Elections-Articles & Commentaries

The NAB Diaries - Part One and Part Two
By Amer Nazir

My name is Amer Nazir. I live in exile in London. It is a forced exile. I left Pakistan as soon as NAB took my name off the Exit Control List after a period of three years. If I had not left, probably I would have also disappeared forever like my best friend Ahmed Shujaudin – a leading architect. 

God willing and the Teeth Maestro permitting, I intend to write about my journey from a modest middle-class background to one of the top IT entrepreneurs of Pakistan before I fell to the extent that I became homeless. Once a familiar face in the so-called corporate social circles in Karachi it came to a point where no one was willing to take my phone call – after all, I was a NAB accused. I was never to be convicted but it did not matter. The logic was straight forward. If Shuja had been kidnapped then surely Shuja must have done something terrible to cause it or else at least deserve it…

The scope of these four narrations hopefully to be published during the next four weeks is to narrate a very brief account of my business journey, my labour of love, after a briefest possible introduction of myself, the major space will be given to my NAB experience, the actual inside account, and the behaviour and the attitude of our kings of the castle. 

The hope is that some of you may see a part reflection of your own lives in this account and it may perhaps help you in some way. Another hope is that once it reaches the Free World and once fully investigated the world will realize that the common Pakistanis have never had the chance and that they deserve an honest break. There is also this hope to try and shame the shameless. And last but not least, and though it is a long shot, perhaps even Musharraf may realise the extent of damage he has done. He may finally understand, that although it is true for every institution, but especially when it comes to matters of justice, a self-designed system, a crude accountability set-up which is from day one formed on principles that are outside universally accepted rule of law – is soon bound to become abusive and corrupt itself…

For the non-Pakistanis, NAB is the acronym for The National Accountability Bureau. The flag ship of Musharraf. The main reason he gave for assuming power. He said that the nation had become too corrupt. NAB is composed of serving and retired army officers with unlimited powers. They are answerable to none. Present in every major city, each NAB office has a jail within its compound where prisoners are kept without any possibilities of bail. Some of them picked up from the streets, most from their beds at dawn. Several have died during interrogations…

And lastly, my narration will detail how a proud Pakistani was forced to claim asylum in his wife’s homeland. Who although married to a British national for twenty years had never applied for the British nationality and had instead sponsored his wife for the Pakistani nationality instead…

I belong to an educated middle-class family which never had sufficient savings in the bank. I studied in Cathedral School and then Cadet College Hasanabdal and finally Government College Lahore. Now in retrospect, when one has a 20 by 20 vision, I think I was naive from the outset. I was not ready to compromise. I could never reconcile to the fact that I could actually be less than any high and mighty that I came across. I rejected constraints. I could do anything… as long as nature was just…

And then however it happened, starting from a salary of Rs. 1800 after graduation, I eventually became the Founding Director of Hi-Tech Business Machines at the age of twenty-four and few years later it’s Chief Executive. This company was the first IBM dealer in Pakistan and it later re-launched Compaq in the country as well. With offices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad it employed 100 personnel which were to increase to 250 over the years.

Hilinks Pak was my next venture which launched hilinks.com the first international portal from Pakistan that was accessed in 56 countries. The first cyber based financial instrument the e-card was also launched by this company prior to Citibank. The next milestone was the first Telco-grade ISP in Karachi called Hinet which had twenty-five thousand users before it was forcibly closed down one day. 

Collectively, the companies were called the E-Tech Group of companies. This set-up was the only one of its kind in the country. With an ISP, a hardware and software company, and an advertising company in the portfolio, and with products such as a portal and an e-card about to be granted credit and debit function by participating banks – all this enabled the group to conduct the first B2B and B2C transactions in Pakistan in local currency. Along with many other firsts in the market, the Group also successfully managed remote trading for the first time on Karachi Stock Exchange on a trial basis. It was already providing access to KSE at zero delay free of cost to the visitors on hilinks.com with the assistance of Reuters.

The final glory of the group was the mutual co-branding of the e-card and the PIA frequent flyer card with PIA. This was announced in a press conference by the COO of PIA and myself. We had already re-launched the PIA site and had signed an agreement that gave the E-Tech Group rights to sell PIA cargo space and passenger seats on-line and on a worldwide basis, manage the last minute auction of seats, and establish the PIA call centre. Several international travel related industry partners including hotels and banks showed their interest to join the alliance which would have brought PIA at par with modern airlines in terms of customer services. It is worthwhile to note here that the E-Tech Group did not charge any fee to PIA for the services rendered. All profits were based on new and increased revenue streams because of the turn key solutions that we had offered to implement. In fact, the group saved PIA one million dollars to start with which otherwise would have gone to a foreign company when it linked the sabre system with the frequent flyer database.

And this was the stage when NAB came in… and since then PIA has struggled to follow the vision that we gave them… the actual outcome of which is for the people to judge themselves.

A burning ambition is an excitement that does not let you be. It sets you out on strange adventures. On a lonely path that promises great fortunes in terms of wealth, satisfaction, and recognition. The concept of being self-made seems as the ultimate prize, a dream – at the risk of waking up one dreary morning to discover that it is at best only a rationalisation which is suppose to somehow justify the precious time that has gone by unnoticed, when it may even seem like a half-hearted consolation, perhaps even self-deception, with the rewards coming too late if they do come at all and when too much cost has already been paid in advance. And yet the yearning of a good life, of a purposeful and eventful life can still be felt in the wake. Even when one is forced to think that perhaps inherited wealth is the only solution – that it is the only wealth that can be truly enjoyed since it may not demand much sacrifice or responsibility… but yet there will remain people like me who will never draw a line, who will never learn, who will never be content with whatever they are born into, and they will still attempt, they will do it all over again no matter what the cost until the very end…

I did manage to have my share of excitements. My group provided the first internet connectivity to ICTN Asia and Musharraf gave me a trophy, the photograph was carried by all the major newspapers. I had met Musharraf earlier also at parties when he was the Corps Commander Mangla – but that is another story… I was also frequently invited to dinners at the Governor House when Soomro was governor. We had contributed financially and technically to his Caravan Karachi endeavour and he had given me a trophy in recognition at a public event at the Governor House…

However, the worse aspect of entrepreneurship especially in a non-structured economy is raising capital. The only form of capital available is through equity participation and I don’t think there is any need for me to say more… this tells a story by itself…

On assuming powers Musharraf had declared IT as a major sector for development that his government would pursue. Perhaps, he had been told by his advisors that IT had the potential of becoming the cottage industry of Pakistan and that we will soon beat India at her own game – but that did not mean that the banks were ready to invest in intangibles with there being plenty of tangible plots and textile loams available for mortgage and re-mortgage. The banks did not find any consolation in the human collateral either – it being the most inconsequential especially when it comes to Pakistanis.

But there was no stopping the Presidential courtiers. On the last day of the first ITCN, I was approached by the convenors of the exhibitions and was told to declare at a press conference that I had signed foreign contracts worth US 35 million. I refused… A month later, when I returned from a presentation to the Pakistani/American IT entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, the first few newspapers that my secretary placed on my desk had screaming headlines that included my group having signed major international contracts for the said amount… the statements came from our Minister Dr Atta Ur Rehman… this must have pleased the President tremendously even though not even ten percent of this revenue was ever expected to realize and it did not also in the end…

Coming back to raising capital, a classmate from Cathedral, a PIA captain, had approached me several times in the past to make PODF which stands for Pilot’s Occupational Disability Fund and which is the financial arm of PALPA as my partner – but I had refused each time… I had personal reasons. My elder brother is a PIA captain and an ex-air force officer. And I had walked out on him several years ago, the reasons for which I have so far refused to publically discuss in spite of much provocation by the NAB officers… I always told them to ask my brother instead… but his version was already known and that too officially and on paper… I was a financially corrupt man beside the several other major flaws in my character… which even to this day, when not much has been left of me and my family, he insists on forwarding to newspaper editors..

However, in 2002, just when I was close to a partnership deal with Faisal Investment Bank which was later absorbed by Faisal Islamic Bank, my captain classmate insisted day after day that I should not allow a project of national importance to fall into the hands of foreigners… and finally I succumbed once he and the PODF board assured me that my brother will never have anything to do with it…

I was burning with ambition as usual. I was willing to do anything that could make my group achieve what I had envisioned. The terms of the new partnership were unconventional but I was willing to go to any extent to see my dream come true. PALPA did not pay me for my fifty percent equity in Hilinks that I passed on to them – but it did not matter to me, I was overjoyed that they would invest to take the project forward and that they will also act as the Lender Of Last Resort to the group. However, they did pay me for half the share holding of Hi-Tech, and that entire amount I deposited as my equity in Hinet the next day – the new company that we formed immediately and which owned the ISP… And as time was to tell, subsequently, PALPA also refused to pay me salary for the next two years as the Chief Executive… for the entire period of our partnership. It is therefore no wonder that having put everything in a group that I believed in, including the proceeds from the sale of my thousand yard house in Defence Society, into a business that I had nurtured for eighteen years… I was bound to become penniless and homeless soon after…

My brother did not take the news well when he heard about the new partnership. The events that were to unfold in the next two years therefore were a result of some serious manoeuvrings. The PALPA board came up for elections every two years. And this time, a very senior captain named B was not sure whether he would be able to win or not. He had been elected a few times in the past and now wanted a last stint as President before he retired – but he was not confident about winning this time around since he had just been acquitted from a rape case… But there was good news as well. The entire country was excited about the accountability initiative in Pakistan and the Chairman NAB was Captain B’s personal friend, while the Vice Chairman was my brother’s colleague from Air Force. It was a comfortable setting – rather perfect in fact, almost impossible to ignore. Accountability was the war cry in the streets of Pakistan at the time. People had developed fresh hopes due to Musharraf’s promises of eradicating corruption forever. In their minds they hoped to see the corrupt swinging from trees from their bedroom windows when they got up in the mornings – and at the same time, it was also easy to accuse anyone and be counted amongst the moral… and thus, it should not take much imagination to guess what happened next… 

My brother and Captain B declared in front of the PIA captain community that the current trustees of PODF ( serving captains) were embezzling huge amounts of money from the Group along with me… and that they had solid evidence. They also declared that the Chairman NAB had promised to put all the culprits behind bars and recover all the money… It was to be honest a rather battered old election slogan but which now possessed a fresh breath of life due to the nation’s leader whose own bread and butter depended on it. And therefore, it should not come as a surprise that the panel of vigilantes won the election rather easily and it now came upon them to make good their election promise…

There were a few technical problems though. Firstly, the case was outside the mandate of NAB since government, public or bank funds were not involved. Secondly, the Group had signed arguably the biggest co-branding in the country and a contract that could return the entire investment within perhaps even a year, and thirdly there were these several audits… the latest, a third-party audit, conducted by Ferguson only few weeks ago accounted for each and every penny. And then ironically, Ferguson was also the auditor of PALPA and PODF as well at the time… there could not have been any valid basis for suspecting foul play.

Moreover, there could also not be any doubts on any other aspect such as the viability of the project in case even if someone was blind to the PIA alliance since there was present a three-week old evaluation report from Ferguson Consultants in their capacity as the local partners of PriceWaterHouseCoopers. The report concluded that the value of the group had increased five fold even prior to the PIA alliance…

The above was a difficult preposition for NAB but the command came from the top. It had to be executed. And therefore, the only weapons in their arsenal, to start with and for the next three years, were the almost fantastic stories by their captain friends and the personal testimony of an estranged brother. Perhaps, there was also this overwhelming hope that I might have made a mistake somewhere which would eventually be discovered. Nonetheless, this was enough for NAB to come into action. They entered the picture ruthlessly, and though for the first year they out rightly refused to hand over any documentation in spite of the fact that my name was continuously on the Exit Control List throughout this period in later years they became either too reckless or else too arrogant and started to leave a massive paper trail as evidence. I yet kept on challenging them and once at a juncture of extreme frustration, they even opened a new and completely un-related case against me and my wife since she was also a director in the companies. And though they blatantly refused to charge us for any specific crime once again or take us to a court, they often threatened to have my wife extradited from UK since she had left for London taking our daughters to safety. As usual, in this particular case as well, the onus remained on us, the accused, to prove our innocence… at times against unspecified crimes – rather than the other way around. 

‘But Brigadier Abassi,’ I once pleaded. ‘It has been three years now. Metaphorically speaking, no dead body has been found so far, neither has a murder weapon been discovered, nor is there any missing person whom one can presume as having been murdered, whose body has been possibly disposed and buried somewhere – so can you please tell me my crime?’

‘If we knew the exact details… do you think you would be sitting so comfortably in that chair…’ was the reply.

Bukshi then gave instructions for 15 million to be transferred in my account within the next few days – he said that this was the best he could do for me at the moment. Surprisingly however, Brigadier Abbasi still had the courage to object. ‘The captains managing the PALPA board will never agree to pay him anything,’ he said. ‘In case they were to pay him even a dime their community will take them to task. Now that the business has been closed down the community will demand to know why the PALPA office bearers had lied to them and had allowed Two hundred million to go down the drain…’ PALPA has got to have some face saving,’ he continued. ‘Up to now, they are promising their community that the entire investment will be recovered once the properties of the accused have been confiscated.’

And then suddenly, for the second time that week, I heard Brigadier Abbasi being mercilessly abused. The expletives having ended, General Bukshi told Brigadier Abbasi to deposit the money in my account no matter how and to strike my name off the ECL…

That day, I came out of NAB and started my packing. I also rang up my daughters in London and told them I was on my way. 

Three days later, General Qadir was asked to resign by President Musharaff for some political reasons. 

General Bukshi refused to see me again. Brigadier Abbasi denied that there ever was any settlement when contacted on my behalf by an army officer. ‘Who will believe his words against that of a General and a Brigadier?’ was his famous reply. 

A few weeks later, I and my wife, as she was also a Director in the group, were both named as accused in the forex fraud cases that had recently taken the country by storm. A warrant for arrest was issued in my name by the Security Commission of Pakistan. The state bank and the FIA were also actively involved in this case although the main lead was retained by NAB. 

I or my wife had never traded in Forex. The only possible connection we had with Forex was that the forex cases were also being headed by Brigadier Abbasi…

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PPP manifesto: a 'message of hope' for the poor
By Ashraf Mumtaz

LAHORE, Dec 24: The People’s Party manifesto for the general election has a message of hope for the poor and the jobless, and if implemented in letter and spirit, will bring about positive changes in various walks of life.

The party’s roadmap is based on several new ideas and also promises continuity of some policies the party pursued during its 1993-96 rule.

The theme of the manifesto remains the same as in 1967, when the party was launched: everybody will be provided with food, clothing and housing.

The manifesto says the PPP, if voted to power, will launch a labour-intensive public works programme so that “there is guaranteed employment, for at least one year, to one working member of the poorest 25 per cent families of Pakistan”.

The step will certainly go a long way in helping over 30 per cent of the populace living below the poverty line. If one-fourth of the poorest are given jobs every year, albeit for one year, all the poor will get a source of livelihood if the PPP gets a chance to return to power and stay in for four years.

This programme is like the placement bureau set up by the Benazir government to give jobs to the jobless. Some references were instituted against Ms Bhutto on this charge, but were thrown out by courts.

The party’s commitment to launch a literacy and health corps scheme for the educated but unemployed youth will also help the new generation to improve their future.The PPP also proposes to establish a database of the poorest 25 per cent of families so that various programmes to be launched for them are properly implemented. The step will ensure that the fruits of the scheme trickle down to the people the plans are meant for.

Some people say that if the children of the rich, no matter how qualified, are not given jobs for a few years as they do not face any economic problems, the government may accommodate more have-nots in less time.

Another novel idea floated by the PPP is about prison reforms. “The concept of hard and rigorous labour will be abolished,” says the manifesto. Prisoners learning skills will be paid proper wages for work undertaken and be entitled to purchase facilities for themselves, including television, computer and other products. The party will have to see whether such a step will be acceptable to society, especially the aggrieved families who want the accused awarded severest punishments.

To honour the commitment, the party government will have to change the countless laws which stipulate hard and rigorous labour.

Another provision of the manifesto that may raise the popularity of the PPP is its Targeted Anti-Poverty Programme, under which poor families sending their children, especially girls, to schools and getting inoculated will get cash subsidies. Although such a scheme is already in place in Punjab and Sindh, a commitment by the PPP means it will continue even if the PML does not return to power.

The PPP has also promised to focus on providing computers progressively for every secondary school and college. Every institution will have at least one unit so that the new generation can enter the digital age. “To universalise basic education, every child in government primary schools will be provided a stipend.”The party has also a lot to offer the women who constitute more than 50 per cent of the country’s population. The party shall enunciate a national employment policy for women, facilitating job creation and women’s participation in the economy.

The 10 per cent affirmative job quota for women in public service initiated by Ms Bhutto’s government will be raised to 20 per cent.

The PPP’s commitment to look after senior citizens (people aged 65 or above) by providing financial assistance is likely to be appreciated by the voter.

The party’s commitment to follow the Charter of Democracy, signed by the ARD parties last year, can be honoured only if it has a two-thirds majority in parliament. The prime minister will not get the power to appoint governors, services chiefs and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee without amending the Constitution.

Similarly, the revocation of the Concurrent List of the Constitution will not be possible without a constitutional amendment.

Adherence to the CoD will also require the PPP to hold local bodies elections within three months of the general election. Likewise, it will have to review all indemnities obtained by the military government — something that may lead to a confrontation between the PPP and the president.

Another issue which may pitch the PPP against the president is its resolve to place the Nuclear Command and Control under the defence committee of the cabinet. The DCC is supposed to replace the National Security Council, which President Musharraf had set up to ‘bring an end to army’s role in politics’. At present, the Nuclear Command and Control is with the president.

The PPP manifesto does not say anything about the steps taken on and after Nov 3. However, if the party seriously stands by the CoD, it will have to restore the 1973 Constitution to its pre-Oct 12, 1999 position.

By implication, this means that whatever was done by President Musharraf on or after Nov 3 would be undone.

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IRI Survey Nov 2007

Polling Data

If the elections for the National Assembly were held next week, for which party would you vote?

	Nov. 2007	Sept. 2007	Jul. 2007
Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP)	30%	28%	32%
Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz Sharif (PML-N)	25%	36%	19%
Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q)	23%	16%	23%
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)	6%	5%	4%
Muttahhida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan (MMA)	4%	5%	5%
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)	2%	1%	2%
Not sure	4%	5%	10%

Source: International Republican Institute
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 3,520 Pakistani adults, conducted from Nov. 19 to Nov. 28, 2007. Margin of error is 1.69 per cent.

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Weakening Pakistan

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Mr. Musharraf's War: Only free elections will put an end to the president's fight against the country's courts, media and political parties

THOUGH HE has formally ended the de facto state of siege he imposed on Pakistan six weeks ago, Pervez Musharraf remains at war with his country's secular, politically moderate elite. The press and private television have been hamstrung by a Musharraf-sponsored "code of conduct" that punishes criticism of the president with imprisonment. The civilian legal system remains paralyzed by a lawyers' boycott because of Mr. Musharraf's refusal to reinstate the Supreme Court judges he improperly removed from office. Leaders of the two largest political parties are warning about the president's plans to rig parliamentary elections next month so that his own, immensely unpopular party remains in power.

Mr. Musharraf claims that by suspending the constitution he vanquished an unspecified "conspiracy" and made Pakistan "stronger." In fact, his only achievement was to prevent his own removal from office as president by the Supreme Court. The price was to further destabilize the country and intensify a conflict among the centrist civilian and military forces that desperately need to unite in order to combat al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other Islamic extremists.

The best chance of reversing the damage done by Mr. Musharraf lies in the elections scheduled for Jan. 8. If they are free and fair, Mr. Musharraf's governing party will suffer a devastating loss: A poll released last week by the International Republican Institute showed that 70 percent of Pakistanis do not believe the government deserves another term, and 67 percent said Mr. Musharraf should resign immediately as president. According to the poll, more than 50 percent of the parliamentary vote would go to the two centrist parties that have opposed Mr. Musharraf since he seized power in a coup eight years ago -- the Pakistan People's Party of Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif.

Ms. Bhutto is doubtful that Mr. Musharraf will permit that democratic outcome. In an interview with The Post's Lally Weymouth, Ms. Bhutto cited specific plans for government officials to inflate the vote totals of 108 official candidates in Punjab province, leaving only 40 seats to be fairly contested by opposition parties. Such an outcome could prompt a popular uprising by opposition supporters; Ms. Bhutto has cited the example of Ukraine, where mass demonstrations forced the reversal of a rigged election in 2004. But Pakistan is not Ukraine, and post-election protests could quickly lead to violence.

That's why the Bush administration must make a concerted effort in the next month to ensure that the elections are free. The administration has been trying to straddle the Pakistani divide in the last month, pushing Mr. Musharraf to retire from the army, lift the state of emergency and schedule elections while maintaining its close ties to him. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday publicly stressed the need for a fair vote. But President Bush should go further and make clear to Mr. Musharraf that in the event of electoral rigging, the United States will unambiguously side with Pakistan's democratic forces

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An Enigma called Imran Khan
By Ali Malik

I know this one is going to be the most controversial of all my posts. Yet at the same time I deliberated the most while writing this. This post in many ways is crumbling of the myth of my childhood fascination and idol.

If there was anything that I followed like mad in my childhood, it was my hero, my idol, the demigod of my childhood – Imran Khan. I would mimic everything that I found him doing. I would bowl for hours in the scotching heat of June and July in street and in the courtyard. I went ecstatic when I found that he too is a Fish-buff like me. His father, Niazi Uncle (someone I have learnt a lot from, and someone who has always been extremely kind to me), is a good friend of my father and a mentor to me. Through this connection I had the privilege of meeting my childhood idol a few times. When he initiated fund raising for cancer hospital, I was selling tickets at fuel stations, road sides, walkways and shops. When he formed Tehrik-e-Insaaf, I was one of its earliest members (and my name could probably still be found in the record somewhere). But then the myth started to crumble.

My joining of Tehrik-e-Insaaf, coincided with beginning of my reading on Pakistani politics. As my good friend Noor Palijo puts it, I am a political animal. However, before 1994, my political loyalties were based on what I heard from my surroundings. My family was dominated by Leaguers back then (with the only yet very powerful exception of my father who was one of the earliest members of PPP and is an astute example of political tolerance). Under the family influence of Leaguers, I was a die hard league supporter believing in all the right wing agenda that was prevalent in Pakistani politics of 80s and 90s. I even delivered a speech at a corner meeting of a League candidate on insistence of a close family friend during 1993 elections. However, after my joining of F.C. College, I started studying political history of Pakistan and started learning about social and political realities of Pakistan. I came aware of the battle between people and establishment. I analyzed Afghan war and Kashmir issue from multitude of perspectives. I learnt about the political struggles for Independence, against Ayub Khan and against Zia Ul Haq. With this reading came a change in my political views. I realized the power of clichés that controls public perception specially in educated urban classes. And I realized the difference of right and wrong in Pakistan’s political divide. I understood how bothered establishment is by the politicization of masses and how desperate it is to depoliticize Pakistan and thus have any powers that people have got back. My sincere hope was that Khan sahib’s joining of politics will contribute to the strengthening of people against establishment.

In those early days of Tehrik-e-Insaaf, I met a guy, who was TI’s first information secretary. I found out that he was son of Ahmad Raza Qasuri. That was my first turn off. How could the demigod accept the grandson of the person who got knighthood for sanctioning the hanging of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and son of the man who was part of judicial murder of first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan at the hand of a tyrant? I thought demigod has been exploited and has made an error. Then he started talking about corruption in the political system and I must confess at that time I believed he is talking about “the issue”.

Then came the second jolt. All his talk of corruption was aimed at Benazir Bhutto and he hardly mentioned the corruption of Leaguers, who were trend setters of political corruption in Pakistan through horse trading, bestowing perks and privileges on cronies and journalists, evading taxes, writing-off loans and introducing drug, land and arms mafias to Pakistani society. Neither was he grilling the corruption of Govt. Officials, Armed Services or judiciary. It seemed as if he was there for a purpose.

As the events unfolded, I have no doubt that the purpose was two-fold. First, to tarnish the image of Benazir Bhutto, for none of her opponents back then were in position of credibility to malign her image. Just imagine Shujat Hussain calling someone corrupt or Nawaz Sharif charging someone with nepotism back in 1995-96. People would have laughed there heads off. Second purpose was to mudsling the democratic process. And since then he has been the second most vocal force in destroying peoples’ faith in politics after Qazi Hussain Ahmad. He supported General Musharaf and called him the savior and survivor. Supported him in times when he was most vulnerable and it was his support (and his credibility with people) that was one of the reasons for no uprising against Musharaf in the early days. He always demanded keeping popular leadership out of political process. This was his demand not only for 2002 elections but also for 1997 elections. And then when in 2002 elections from Islamabad his lowness Ahmad Raza Kasuri was his candidate, it was moment of truth for me. I became sure then that there is more to it than what meets the eye.

He was the force behind pushing Nawaz Sharif to break ARD (not that Nawaz can be freed from the blame) and announce a return and go to Supreme Court for relief. And I still believe that had it not been for that SC judgment in Nawaz Sharif case and Government’s open defiance of it and the bursting of the bubble of Judicial Authority, we would have avoided November 3. And he was one of the central figures in facilitating the government to defy that judgment. Delivering the judgment SC had done its part. Now it was all for Mr. Sharif and his allies to show their strength on his arrival and make government bow further. And Imran and Maulanas ditched SC and Nawaz Sharif there, helping Musharaf. We all remember him boasting in London of being with Mian Sahab on his return and we all know he quietly slipped to Dubai on the day of action.

And now again, with his boycott ploy, he wants to make sure that Musharaf gets a cakewalk to 2/3rd in parliament without any fuss of rigging. Not only that but with his anti-boycott campaign (along with the best known helping hand of forces of oppression in this country Qazi Hussain Ahmad), he is persuading the anti-Musharaf vote not to go to polling stations on January 8th, helping Q League and Musharaf.

In recent days, both Rauf Kalasra and Abbas Ather have questioned his wisdom, though not his intentions. People still regard him for his heroics in a country devoid of handful of idols. So did I till now. But to me so much is at stake that I have to speak up. Mr. Khan, your record points to you being a helping hand of forces of oppression and destruction in this country. It is about time, you disprove it through your action, or be prepared to be answerable to history. And for people, call spade a spade, realize who is doing what. We need heroes but not the ones who exploit this status. Go to polling booths on January 8th, it is our last hope of checking the march of forces of oppression. If you would not, Q-Leaguers will storm in and Czar will be strengthened.

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Why the world needs democracy in Pakistan: Dictatorship fuels extremism, which reaches far beyond Pakistan
By Benazir Bhutto

ISLAMABAD, December 9, 2007: The world has rightly welcomed President Pervez Musharraf's retirement as Army head and announcement that emergency rule will end on Dec. 16. However, a crucial question remains. Is Pakistan heading toward a democratic future? Parliamentary elections are currently scheduled for Jan. 8. Among many worrying signs of corruption, the election commission is biased and not acting on complaints of fraud.

Yet if credible elections are not held, it will have dangerous consequences for Pakistan and the rest of the world community: Extremism will continue to grow, putting everyone at risk. The world must act to prevent this. It must insist on free and fair elections in Pakistan.

President Musharraf's last term in office demonstrated that dictatorship has fueled extremism. The tribal areas of Pakistan have turned into havens for militants to mount attacks on NATO troops in nearby Afghanistan. Lack of governance has led to the expansion of extremism into settled areas of Pakistan.

Democracy offers the best hope of containing extremism. Yet democracy depends on a fair electoral process and an independent election commission willing and able to implement Pakistan's electoral laws to prevent vote fraud. That is not happening.

"Improvised" voting stations, a pseudonym for ghost polling stations, dot practically every parliamentary constituency. Electoral lists – prepared with financial assistance from USAID – are fatally flawed, with more than 10 million unverified and missing names (clearly enough to "win" or "lose" an election). The sanctity of any future ballot is doubtful against reports that district returning officers have been ordered to disperse 20,000 ballots already marked in favor of pro-government candidates. These bogus votes will be "cast" through the process of double voting in the "improvised" voting stations – in ballot boxes that are translucent rather than transparent.

Mayors continue to control guns and police and government resources and are using them shamelessly to campaign for government candidates. The election commission has asked for "a report" on such malpractices but has taken no concrete efforts to stop them. Politically motivated officials have been placed in charge of the civilian intelligence services and key state posts to manipulate the elections further, although election laws demand that such officials be neutral. An assistant to a former chief minister has been made a returning officer to preside over elections in his area. This complaint is being "looked into" as well, which is simply a fancy way of buying time and doing nothing.

Punjab Province, which elects more than half of Pakistan's parliament, chooses 148 of the members through direct elections, excluding reserved seats for women and minorities. Of these seats, it is believed that 108 have been marked for rigging for government-backed candidates.

By the time all such reports of fraud come in from across the country, the elections will be over.

On top of all this, the media remains gagged, opposition leaders remain imprisoned, voter lists and voting locations have not yet been provided to opposition parties or to the general public in final print or electronic format, and no effort has been made by the pliant electoral commission to regularly consult with political parties on these issues. There is also no plan in place to ensure that votes counted at voting stations will be delivered to local consolidation centers without being manipulated en route. The National Reconciliation Ordinance, which provides for an immediate consolidated count, has been suspended.

Put quite simply, the elections are being stitched up to give the country a continuation of the outgoing government – one that failed to prevent the spread of militancy, extremism, and terrorism. Major terrorist attacks, including the latest plot discovered in Germany this summer, tracked terrorists' footsteps back to Pakistan's northern areas.

Unless there is a change in the status quo, the past will repeat itself. But that change can only come when the world community puts its weight behind fair elections and its faith in the people of Pakistan.

Musharraf sent a delegation to the US last week to talk to the Bush administration and members of Congress about the current situation. This visit was only meantto feign progress and deflect criticism.

Musharraf wants the world to believe that the coming election, though not perfect, will be "good enough for Pakistan" given the country's difficult circumstances. But the current circumstances are of the regime's making. Those in charge can – and must – do much better on this count.

The international community must send a clear message that it will not be an accessory to this coming crime. It must not wait to see if the elections on Jan. 8 are free and fair. It must insist on a minimum set of benchmarks to be met for the election to be recognized as free and fair. If the benchmarks are ignored, the international community must be prepared to signal its displeasure to the Musharraf regime in specific, tangible ways.

Flawed elections will worsen instability in Pakistan as civil society and political parties protest. Imposing international restrictions after the fact will be fruitless and only deepen anti-American sentiment.

At the very least, America can and should prod Musharraf to give Pakistanis an independent election commission, a neutral caretaker administration, and an end to blatant vote manipulation.

America is the world's most powerful democracy. By standing up for democracy at this critical time, Washington can give this nuclear-armed nation an opportunity to reverse the tide of extremism that today threatens not only Pakistan but the larger world community as well.

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Charter of demands
By Mir Jamilur Rahman

It is a misnomer to name a list of demands as charter. Charter is usually a written grant of rights by the state or legislature, especially creation of a university or company. It could also be a written constitution or description of an organization's functions. It is also used for an aircraft hired for a special purpose, thus the 'charter flight'. Then we have 'chartered accountant', denoting a member of a professional body that has a state charter. Lastly, there is 'chartered libertine', a person allowed to do so as he or she pleases.

Obviously, Pakistani politicians have added a new meaning to the word 'charter'. Perhaps it would find a place in the next edition of English dictionary. It is the second time that the word 'charter' has been used by our politicians, and both times wrongly. It was first used a few months back when Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto signed the 'Charter of Democracy' in London. Sadly, that charter was stillborn.

Opposition parties enclosed in two alliances -- Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy headed by PPP and All Pakistan Democratic Movement led by PML-N -- have raised objections on everything that the government has done or is doing to hold the general elections within the timeframe stipulated by the constitution. They criticise the caretaker governments on the grounds that they were set up arbitrarily without consulting them. They cast doubts on the neutrality of the Election Commissioner and demand that he should have been chosen by consensus. They demand revocation of Provisional Constitutional Order, martial law and emergency. And they want the reinstatement of CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other judges, which number over 60. Some opposition parties has threatened boycott of elections if the demands were not met.

Benazir Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman are against the boycott. Maulana has been very clear on his party's stand. He has repeatedly said that come what may his party would contest the elections with full force because any other course could be disastrous. To prove his point, Maulana refers to the MMA decision of resigning en bloc from the assemblies despite his opposition. Subsequent events proved that by resigning the MMA gained nothing politically; on the contrary it was put in a disadvantageous position.

Benazir Bhutto is against boycott. She insists that all parties should participate in electoral process. She admits that she has her doubts about the fairness of elections and for that reason PPP would be contesting elections under protest.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, JI chief and Imran Khan, chief of Tehrik-i-Insaf are the champions of boycott. Neither Imran Khan nor any member of his party has submitted nomination papers. Thus, without waiting for the decision of the ARD-APDM he has boycotted the elections. JI candidates had submitted nomination papers, but Qazi Sahib has now directed them to withdraw their papers. Thus like Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed has also declared boycott without waiting for the decision of the ARD-APDM. In his zeal to boycott the elections, Qazi Sahib has irreparably fractured the MMA, alliance of the 6 religious parties.

Boycott essentially is a trade union action which the labour takes for the acceptance of its demands, which are generally related to wages and perks. A political party would be committing a folly to go on strike or boycott elections to press for its demands. A political party brings the changes from within the parliament. Political parties contest elections to get into the parliament and become lawmakers. It will be a strange sight if the MNAs were to boycott the session or go on strike for a raise in their salaries and perks when they have the power to do so by making a law to this effect.

Boycott could not be the end in itself; it has to be a means to an end to be of any consequence. That end would obviously be to bring people on the streets to unhinge President Musharraf. The boycott lobby is wrong in its appraisal that it can bring down President Musharraf by street agitation. First, people are not in a mood and they see no tangible reason to join a street movement against President Musharraf. Second, the boycott lobby and other oppositionists would have discovered by now that it would be a Herculean task to destabilize President Musharraf. He is a moderate and tolerant leader but at the same time he is tenacious and could hardly be expected to give in to political and street pressures.

Mian Nawaz Sharif wants reinstatement of pre- Nov 3 judicature. It is a very tricky and unrealistic demand loaded with all sorts of complications. It is not positive politics to make this demand a condition to contest elections. Once the PCO goes into hibernation, emergency and martial law are lifted, the solution to judges' reinstatement would be less difficult to find. Benazir Bhutto is of the view that with the restoration of Constitution 1973, the judges would stand restored. If that is not the case, then the next parliament could take up this case and resolve it constitutionally. The best thing would be that President Musharraf himself finds an acceptable solution to the whole problem. The lawyers are agitating and the students are slowly joining them in their protest. The lawyers' boycott of the courts has put the public under great strain. The lawyers are losing financially, but there is no let-up in their movement. This problem should not be made a test of endurance for the government and the lawyers, waiting that who gives in first. This problem should not be allowed to linger on. The two sides, lawyers and the government ought to start talking.

The constitutional disputes and suo moto cases take too much precious time of the Supreme Court. Consequently, the ordinary litigants suffer financially and time-wise. In the last 6 months the Supreme Court hardly heard any case but constitutional petitions. Would it be an outrageous suggestion that a permanent bench of Supreme Court may be constituted to hear the constitutional cases? We have a Shariat Appellate Bench and other specialized court then why not Constitutional Bench.

Secretary-general PML-N Mr Jhagra has suggested that election be postponed for at least two months. Some other voices have also been raised favouring postponement. Mr Jhagra unwittingly is suggesting an unconstitutional act. Moreover, he and others who are advocating postponement of elections could be rest assured that it the elections are postponed then they should forget about the elections.

The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: mirjrahman@yahoo.com

 

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Caretaker set-up misusing official machinery
By Tahir Hasan Khan

Opposition political parties have complained to the Election Commission that the Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, other caretaker ministers and district and Tehsil Nazims who belonged to former ruling Q league and its coalition parties were running the election campaign of their relatives and candidates of their parties and that they were utilising the government machinery, funds, and other resources in this effort.

These parties have requested the Chief Election Commissioner to seize the powers of caretaker ministers and districts and Tehsil Nazims as they were using their influence on the administration to help the candidates of former ruling parties.

According to details provided to Election Commission, Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad belongs to the MQM and his real brother Israrul Ebad is also contesting the election from two national and one provincial assembly seat.

The city Nazims of Karachi and Hyderabad, Mustafa Kamal and Kanwar Naveed, also belonged to the MQM and both were openly running the election campaign of the party candidates by allowing their presence during announcements and inaugurations of development projects. These two were also leading rallies and holding public meetings.

The opposition parties pointed out that Sindh caretaker Education Minister Shujaat Ali Baig also was running the election campaign of his wife Khushbakht Shujaat, a MQM candidate while another provincial minister Arbab Naimat and district Tharparkar Nazim Arbab Anwar were running the campaign for their uncle ex-chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim.

Another Sindh Minister for Works and Services, Sibghatullah Rashdi, son of Pir Pagara, is also running the election campaign of his brother Sadaruddin Rashdi, while Sindh Minister for Forests and Wildlife Ghulam Rasool Unar is busy in the election campaign of his son Abdul Hafeez Uner. Sindh Food and Agriculture Minister Ejaz Shah Sherazi is also active in the election campaign of his son, brother and nephew who are contesting the election from Thatta districts.

The caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro is also active in the election campaign of his sister Maliha Malik and the mother of caretaker Prime Minister who is the district Nazim of Jacobabad is also running the election campaign of his daughter Maliha.

The District Nazim, Ghotki, Sardar Ali Gohar Maher, is active in the election campaign of his brother, former Sindh Chief Minister Ali Muhammad Maher, and another brother Raja Maher while the District Nazim, Dadu, Karim Ali Jatoi, is also running the election campaign of his father former federal minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi. Two other brothers of Liaquat Jatoi, former Wapda minister Sadaqat Jatoi and Ahsan Jatoi, are contesting from Dadu.

The District Nazim, Shikarpur, Arif Maher, is also running the election campaign of his father Ghous Bux Maher while district Nazim, Qambar, Shahdatkot, Nawab Shabbir Chandio, is also busy campaigning for his two sons Sardar Chandio and Burhan Chandio.

District Nazim Naushero Feroze Aqib Jatoi is active in the election campaign of his uncle Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, Farhad Jatoi and Arif Jatoi while Distric Sukkur Nazim Syed Nasir Hussain Shah is also active in the campaign for his nephew Syed Javed Shah.

The District Nazim, Khairpur, Pir Niaz Hussain Shah is active in the election campaign of his brother.

The opposition parties have demanded of the Election Commission to cancel all transfers and postings in the police and administration and withdraw government vehicles from former ministers of the coalition set-up who are using these them in the election campaign of their relatives and parties.

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PPP and the politics of hope
By Sherry Rehman

Today, the Pakistan Peoples Party marks its fortieth year in mainstream politics. Why does this party hold a unique place in Pakistan's history, politics and social transformations? What animates its diehard support-base, and why do people seek its banner? One, it is the one federal party in this country that has not arisen out of a backroom deal. Two, it has never strayed from its core vision of seeking sovereignty through empowering the people. Three, as a party that sees the poorest, the vulnerable and the oppressed as its first priority, the PPP is the one party that has remained consistent with its agenda of change through progressive politics. In its social democratic vision to deregulate the economy while protecting the vulnerable, the party has evolved to spur the private sector as an engine of growth. Four, in international affairs, it has charted an iconic leadership course through intensely troubled waters. Five, on fighting for fundamental freedoms, the PPP has stood firm in raising its banner for the rule of law, representative civilian democracy and provincial autonomy. Six, it defines national security through development indices, not military adventurism. And seven, it offers hope for a better future through power of human agency.

In 60 years of Pakistan's chequered life, from 1947 to 2007 the nation has seen 13 presidents or governors-general, 15 prime ministers and 12 national assemblies. In this whole period, four army generals ruled for 34 years openly, while after 1988, the military ruled as a powerful player in truncated civilian governments. In these sixty years, only one elected government completed its term, and that first PPP government is remembered with widespread nostalgia for empowering people and setting the country on a path to stability. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave Pakistan the strongest institutional foundations by drawing up the 1973 Constitution. By building the national consensus so vital to democratic processes in its signing, the PPP laid the foundation stone for so many social and economic changes that it literally revolutionised the relationship of the state to the citizen.

In defining its public agenda, the PPP has evolved through different epochs as the only party that seeks, before everything, to liberate the oppressed, to provide for equal opportunity and empower the most disadvantaged through specific policy interventions. The unaddressed labour and peasant classes, the largest populations at risk in a developing country, have always been targeted by successive PPP governments for public policy relief. That is why they come out in droves to show support for the PPP at public rallies like Ms Bhutto's welcome on October 18, and are tagged for disenfranchisement often through rigged polls.

Women, minorities and other socially vulnerable groups have been the focus of actual empowerment through party advocacy and policy articulation by empowerment programmes. In Ms Bhutto's two governments, for instance,key human rights issues were not used as donor magnets and government spin. They were the object of party policy and state action. Women judges were appointed and gender mainstreaming took place on a large scale through the public and private sectors. Remember the women's bank? And the lady health workers programme? No judges were sacked and neither women's marathons baton-charged nor any attempts made to impose manmade shariat laws. The media was given unprecedented freedoms and wage board awards for journalists implemented.

An elite-consensus of anti-democratic forces that fear the vast mobilizing power of the PPP have spent an entire generation devoting time and resources to vilifying the PPP as an anti-business party. The facts tell another story. While providing protection for the weak, Ms Bhutto's PPP deregulatedthe economy to empower a new middle class, introduced communication technology, and ended electricity shutdowns. In fact, Ms Bhutto's PPP was the first government in the history of Pakistan to retire the country's principal debt through privatization proceeds. That is why among those who believe in change through the political process, the PPP is seen as a modern and democratic party, which introduced both energy infrastructure and information technology in Pakistan and empowered, educated and motivated an entire generation to value the power of hard work in a merit-based society. Instead of being labelled as a terrorist sanctuary, Pakistan joined the top ten emerging markets of the world.

On foreign relations, the PPP has always led with a defining vision. History is testament to the fact that after the seminal Simla Treaty, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's vision of steering Pakistan out of the narrow alley of India-centrism bore fruit in larger bilateral initiatives that altered the limits of Islamabad's horizons, both in the developing and Muslim worlds. His Islamic summit stands out as a true leadership initiative for Pakistan in the comity of nations. Ms Bhutto's governments -- short as they were --  laid down an entire architecture of peace to replace the infrastructure of war with both India and Afghanistan. Pakistan never went to war in either Kabul or Kargil, but in fact began investing in a vision for South Asia whereby founding SAFTA the ground-work for a regional common market was laid. The blowback from Ziaul Haq's jihadist forward policy in Afghanistan was staunched by containing the Taliban to Kandahar, and in the third PPP government despite pressures, it refused to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

It was not a military dictator who secularized Pakistan's politics; it has always been the PPP. In fact, dictatorship in Pakistan has always emboldened extremists and fuelled terrorism. The dangerous idea that politics is the source of evil in this country has been sown by dictators as early as 1958 when the first martial law was slapped on. The propaganda machine deployed against a genuine political class, fighting a motley crew of military proxies, has diverted state resources and slush monies in such large quantities that it has acquired a life of its own. This has led to swathes of honest people brainwashed and depoliticized. Their retreat from democratic politics is a challenge only the PPP can take on for the future. The anti-democratic establishment in Pakistan believes that the PPP's legitimacy amongst voters is a danger to their formula for fixing politics, manipulating elections and shuffling surrogates.

Today, when Pakistan stands at its most dangerous crossroads after the fall of Dhaka in 1971, there really is only one party that will squarely address the threats to the country such as extremism, hunger, and dictatorship. Ms Bhutto has clearly identified terrorism as a national crisis, not another country's problem. To her and the PPP, religion is about peace, about knowledge and about civilizing society, not polarizing it. But if grassroots politics is once again thwarted as a vehicle for democratic expression and social change, the millions of Pakistanis who want a stake in their governance will lose their voice in another closed system.

Yet in good times, and in bad, the PPP will still stand out as a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatens. For 40 years it has held out that hope, and when given a chance, turned some dreams into reality. One day, the hope of a government -- elected by the people and accountable to the people --  will surely become a reality.

The writer is a former MNA, and the Central Information Secretary of thePPP

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What's Next in Pakistan?
By HUSAIN HAQQANI

November 29, 2007; Page A19 : Pervez Musharraf was sworn in as Pakistan's civilian president today after doing what opposition leaders in his country and the Bush administration have been asking him to do for some time -- resign as army chief.

The move has helped clear the way for elections early next year. But those elections will be neither free nor fair unless Mr. Musharraf does much more to restore the rule of law, and repair the damage he's done to Pakistan's civil society and constitution.

Mr. Musharraf's desire to change Pakistan's politics -- the justification for a 1999 coup ousting then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- remains unfulfilled. Indeed, Mr. Sharif's return to Pakistan on Sunday, after eight years in exile, points out the poverty of Mr. Musharraf's idea of reforming Pakistani politics without democratic political participation. Mr. Sharif, it would seem, was allowed to return in the hope that his old rivalry with another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, would be rekindled and ideological polarization would enable Mr. Musharraf to remain in power.

Although Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif agreed to a "charter of democracy" last year and represent strong populist constituencies, their ideological differences are quite pronounced. Ms. Bhutto stands for modernity and identifies closely with the West. Her Pakistan Peoples Party is the country's largest political organization that describes itself as Social-Democratic, and has feuded often with Pakistan's entrenched civil-military oligarchy. She spent her years in exile writing in American and English publications, and lecturing at U.S. universities. Her opposition to Islamist extremism and jihadism is unequivocal.

Mr. Sharif, on the other hand, is a religious conservative who started his political career as a protégé of former military dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. In his tenure as prime minister, plagued by accusations of corruption, he tried to impose Shariah law in the country. After the 1999 coup, he was jailed and then exiled to Saudi Arabia after promising to stay out of politics for 10 years. He returned to Pakistan on a special plane provided by King Abdullah.

Overall, Mr. Sharif is more acceptable to the religious elements within Pakistan's army and intelligence services that ran Pakistan before 9/11, and remain influential within the country. He, too, is opposed to Islamist terrorism, but is likely to be more compromising towards extremist groups. The fact that Ms Bhutto's homecoming rally was targeted by suicide bombers, while Mr. Sharif faced no such threat, highlights the different attitude of Islamist terrorists towards the two leaders.

Mr. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League is divided into two factions, one led by him and the other supporting Mr. Musharraf. Even if Mr. Musharraf seems averse to the idea, many in the Pakistan army and intelligence services would like the two factions to unite, in the hope that pro-jihadi elements within the security services could then reassert their influence.

While the U.S. appears to be giving mixed signals to Mr. Musharraf, the British Commonwealth's decision, to suspend Pakistan's membership until certain benchmarks for the restoration of democracy are met, is the right message for Pakistan's military leadership. Although Mr. Musharraf has stepped down as army chief, he has not lifted the Nov. 3 imposition of martial law disguised as a state of emergency. He has also issued decrees that allow him to wield draconian powers even after he lifts the state of emergency. Mr. Musharraf's hand-picked Supreme Court has rubber-stamped all his decisions, while the majority of judges of the original court remain under house arrest.

Yes, legislative elections have been scheduled for Jan. 8 and more than 5,000 of the estimated 8,000 people arrested under the emergency decree have been released. But these partial steps are meant to silence critics without changing the reality on the ground.

Few Pakistanis believe that a free and fair election can be held without a free judiciary, a free media or freedom for political parties to campaign. Many candidates and campaign workers of major opposition parties remain in prison. Mr. Musharraf has stacked the Election Commission and the caretaker cabinet, which under Pakistani law must be neutral during the run-up to elections, with his own supporters.

U.S. public opinion is solidly against Mr. Musharraf's autocratic measures. According to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News this week, 50% of those surveyed said "yes" in response to the question, "Do you think the United States should cut off aid to Pakistan until the state of emergency is lifted and democracy is restored?" Thirty four percent disagreed and 16% expressed no opinion.

The Bush administration, however, seems willing to let Mr. Musharraf get away with suspending Pakistan's constitution and sacking independent Supreme Court judges now that he's resigned his army post and promised to hold elections. The administration's reasoning appears to be based on the limits of U.S. influence within Pakistan, and the need for gratitude toward an ally in the war against terror. But Mr. Musharraf's stepping down as army chief and holding elections in an atmosphere of intimidation would not make Pakistan a democracy. It would make Pakistan resemble many of America's Middle Eastern allies, notably Egypt, where elections are routinely held and a weak civil society survives at the sufferance of a dictatorship subsidized with American aid.

For his part, Mr. Musharraf is unhappy with even the limited criticism of his policies by U.S. officials. He has said that he feels "let down by the West" and "betrayed by the media." He recently spoke of Ms. Bhutto as "the darling of the West" -- a disparaging reference to stalled U.S. efforts for a negotiated transition to democracy that would have accommodated Mr. Musharraf as a civilian president and allowed Ms. Bhutto's election as prime minister.

Yet it is Mr. Musharraf, not Ms. Bhutto, who has received billions of dollars in aid from "the West" and personal praise from a long list of U.S. luminaries ranging from President Bush to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Mr. Musharraf has been proud of his American connections, citing on more than one occasion U.S. support since 9/11 as somehow conferring legitimacy on his military regime. Now, however, it is useful for him to pretend the West has turned its back on him and through no fault of his own.

In doing so, Mr. Musharraf is following in the footsteps of the Shah of Iran, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Manuel Noriega of Panama. Challenged by their own people, each one of these U.S.-backed authoritarian rulers blamed the America for failing to understand their compulsions, and for creating the circumstances that eventually led to their downfall.

The uproar against Mr. Musharraf has been caused by his disregard for Pakistan's constitution and his disrespect for the rule of law -- not by his support of U.S. policy in the region and the war on terror. Last Saturday's deadly terrorist attacks outside Pakistan's military headquarters prove that martial law has not improved the Pakistani government's ability to fight terrorists.

The way forward does not lie in legal or political maneuvers by Mr. Musharraf, or for the military to cling to power. This would only result in greater instability. A better course would be the creation of a government of national consensus, comprising secular and moderate politicians and civic leaders. Such a government could mobilize popular support for the war against terrorism and prosecute that war effectively, while ushering in a transition to democracy through free, impartial and fair polls.

Yesterday, President Bush helped clarify U.S. policy by saying Mr. Musharraf has "got to suspend the emergency law before elections." He might also make it clear to Mr. Musharraf that foreign policy cooperation does not give him license to trample Pakistan's constitution underfoot.

Mr. Haqqani, director of Boston University's Center for International Relations, is the author of "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military" (Carnegie Endowment, 2005). He's also served as adviser to several Pakistani prime ministers, including Ms. Bhutto.

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Forty Years of Progressive Politics
By Sherry Rehman

 A political party is best judged for its performance over time by two fundamentals. One is the voters it pulls, and the second is the policy programme it stands for. On both counts the Pakistan Peoples Party emerges as the only mainstream party in Pakistan that has not just addressed these fundamentals succesfully over fourty years since it was founded, but has also steered a course for progressive politics through global shifts and national crises.

     The PPP is not just a political party. It has long stood for an idea that embraces the most heroic of human impulses: that shared aspirations, democratic politics and public interest can be wedded to a national dynamic for change in a fractured backdrop. In a post-colonial milieu, the only political party that challenged an oppressive status quo has been the PPP, and for this reason alone it has drawn to it the hopes and dreams of over two generations of Pakistanis seeking better lives. Its greatest success has been in responding to economic and social imperatives over four decades without losing its signature brand of progressive solutions. Its greatest challenge has been to survive the corrosive de-politicisation of Pakistani society over years of illegitimate military rule.        

       Pakistan has always been a poor-based social pyramid. The PPP has always sought to flatten that social pyramid. Social and economic justice have been at the heart of the party's policy engines, right from the socialist 60s,through the market-driven 90s, and now the global capital millennium. As its core values, the party has retained a decisive mix of security for the vulnerable, the women, the minorities, the peasants and labour. If labour coalitions and peasant hunger drove the industrial relations and agricultural credit and resource policies of the first-generation PPP, the creation of a strong middle class and market deregulations drove the second generation governments which lay the groundwork for social nets and strong public sector services for a population still much in need of state interventions.

       Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became known as the father of modern Pakistan, because he brought public issues out of the feudal-bussiness combine that dominated political culture in Pakistan. His introduction of issues that addressed mass-interests, fixed minimum wages and lowered land ceilings was what defined the iconic programme of the PPP. His name holds cult status in many parts of Pakistan today because he drew an entire political class , from the darkness of the urban ghetto and the dirt-poor village, into the sunshine of public life. The 1971 government of SZAB is still remembered as a powerhouse of pro-active public action, crippled by the truncation of Pakistan, but empowered by the will of a sovereign people. Unlike later PPP governments, which had to face the military-bureacracy combine's subversions right from the beginning of each term, the first Bhutto cabinet only fell afoul of massive right-wing envy towards the end of its term. Before the judicial murder of Bhutto Shaheed took place, he had put in place strong policy measures for the mass of the poor he routinely addressed. Within seven weeks of coming into office, the PPP announced, in February 1972, a new deal for workers which provided dignity and a fair return to labour. This was the first government that ensured security of employment by making arbitrary dismissal challengeable in Labour Courts. By law, workers were made stakeholders in business by giving them a profit share. This alone resulted in the distribution of Rs. 50 million to 200,000 workers in 1974 alone. It was the PPP government, that for the first time, established an Old Age Benefit Scheme as well as Group Insurance Schemes for all permanent workers while a minimum bonus was made mandatory. In 1988, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's government also blazed a trail in protecting labour. Post-retirement pension was made an entitlement for all citizens and housing colonies were established in every city. The thorny issue of child labour as well as bonded labour was institutionally addressed, and placed in the context of a human rights response. Hundreds of state prosecutions took place over child labour cases, and impunity became a problem for bonded labour.

        But urban poor constituencies were not the only stakeholders empowered by the PPP. Peasants were empowered by three PPP governments through land allotments, easy credit, access to tractors, seeds and other inputs. If the first PPP government went for aggressive public interventions in a labour and peasant framework, the second and third PPP governments responded to a changing global environment by securing pro-poor interests in a more deregulated context. Better governance, higher development indices and a high definition of human rights values percolated down to the grassroots. In this context, particularly following the trauma of the Zia years, women, minorities and the media always got the attention of PPP government, from the rights written in for them in the 1973 Constitution to the institutional entitlements ushered in by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's two governments.

Despite the limited time the last two PPP governments had, their role in pursuing a pro-women agenda is acknowledged even today by independent organisations that work with public sector bodies on gender mainstreaming projects . It was Ms Bhutto's government that set up a Human Rights Ministry to watch and investigate human rights abuses, particularly those against women.  In February 1996, in a move acknowledged by all women's activists in the country, and against a cacophony of strong right-wing pressures, Pakistan ratified the United Nations' Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This was a major achievement of the People's Party Government on international covenants related to the rights of women, and to this day is used as a critical benchmark by rights activists when measuring government performance in this area.

        Much is made today, as it should be, of the need for crisis centres for women in Pakistan. The first such centres were established by the PPP government under Ms Bhutto. Legal aid centres and burn units in hospitals were instituted in response to domestic violence complaints, for the first time in Pakistan, and as the government was dismissed, a Domestic Violence Bill was caught in the cracks of political changes. On the development side, the largest credit programme was established for easy credit for women, a full-fledged Women's Bank set up and the first vocational training programme for women got going. Targetting public health as a poor woman's burden, the PPP government set up the largest public sector program of Lady Health Workers, which established a vast network of 133,000 health practitioners to service rural and urban households in Pakistan, exclusively to cater to women's health needs as well as to address reproductive health issues. These women health workers today constitute all that is left of Pakistan's public health sector backbone, and is touted by all governments as Pakistan's showpiece health programme. This is by no means all. After the institution of a job quota for women in public service, which was quietly reversed by the Musharraf regime, women judges were appointed all over the High courts and District courts, and a network of Women's Police Stations set up.

       It was the PPP which once again, begun the process of dismantling the Hudood Ordinances bit by bit both by executive order and acts of parliament in 1996, when whipping was abolished as a punishment, and all women booked under the Hudood were released as well as rehabilitated.    Bhutto's government instituted the new National Commission on the Status of Women under Nasir Aslam Zahid, which paved the way for the repeal debate on the Hudood Ordinances. Even in the post-Zia days, the PPP was in the frontlines of the struggle to reverse the draconian laws introduced by Zia, its membership on the streets swelling the ranks of the new women's groups that had come up in resistance to the reactionary politics of the General. In 2002, it was the PPP again, with the specific backing of Ms Bhutto, which introduced the first legislation to completely repeal the odious Hudood Ordinances. In fact, it was the PPP's constant pressure through private member's bills that led the Musharraf regime to finally respond with a Women's Bill, which again was steered and amended in committee by the PPP. As most will recall, the party made history by voting on issue with the government, when all others voted against, while the treasury benches had 44 votes absent.

              As a vehicle for political participation too, the PPP has always been the only home for progressive politics on a consistent grounding. This is the ultimate litmus test of a party's appeal for its loyal vote bank, and that is one of the reasons why the PPP has withstood massive exogenous pressures to hold on to its famous federal constitutuency. This is also why the establishment of non-democratic players has always been afraid of the PPP, and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as it popular leader. This is still the only party that can mobilise a loyal cadre on a point of principle, for years at a stretch, without flinching, without denting its appeal. The PPP's ability to stand up to any amount of pressure is rooted in its legitimacy in the eyes of its voters. They know that " Benazir Aye Gee Rozgar Layee Gee" is a demand in addition to their growing thirst for what the PPP first delivered in recognising the basic dignity to its voters and promising them " Roti, Kapra aur Makan" as an inalienable right.  

      Today, as Pakistan stands at another crossroads in its trauma-filled history, it is only Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's vision that can lead the country out of the flames of extremism and dictatorship that threaten to engulf it. Once again, the difficult task of identifying the enemies of the state and the people falls squarely on the shoulders of the PPP. It has always understood the dynamics of resisting non-democratic rule. It has also never used religion as a vehicle to propagate violence, politics or subvert the rule of law. It makes no apologies for militants and sees the threat to Pakistan as its own challenge, not anyone else's war. Mohtarma Bhutto's vision to send all children to schools, to give all women choices and security, to give all young people an opportunity, to give minorities protection, to give media the right to free speech, to give business a stable climate, to give every Pakistani access to clean water, to a doctor, to mobility, to make government responsive, to give citizens the right to freedom and liberty is not just a dream. It is a consistent vision powered by the largest democratic party in the country. This is t