A Pakistani Ambivalence

It always strikes me as interesting how two sides of a debate can become so polarized that the issues seem, in retrospect, to slip through the tracks of defending positions.

A black ribbon or a green ribbon? Do you oppose Musharef? Or do you support emergency rule? Fence riding has long been seen as the easy way out from taking a stand, but in light of current situations, either side you choose, you lose.

I oppose Musharef, not because he called emergency rule, but because Pakistan is in this situation in the first place. Musharef has failed to create a democratic environment for transition, failed civil society, failed the rule of law, and failed to establish stability in a country marred with ethnic, tribal and religious oppositions. So by all rights, he should go right? - Wrong.

Musharef cannot simply pack his bags and leave, the country, its nuclear programme, its whole advancement of institutional frameworks would undoubtedly fall into the wrong hands and Pakistan would see far more violence then we see right now with martial law enacted for protection of the constitution. In the short term, the country needs Musharef, and needs him to act quickly to deliver on his promises. In the long term however, Musharef must go, he must leave and allow the people to come to power. Don’t be fooled, Musharef will not usher in a democratic transition, he has been unable to do so for the past 9 years.

Here falls the double edged sword. Musharef is single handedly tearing down all the institutions he so proudly fought to put in place since his coup in 1999. So either way, the country has some tough times ahead of it in order to rebuild.

My advice to Mushy is to deliver on what he promises – return stability in the north and help stamp out extremism from the source, and release the political opposition. It is really all that he can do for the country now. As for the biased judiciary, in a western nation, they would be upheld as defenders of the law (which IS there job) by denying Musharef his custom constitutional powers, however the responsibility faulters when the country is in a state of turmoil as it is.

As for the people of Pakistan? This whole situation is a blessing in disguise, if the people want Pakistan to return to them, then it is them that must fight. By the looks of things, apathy is slowly breaking away and people are waking up to the situation in their country. Benny Bhutto will not lead this country to better days. The corruption of her past opportunistic approach to the restoration of democracy is has far too many holes. The first of which being her desire to get a constitutional acceptance to run for a 3^rd term, when the constitution states she may only run twice. Secondly, her purging of legalities facing her past corruption charges. If she wants to restore democracy so bad, then she should give up her position as lifelong chair of the PPP, and stand for trial for her sins. Let the institution she so badly wants to establish be the deciding factor of her fate.

Now is the time for the Unseen Hero's to emerge: those men and women taking to the streets, raising awarness through Cyber-protests, and organizing the masses, for what they believe is a Pakistan with a future. Yes it is you, Unseen Hero that must now stand and take back this country. You are its only hope.