Both the khakis and the monsters they created cannot rule any longer
In times of peace, army’s role is limited to barracks. As a child growing up on the Mall Road of Lahore, Mian Mir Bridge was the clear divide between civilian authority exercised through municipalities run by elected mayors and cantonment boards. As land could only be leased in Cantonment area, civilians stayed away. The city of Lahore was fully functional with transportation, health and educational facilities for the common man.
The founding father of Pakistan worked with honesty and dedication to build national institutions. Policies and procedures were formulated and then followed through. Governance was a big challenge in the beginning. The two wings of the nascent democratic state were thousands of miles apart. There was an influx of refugees from all over India who had to be settled. Issues between East Pakistan and West Pakistan had to be determined by 1956 constitution. Elections were scheduled for 1958 to put Pakistan on solid foundations of constitution democracy. Ayub Khan (PA-10), an ordinary soldier with a checkered military career, was chosen to lead the armed forces but who later derailed the entire democratic order. Under his orders the khakis crossed the Mian Mir Bridge and started running civilian institutions for which they were neither trained nor exposed to.
Pervez Musharraf, the last khaki usurper, started appearing in jalsas in uniform where he was crowned by all kinds of headwear in violation of the protocol accorded to the uniform. The GHQ promptly informed him of the incursion and he was made to follow the procedure. By contrast when khakis take over civilian institutions they disregard all laid down procedures which eventually cause their collapse when they leave. The list is long: Pakistan Railways, WAPDA, LDA, University of Punjab, University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan Steel Mills, Mechanised Construction of Pakistan, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Saindok Metals Ltd, PITAC, TUSDEC, Overseas Employment Corporation, Pakistan Tea Board, PUTC, municipalities, literacy commission, LOS, National Construction Company among others.
The rank and file of the Pakistan armed forces are professional and committed to the national security. The trouble starts when their leadership decides to meddle in political affairs. Ayub Khan was the first to cross the line. Marginal officers like him should have never made it to the top. The same holds true for Zia and Musharraf. Professionally, only Yahya Khan had a good career but once in leadership role his conduct was unbecoming of a leader.
Compared to the founding fathers of Pakistan (Jinnah, Liaquat A Khan, Nazimuddin, Suharwardy, Nishatar, Qayyum, Mamdot), all four usurpers were pygmies and totally unsuitable for the role that they forcibly assumed by using the rank and file of the army. By surgically eliminating all democratic leaders, the country was orphaned. Tainted political leadership was also a part of this operation foul play.
It is widely believed that the PPP wants to sell Pakistan while PML-N is interested in buying it. The armed forces do provide security on the borders but their interests within are mostly limited to plots and plazas. With no parenting and institution bashing by the four martial laws the country has become ungovernable. Mafias and vested interests have taken over with no nation building.
On a recent trip to China there was a clear feeling of an authority figure. Someone in authority was responsible and watching national interests. While the Communist Party has allowed private enterprise, it clearly watches the interests of the common man and facilitates their growth. The embalmed body of Mao Tse Tung, the great leader, is kept right in the city centre at Tiananmen Square, reminding everyone of the revolution that changed the very fabric of the nation. The state is a facilitator of the strong and protector of the weak. Whereas in the Land of the Pure it acts as an exploiter and usurper of the nation.
Turkey under Erdogan was able to contain its armed forces by confining them to the barracks. With honest leadership and good governance, the sick man of Europe has been transformed into an economic giant. There was a time when the European Union (EU) was reluctant to take in Turkey, now it is the other way around.
After coming into power in 1970, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) crated an election monitoring cell within the ISI. The charter of this cell was to watch popularity treads of political leadership. It was the data from this cell that convinced ZAB to hold elections in 1977 and Zia to postpone them.
With the mess that Pakistan is in today, the march back to the barracks is not that simple. Parenting is a painful and difficult exercise. Parents are responsible for producing good children who can become their goodwill ambassadors.
The armed forces of Pakistan remain the only functionally viable institution. Now that the original 1973 constitution has been restored, the election monitoring cell within ISI should be disbanded and free and fair elections held to elect real un-manipulated leadership to lead the nation. In Iran all candidates have to be vetted by a council before they can contest. A strict disqualification mechanism can be enforced to get rid of ‘lotas’ and loteras’. Mafad aur plots ki siasiat has to give way to ‘khidmat’ and nation building.
What was started in 1958 by khaki leadership cannot continue any longer as it is not in the national interests. Khakis have miserably failed to govern this side of the Mian Mir Bridge. They must retreat back to their barracks on the other side but not before cleaning the mess created by them on this side. Pakistan has to be in safe hands, individuals who are elected through an honest ballot as was done in Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Bosnia and Argentina. Both the khakis and the monsters they created cannot rule any longer.
