You dont have to keep piecing the puzzle together. The freshly released WikiLeaks cables have made it clear that given the continuing dominance of its military-intelligence complex, Pakistan is still a long way from achieving political stability. The elected leadership has yet to rid itself of the pressures coming from the GHQ.
Generals, they say, are always ambitious for power. And Kayani is no exception. The initial impression that he was there to salvage the armys image, damaged during Musharrafs nine years of rule, didnt take too long to dissipate. One of the cables sent home by former American Ambassador Anne Patterson revealed how General Kayani had intended to change the countrys political paradigm during the lawyers movement. And there were many more secrets he had to share with her in a series of interactions. No matter how the ISPR tries to downplay the issue, Ambassador Patterson at one stage cautioned Washington about the possibility of a military coup in Pakistan.
It was 2009. And President Zardari feared being sent packing. But he didnt get impatient. Less than a year of presidency, he had enough of a media trial. And being the constant target of oppositions criticism, he had learnt the art of countering manipulations from behind the scenes. He knew he had accomplished what the army had failed to do. The decisive battle against religious extremists in Swat could only be fought after the civilian leadership had managed to mobilise public opinion in its favour. Our sacred saviours earlier tried their hand but had to pull themselves out of the quagmire without success.
It turned out to be a severe blow to the elements who had not only challenged the writ of the government in the troubled valley but were also providing sanctuaries to those running terror networks across the province. And it happened at a time when our intelligence agencies secret links with the Taliban started casting doubts in American minds. The Obama Administration understood that it couldnt fix Afghanistan if the extremists continued to operate from Pakistani soil to attack the coalition forces. President Zardari successfully lobbied to make the Americans realise that they needed to help him gain sufficient ground at home to put an end to the scourge which had caused more harm to Pakistan than the rest of the world. The Obama administration wanted to make a fresh start with Pakistans political dispensation. It might have realised that economic assistance given to Musharraf had run waste and the problem of terrorism would persist until the military and its intelligence agencies get their act together. It was convinced that it could obtain better results by relying on elected leadership. And the success of the Swat operation had proved the point.
Whereas Musahrrafs policy of deceit and double-dealing had resulted in extremism spreading across the country, it had turned Balochistan into a festering wound. Nawab Akbar Bugtis assassination in a military action had pushed the province to the edge of a precipice. It was the culmination of a long phase of excesses committed by the intelligence agencies against law abiding citizens. Many of them were kidnapped on mere suspicion of their links with terrorist organisations and were handed over to the Americans for interrogation. It was again President Zardari who offered an unconditional apology to the Baloch for the treatment they had been meted out in the past and took the initiative to restore their confidence by announcing a package for the development of the long-neglected province. The government knew that it could not afford to delay administering a healing touch to the people who had started losing faith in democracy.
Then on the political front it is no small achievement of the PPP government to restore the Constitution to its original form by doing away with the draconian amendments tagged on to it by military dictators. The parliamentary committee had to work really hard to evolve consensus among parties across the spectrum. It was again the PPPs initiative that would go a long way towards strengthening the Parliament that had been turned into an auxiliary of the military-dominated National Security Council in the past. The success of democracy lies in the fact that today even Musharrafs protgs have been left with no choice but to join the process aimed at consigning the dictators to the pages of history.
President Zardari knew that indecision that plagued Pakistan had to come to an end. And he was right. If the country is to be run democratically then every institution would have to adhere to its constitutional role. The Army will have to stop meddling in the political affairs and perform its actual duty of defending the geographical frontiers. The generals must shed their Bonapartist tendency. We have had enough of military intervention in the past. Its got to stop for ever.
The writer is Executive Editor, Pakistan Today.
