Revolution in Pakistan
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
Democracy has always been an endangered ‘species’ in Pakistan. Under attack from a group of politicians and helpless against the powerful outside forces, it faces invariably a dark future.
Why is it that an institution which helps other nations prosper fails in Pakistan? Requiring a lot of patience, it is a slow and grimy process that appears to promote incompetent and dishonest politicians in its initial phases. Yet, if given an opportunity to flourish through uninterrupted, free and fair elections at all levels including the local bodies, it can yield favorable results. That has never happened in Pakistan, and it would never transpire either. Reason? Being ‘unique and special,’ we are a histrionic nation that is fretting to lead the world as the torch bearer of Islamic renaissance. Here, any process that is not fast enough would always be deemed unattractive and ineffective. Sometimes it will be disregarded as un-Islamic; many a time it will be demeaned as being a Western concept; and at other times it will just be trashed as a process that is inconsistent with our attitudes.
Being so exceptional, we believe that the creation of Pakistan against all odds was a special favor from the Almighty to the Muslims of the subcontinent. Following the same trend, we also have assumed an imaginary responsibility for ourselves to play a role much bigger than our size and capacity in uniting the Muslim States of the world and protecting fellow believers from ‘outside’ forces. Such a fantastic objective, honestly speaking, cannot be met with an unglamorous process like democracy. There has to be something more effective and exciting for us. What could it be? In search of that answer, we have created a mysterious shadow of a powerful revolution in our minds that hovers over democracy all the time like an American drone flying over the tribal areas ready to fire a missile. Instead of being afraid of it, as the people living in Waziristan are, we, without contemplating the loss of hundreds of innocent lives and the possibility of a deadly civil war, have embraced the idea of revolution and have been mesmerized by it. Under the influence of our own narcissism, many among us are therefore convinced that it would deliver positive results with a lightning speed. In a post-revolution Pakistan, most reckon that the government would lay down the foundation of a utopian state, guaranteeing in a matter of few weeks - if not sooner - across the board accountability, restoring the law and order just in a few days; providing justice at the doorsteps in a matter of months, punishing all the corrupt politicians, bringing back the laundered money, and establishing the rule of a pious and selfless leader. Yes, just one leader like a comic hero, in our opinion is sufficient to manage it all as long as he is sincere and honest even if he is megalomaniac and irrational.
Historically, the idea of revolution is not new to Pakistanis; it is almost as old as the country itself. But unfortunately, even after so many decades, it still is ambiguous and lacks both clarity and uniformity. It has many shades that can range from peaceful protests to violent insurgency. For some people, revolution means the emergence of a strong and modern leadership through the democratic process, as in Turkey, to steer us out of our predicaments. In their mind, it is a form of ‘soft and legal revolution’ which in my opinion is not a revolution at all; instead, it is the logical result of any democratic process.
Second form of revolution although is a little more radical, yet it still does not promote violence and mostly endorses peace. To an extent, its essence is democratic, but the details of this option again are opaque and are probably unconstitutional. According to this view, which I think Tahir Qadri is proposing, a grand long march or a series of widespread protests in the country similar to Al-Tahrir Square of Egypt would soon crop up and somehow would result in the formation of a popular, honest and competent interim or revolutionary government that would take the drowning boat of Pakistan to the shores of progress and prosperity.
Third option, is already well known to all of us. It is when the Army General seizes power through a coup d'état and with his firm grip on the system is able to rule for several years. We have already suffered four of these unconstitutional revolutions in the last 67 years and each of them have created mountainous problems for us. This action, that always lurks behind the cloak of accountability, can also be considered a form of a man-made disaster.
Then there is a real revolution, which is messy, cruel, grisly, and gore - a genuine Tsunami. It is highly violent and leads to the loss of thousands of life. In recent years, such a revolution - also known as the civil war - has been witnessed in Syria and Libya. Both the countries have failed to obtain the aforementioned objectives of their movement and only experienced the loss of thousands of life followed by chaos, tyranny and religious extremism.
Our uprising would not be any different veering more towards the Taliban-style Afghan experience or a form of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In that situation, Sharia law would be abused to maintain control, freedom of speech would be revoked, voice of dissent would be considered treacherous, and women would be incarcerated to their homes. We have seen a glimpse of the implementation of a similar Sharia law in Swat when criminals disguised as clerics ruled the valley through pure terror just a few years ago, hanging the bodies of men in public places and women flogged in the streets. The question is if this is what we really want and if we are ready for it. I know I am not.
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