used proxies. The Army is the “ Deep State”, which should be held responsible for most of what is wrong with Pakistan’s political system, but it remains off the hook.
The Memogate incidence only highlights the weakness and frustration of the civilian government, which desperately wants to assert itself over the Army. Riddled with corruption and in a weak and enfeebled state how can the civilian government take on the Army? Despite the Army’s obstructionist role in the democratic development of Pakistan no civilian government of any ilk or party dare challenge the Army and hold it accountable. The Memogate which now is center stage in Pakistan’s on-going tragedy is but a desperate act of the weak and corrupt government of Mr. Zardari who unable to wrestle with the army with insufficient resources at hand dared ask for help from those who have long track record of being hand–in-glove with Pakistan’s army. This is being interpreted at its face value that Mr., Zardari has tried to save his own skin. Yet despite ones own deep visceral aversion for Mr. Zardari and his government one must ask if this has any redeeming value.
The judiciary in Pakistan which is now conducting hearings on Memogate itself has a poor track record. During the past at critical moments in Pakistan’s history when civilian governments have sought constitutional support to fend off the Army bids to rule, the judiciary has been silent, blurring the civilian and military roles and allowing the circumvention of the Constitution’s mandate of the primacy of civilian rule.
Personalities aside, while the Supreme Court in Pakistan is conducting hearings for the charges of treason against the government’s functionaries, the questions that need deliberation in the court of public opinion are ----- by what if any means and with what resources at hand can the primacy of civilian/constitutional rule over all institutions of government, including the army, be established?
The Supreme Court will do a great favor to all Pakistanis by giving top priority and attention to settle this question once and for all.
It is time that the “Crescent and the Star” in the Pakistani flag are pointing in the right direction!!
(Dr. Nazir Khaja is a Founding Member of the Council Of Pakistan-American Affairs, Los Angeles. nazir.khaja@gmail.com)
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