An assault on the way Pakistan is
ruled By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - Military rule in Pakistan since
1958 has been characterized by the strengthening
of an oligarchy that, although not necessarily
drawn from the military, has certainly served the
military establishment and its goals.
This
oligarchy comprises the serving and retired
military elite as well as civilian stakeholders in
the system, including politicians, academics,
journalists, clerics and even militants. The oligarchy
has
penetrated all tiers of society and has taken on a
strength of its own.
It successfully
confronts the monster of renegade Islamic militant
groups, manipulates opposition political parties,
and copes with the challenges of the US-led "war
on terror". Nevertheless, the current judicial
crisis has seen rising support in civil society
for this oligarchy to be challenged.
Chief
Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was suspended
by President General Pervez Musharraf on March 9
on charges of abuse of power and nepotism. Street
protests, initially led by lawyers, began almost
immediately and have grown, with opposition
politicians joining the fray. Chaudhry's
supporters claim he was suspended because he
challenged Musharraf's plan not to ditch his
uniform in presidential elections this year.
In Chaudhry's latest rally, a large
gathering in Lahore on Sunday, he said that the
"concept of an autocratic system of government is
over ... Rule of law, supremacy of the
constitution, basic human rights and individual
freedom granted by the constitution are essential
for the formation of a civilized society."
Despite hot weather - up to 41 degrees
Celsius - Sunday's rally was attended by lawyers,
political party workers, trade unionists, student
organizations and common folk, and even reclusive
students from madrassas (seminaries).
Seventeen sitting judges of the Lahore High Court
were also in attendance.
Chaudhry departed
from the Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad on
Saturday for what is normally a four-hour road
trip to Lahore. He took 25 hours because of the
massive wave of support along the way.
Musharraf and ruling-party leaders have
hit out at Chaudhry, accusing him of promoting the
agenda of opposition parties.
Roger Smith,
director of the British chapter of the
International Commission of Jurists, commented,
"Few chief justices have brought together such
wide support as Chief Justice Chaudhry. Hardline
militants, secularists, democrats and lawyers have
all protested his suspension, fearing that charges
of corruption covered a concern at his willingness
to exert judicial independence. He currently
defends himself before a tribunal of judges whose
own integrity is under scrutiny and should remain
so."
In the past few months, Chaudhry has
become leader of a civil society long oppressed by
the oligarchy. The oligarchy now has bitter
enemies among hardline militants, secularists,
democrats, lawyers and madrassas.
A
simple judicial crisis has been transformed into
one aimed at the jugular of the Pakistani military
establishment, well beyond the parameters of what
had originally been conceived of as the "removal
of a chief justice" - something that has happened
many times in the past without much reaction.
The masses witnessed in Chaudhry's
marathon road trip were so large that national
media simply could not ignore them. The odyssey
even overshadowed Musharraf's address to a
gathering in Sindh province and rallies in favor
of the general in the southern port city of
Karachi.
Ruling parties such as the
Pakistan Muslim League and the Muttahida Quami
Movement (MQM) have had little scope to express
their displeasure through press statements or
political means.
Indeed, the sense of
despair over the media coverage prompted the armed
wing of the MQM to force cable operators in Sindh
province to cut off coverage of Chaudhry, saying
it was "biased".
Nevertheless,
institutions of civil society have gained newfound
power, and a pivotal moment could be when Chaudhry
addresses the Karachi Bar Council next weekend.
The people of Karachi are traditionally
anti-establishment and could add considerable
muscle to the anti-Musharraf movement.
It
is widely accepted that during the parliamentary
elections in 2002, religious sentiment played a
small role, but basically the polls were
engineered by the military establishment. The
expectation is that elections this year and next
will also be controlled by the military.
However, the furor over Chaudhry could
change this, and Pakistan could be heading for a
final but peaceful showdown with the oligarchy.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia
Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be
reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
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