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| Resolutions for 2010 |
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Ikram Sehgal
Amid all the turmoil and carnage, something good seems to be happening in Pakistan, imperceptibly but slowly. The visible indications promising that 2010 will be a year of hope and resurgence are:
1. The major resolve for 2009 "to bring the unfinished business of Chief Justice Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry to a closure to the satisfaction of the conscience of the nation" thankfully became a fact of life on March 15, 2009. Subsequent Supreme Court judgments confirmed the cause of justice has been well served by the restoration, the icing on the cake being the fact that the NRO was declared ab initio black as black as can be. From being an abstract hope, accountability of the previously unaccountable may actually be about to become a reality.
2. The magnificent success of the Pakistani army in breaking the back of the militancy in Swat, and subsequently in FATA, symbolised the significant professional turnaround orchestrated by Kayani and company.
3. Probably most important, the first glimmer of realisation by the US (after the Hillary Clinton visit) that Pakistan being crucial to the US war effort in Afghanistan, what matters is support for the democratic system rather than any favourite individual.
The NFC Accord is a major success of the beleaguered Gilani government. This magnificent achievement is integral to the unity of the federation. The pragmatism of financial Czar Shaukat Tarin encouraged the four provinces through their chief ministers to display outstanding cooperation and mutual consideration. Increased expatriate remittances point to a favourable economic environment taking hold. To reinforce this success, the 2010 resolve must be to force-multiply economic regeneration. Reversing the flight of capital will go a long way in creating economic stability.
Countering terrorism remains the major challenge of 2010. The vicious terrorist attacks in 2009 of the most inhumane kind are a desperate attempt to break the public's morale and use the resultant clamour to stop the army's relentless onslaught against the terrorists' strongholds in Swat and South Waziristan. Notwithstanding the tragic loss of innocent lives (symbolised graphically by the suicide bombing of the 10th of Muharram procession in Karachi), the intelligentsia and the masses are absorbing this as a price to be paid for us to be rid of the evil incarnate. Very suspicious was the planned mob attack after the Muharram suicide bomb, which targeted small businesses and deliberately meant to cause widespread economic havoc. Why, and by whom?
A national anti-terrorist mechanism has been finally set up as an independent unity. The 2010 resolve must be to acquire the services of the very best professionals. The hollow rhetoric that terrorism can only be eradicated if efforts are not undercut by political compulsions has now become a standing (but macabre) joke. Incidentally, why is the UN commission investigating Ms Benazir Bhutto's assassination not being allowed to meet the army chief and the former director general of the ISI to ascertain their views about the tragic incident, when neither has reservations about talking to the commission?
President Zardari's speech marking Ms Bhutto's second death anniversary was really disappointing. Was this the same man who raised the "Pakistan Khappay" slogan on Dec. 29, 2007, and limited irreparable damage to the federation by calming the volatile anger on the streets? And why is he intent on trying to provoke the army? Is this a desperate ploy by NRO-affected Zardari associates to confuse an honest-to-goodness judicial verdict by turning it, as Haqqani implied, into "the start of a military coup"? Is the Zardari game plan to somehow provoke the army into reaction, thereby converting their "accused of corruption" status in public and (more importantly) international perception to being a victim of "anti-democratic" forces? That is the thrust of the president's op-ed article in international media!
While things must be on a short fuse and even though one feels "an ultimate provocation" may be in the offing, the army must keep its cool. I don't even dare mention it, lest it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy! The 2010 resolution for the army: confine themselves strictly to their professional military obligations and let the Supreme Court do its job. It is well on course to ridding this country of the corrupt and will not be deterred by all the shenanigans of the NRO beneficiaries. The political posturing and the needless/heedless innuendos by the head of state underscore what was written on Jan 1, 2009, "The office of the president should preferably not be a political one, he (or she) must be directly elected by exercise of adult franchise", unquote.
To be truly credible, accountability must not be selective and should be applicable to all. The corrupt among the judiciary and the armed forces must not escape justice. My Jan 1, 2009, remark on corruption is still applicable on Jan 1, 2010: "Corruption and accountability thereof remain a major challenge. Even-handed accountability of all without exception is a must to strike at the roots of corruption without bias. The National Accountability Board (NAB) must be under the superior judiciary, its anti-corruption mechanism not compromised by selective application for personal and/or political purpose. Justice must be made simple and inexpensive. What is the reason for extremism except lack of fair play in justice and frustration at seeing the corrupt prospering?"
The real tragedy is that the Gilani-led government seems hell-bent on committing political "hari-kari." Putting at risk the goodwill and confidence of the establishment and the opposition parties Yusuf Raza Gilani has gained by his mature politics. If the NRO beneficiaries, most of them Johnny-come-latelys in the PPP, are disassociated from governance. The Gilani-led PPP coalition will survive (and even flourish) for its full five-year term, and that will be good for democracy.
The resolutions for 2010 must seek to improve Pakistan's image "by strengthening political institutions, introducing long-term structural political reforms in our political system so that we are perceived as a stable, sovereign entity, and not a rogue state with nuclear weapons. Broad and pragmatic foreign-policy initiatives are needed, instead of inveterate friends and/or inveterate enemies. We must aim for reasonable balance in our nation-to-nation relationships." The 2010 resolve should be to put the national interest ahead of personal interest (or gain thereof), to remove from public office those working actively to dismember and destroy institutions vital to the State.
The clear and unambiguous Supreme Court resolution for 2010 must be to take suo moto notice of attempts to gamble with the existence of the state by maliciously targeting its vital institutions. The responsibility of governance is a sacred trust that no individual or entity has the right to sacrifice at the altar of personal survival and greed. Can any individual be greater than the nation he (or she) has been given the opportunity by Divine Providence to govern?
The "Resolution for 2010" is the same as that for 2007: "All individuals have a responsibility to the community and to the family. This is force-multiplied manifold for those in power in the country. That responsibility must be used for the good of the people and the nation they govern."
The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: isehgal@pathfinder9.com
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ISSN 1563-9479 
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