INTERVIEW Pakistan's former premier, Benazir Bhutto 'How we plan to control the military'
Of the 60 years that Pakistan has existed, a total of 40 have been under the
direct or indirect rule of the army. Each round of martial law has left the
army with even greater power and influence. The current cycle, which began with
army chief Pervez Musharraf seizing power in 1999 - has been no different.
Hopes for the restoration of civilian rule are now being pinned on twice prime
minister Benazir Bhutto, who plans to return to
Pakistan this month from eight years of self-exile in London and Dubai. The
daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto - a former prime minister executed by the
military dictator who deposed him in 1977 - has vowed to send the army back to
the barracks.
Bhutto's return, facilitated by the National Reconciliation Ordinance signed on
Friday by President General Musharraf, gives her and other political leaders
immunity from prosecution against charges of corruption while in office. But
the ordinance has since been challenged in court.
In an e-mail interview with Inter Press Service correspondent Karen Yap Lih
Huey, Bhutto outlined a game plan: If she can return to Pakistan and her
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wins parliamentary elections, she would place the
army under civilian control. This is something no elected ruler has been able
to do, not even Bhutto in her two stints as prime minister. The first lasted
from December 1988 to August 1990 and the second from July 1993 to August 1996.
IPS: The army controls everything from defense to businesses and there
are said to be, within it, those who are supporting extremism and terrorism.
How would you be able to handle and control the army?
Benazir Bhutto: Our first step is to separate the offices of army chief
and the president. It is a negation of democracy that a serving army chief
should also be the president of the country. The written undertaking given by
Musharraf in the Supreme Court that he will doff uniform after his reelection
[as president] and the nomination of the next army chief are steps in this
direction. We would like the military sent back to the barracks. We are also
aiming at restoration of the balance of power between the president and
parliament.
The best way to handle and control the army is to make it work within the
confines of the constitution and under the control of civil and political
authority. I believe that with the restoration of the constitution and
transition to democracy the army will be required to work within the confines
of the constitution. That is how we plan to handle and control the military.
IPS: Critics say that you do not have the slightest clue as to how a
soldier gets sandwiched between his oath as a soldier and his own conscience
while killing Muslim brothers. What is your comment?
Bhutto: I understand the conflict that you are talking about. A
professional soldier is trained to follow the command orders. Any commander
worth his salt would know how to provide a moral basis for the command order he
gives to the troops. The formulation "killing Muslim brothers" is a
misconceived formulation with reference to the fight against terror in the
tribal areas. The sort of conflict you are talking about is hypothetical.
IPS: What would be your ideal amendment to the constitution, if you
return to power?
Bhutto: If I can I would first like to do away with the powers of the
president to dismiss an elected parliament in his discretion. Such powers in
the hands of an individual over an elected parliament are undemocratic and a
negation of democracy. I should also like to lift the military-imposed ban on a
two-time prime minister from contesting election for a third time for the post
of prime minister. Of course, legislation for across the board accountability
of all institutions is also on the top of the agenda.
IPS: You mentioned the package deal with Musharraf: balance of power,
reforms for a fair election, lifting the ban on a twice-elected prime minister.
When do you expect these to happen?
Bhutto: I expect these to happen in a phased manner. Some steps have
already been taken like arrangements for shedding military uniform and amnesty
against prosecution of holders of public office, against whom charges have not
been established in any court during the past decade or so. The process will
gain momentum as we move forward and general elections are held early next
year.
IPS: Elaborate on what a power-sharing deal means. Would this include
the army as well since Musharraf has a hold on it?
Bhutto: I would prefer not to call it power sharing because the issue of
sharing power will come only after general elections to the nation's parliament
have been held. Which political party would form government will be determined
only after the general elections. So I think it makes no sense to talk of power
sharing even before national elections have been held and the will of the
people ascertained.
Under a democratic government of the PPP, the army will have to be in barracks
and do its duty to defend the country's borders as its constitutional duty. We
are not looking at the army sharing power with the civil and political
authority. The army must remain subservient to the civil authority.
IPS: Self-exile for eight years must have changed you as a person, as a
mother and wife, and as a professional politician.
Bhutto: It has changed a lot. My husband was in jail in Pakistan for
eight years without a conviction and I had to bring up small children as a
single parent in exile, besides looking after my ailing mother. That has been a
painful personal experience. That I was not with my people during all these
years has also been a painful experience. As a politician I have always wanted
to be with my people. Eight years of exile deprived me of being with them.
IPS: How would you run the country now in comparison to your previous
tenures? Which issues would you give priority to?
Bhutto: The most basic issues of the people are unemployment, poverty
and lawlessness. Employment, energy and environment are the real issues and my
government will begin by according to these issues affecting the people.
IPS: You mentioned before that you had better control in the tribal
areas when you were in office. Things have certainly changed during the past
years - 9/11 and the rising inflation rate and terrorism - in the country. How
do you expect to tackle an uphill task after being out of action for eight
years?
Bhutto: The military government has relied solely on the use of force in
dealing with extremism in the tribal areas. We believe that alongside the use
of force, we also need to take political steps and improve the socio-economic
conditions of the people in the tribal area. Poverty and social isolation also
breeds militancy. We will address issues of poverty and social isolation in the
tribal areas. That is why my party has already filed a constitutional petition
in the Supreme Court seeking the extension of Political Parties Act to the
tribal areas. We want to bring the people of the tribal areas into the
mainstream of national life as a tool to fight militancy and extremism.
IPS: It is understood that you tried to strike a deal with the army.
Bhutto: I am not striking any deal with the army. I am looking at
transition to democracy in which the parliament is sovereign and the military
performs its constitutionally ordained duties.
IPS: Observers say the power marriage between you and Musharraf will not
last due to conflicting interests, management styles and personalities. What is
your comment?
Bhutto: Time will tell. The constitution clearly defines the roles of
the head of state and the head of the government.
IPS: What do you think of the nomination of Lt Gen Ashfaque Kiani as the
next army chief? He is a close ally of Musharraf. Does that bother you?
Bhutto: I have heard that Lt Gen Kiani is a professional soldier and
expect that he will not do anything other than soldiering. He may be a close
ally of Gen Musharraf but that does not bother me.
IPS: Your take on funds from the United States to Pakistan for the "war
on terror". Increasingly, there is anti-US sentiment among Pakistanis because
the country's leaders continue to be dictated to by the US government. Do you
think the country still needs aid to fight terror? What would you have done?
Bhutto: Terrorism is an international scourge and needs the collective
effort of the international community to fight it. Yes, we need international
assistance in fighting terror and militancy. My government will cooperate with
the international community in the fight on terror.
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