A case to answer?

Exactly after 100 days of the PPP led coalition government remaining in power from dusk to dawn, President Pervez Musharraf decided to reassemble himself and say "never quit." On Friday July 4, 2008, he argued his case at a reception in Karachi hosted by the business community. The President launched a frontal counterattack on the elected leadership of the country and its failures with regard to the current political uncertainty and economic crisis. President Musharraf admitted that he had remained a silent spectator for four months because he believed that the political leadership would fail. He exercised one of the many rights, a right not be condemned without a proper defence. And why should a de facto if not a de jure president quit just because Asif Zardari has a will of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on paper but does not have another briefcase to keep the complementing mandate of the popular will vested in him on and after February 18, 2008. During the last exile of Benazir Bhutto, it was settled and sealed that Asif Zardari would be off politics and responsible for other affairs unconnected with politics. Now that a colossal tragedy and the ink of a will has thrust greatness upon him, he has to over charge his ailing heart to carry the weight of a political will, popular trust, coalition responsibility and above all the constitutional trust embedded in Article 5(1)(2) in respect of Pakistan and Article 257 in respect of Kashmir. Pakistan as a member nation of United Nations has to discharge an international obligation under Articles 1(1) and 1(2) of the UN Charter in respect of International Peace and Security and in respect of the principle of Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples in the world. Benazir's political philosophy in regard to the region, peace and security and in regard to the principle of Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples is lost in the wilderness of non-interest. Zardari's and his associates may have heard from another chairman of the PPP Parliamentarians (PPP-P), a registered party, duly recognised by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination, that there is a murder in the air. While appearing in media in Hyderabad he said, "A line has been drawn in the PPP that segregates the old guard from the new. The PPP is being run by new leaders and I have nothing to do with the present government. But the PPP is a party of the poor who have given it a mandate" One can argue that 100 days are not enough stretch of time for the PPP led government as compared to eight years of Musharraf rule. Yet to tie all failures of the 100 days to the apron of previous government is not a correct logic and the excuse is almost nearing its sell by date. The change after February 18 has to arrest the inherited rot and lay down a sound foundation for a realisable hope for the future. A mere promise of a rosy future could not be trusted without qualitative evidence and an all-inclusive beginning. At home Zardari is caught between two parts of a grinding water mill. He has to go for the rule of law, independence of judiciary, supremacy of the Parliament and the supremacy of the Constitution or yield as a brave Zardari and admit that he does not have the second briefcase to keep the "popular will of the people" vested in him and his partners on February 18, 2008. A brave Zardari has to remain gratefully mindful that Shaheed Benazir and her associates at home and abroad have struggled for them at the international forums and the weapons used were the principle of 'Administration of Justice and the Rule of Law'. If it were not for the indefatigable campaign of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and her associates abroad Zardari would have been a history. Pakistan is faced with a serious domestic unrest and the change has failed to intervene in the best interests of the people of Pakistan. At the international level there are no inspiring tidings of any manner. A report of a survey conducted by the Foreign Policy magazine and Fund for Peace, a research organisation has put Pakistan at number 9 just in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan which has secured a statistical number 7 on the basis of 12 social, economic, political and military indicators to measure the vulnerability of various countries to violent internal conflict and the deterioration of their civil society. The survey finds Pakistan among the 10 most dysfunctional nations. 100 days of the government have failed in respect of its duty to assure Rule of Law, Independence of Judiciary, Supremacy of the Parliament and the Supremacy of the Constitution. Pakistan has assumed an international commitment under UNCIP resolutions in Azad Kashmir and another under Article 1(2) of UN Charter towards of the principle of Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples in the world. The PPP led government of "princes" and "princesses" seems preoccupied with pre make up frustration for media appearances. The new PPP government seems playing "Jack and the Beanstalk" with the Self-Determination of People of Kashmir. Since its first pronouncement on Kashmir the new PPP wisdom is skeletal in merit and unreliable in understanding. It does not embed in it a people's cause and their well being. Asif Zardari's statements on Kashmir do not even bear a shred of gratitude that he owes to Kashmiris living in all the three administrations and in particular to those living abroad who defended his rights during the most difficult times of his loss of liberty. As a free man Zaradri has declared himself insolvent in paying the accrued debt. It is interesting that Syed Salahuddin the chief of United Jihad Council (UJC) an alliance of militant groups, domiciled in Islamabad, on Saturday July 5 poured out anger at the two governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir for their "silence on recent happenings in Jammu and Kashmir." He gave an implied message that the struggling Kashmiris could rethink their ideology regarding Pakistan. Militancy in Kashmir is a fact of life and its ability to act independently and in the best interests of the people of Kashmir has been thrown into a dispute on the question of command and control. Its domicile is its tragedy. There is no doubt that militant leadership is "state subject" and have a cause to defend. They suffer from a serious sense of a loss of home and very well hold on to a sense of dignity. Unfortunately, its legitimacy has been ruined once when it fell for wrong counsel and failed to be recognised as a legitimate Kashmir army in July 2000 ceasefire. Its credibility has further been slashed when President Musharraf in point 2 of his book In The Line Of Fire at page 303 has offered to "...curb all militant aspects of the struggle for freedom." It goes to prove that the instrument of militancy is unreliable and dependent just as the government and politics in Azad Kashmir. PPP government however is associated with Kashmir from the days of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as foreign minister. The February 1975 hartal call in Kashmir is associated with his understanding of popular sentiment. The exposure of undivided Hurriat leadership at the Islamic Summit in Casablanca remains a memorable contribution of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Ms Bhutto's understanding of Kashmir case is documented on page 158 in her last book titled Reconciliation, Islam, Democracy & The West. It is the same book from which Asif Zardari found a quote during his address at the Socialist International Congress on July 1 in Athens in Greece. The three Bhuttos, namely Zulfikar, Nusrat and Benazir remained very clear on Kashmir. Benazir when 2 months before her assassination wrote, "This is the beginning of a long journey for Pakistan back to democracy, and I hope my going back is a catalyst for change. We must believe Miracles happen" and it sincerely embeds a respect for the people of Kashmir. A miracle has however happened that Asif Zardari had to reverse his apolitical role and ride back on the pony of politics. Unfortunately, it requires a horse of high pedigree to run in the race for a big time politics. Therefore Pakistan at home and abroad and Kashmir at home and abroad, need serious and extra make-up shifts for the "princes" and "princesses" in the new PPP. The writer is the secretary general of the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR), London E-mail: dr-sngilani@jkchr.com