Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf’s son, Bilal Musharraf, and the general’s brother, Naveed Musharraf, both based in the United States, had to listen to criticism of the Pakistani ruler and his government during a conference here in Boston. However, during the question-and-answer session they rejected the criticism aimed at the military man, saying it was the politicians who were responsible for the political instability in the country. According to them, in the past, when politicians came to power they did nothing to remove the bottlenecks in the country’s political system. [Pakistan was under military rule for almost 25 years, since its independence from Britain in 1947. Since 2003, Musharraf has headed a civilian government].
The Pak Millennium Conference 2004: “Strengthening Civil Society for a Democratic Polity in Pakistan,” was held on April 3 in this city famous for its world-class educational institutions such as Harvard University. Important personalities from a cross section of Pakistani society came together for the occasion. Among those present were: opposition politician Khwaja Asif, member of Pakistan’s National Assembly [the lower house of Parliament] from a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League Party; Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Ashraf Jehangir Qazi; eminent Pakistani journalist Khalid Ahmad; I. A. Imtiaz, former chairman of CBR [Pakistan’s Central Board of Revenue]; former Police Superintendent Hassan Abbas; Professor Saeed Shafquat; Aamir Ghauri, a well-known anchor of Pakistani television channel (PTV Prime); and President Musharraf’s son and brother. Shahid Ahmad Khan, the president of the conference, played a key role in organizing the event, which is in its fifth year.
During the conference, Bilal Musharraf asked why Pakistani politicians had not streamlined the country’s political system when they came into power and wondered: “Why they are yelling now after losing their chance?”
In response to Bilal Musharraf’s question, opposition politician Khwaja Asif said that the civil and the military bureaucracy, and corrupt politicians, did not allow the democratic system to take hold at the grassroots level. He said that whenever the system started taking root, either the assemblies were dissolved, there was a change of government or different sorts of problems cropped up. Despite all this, he observed, politicians somehow had staying power, like Benazir Bhutto, daughter of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali who is now deceased. “My father was associated with the Pakistan Muslim League since 1937. I am the second generation in my family involved in politics,” added Asif.
In comparison, Asif continued, the sons of the scions of Pakistan’s military families were facing a credibility crisis and had become irrelevant. “Compared to the politicians, when we look at people like Gauhar Ayub, the son of former Field Marshal Ayub Khan, he is running from pillar to post [with no political standing]; General Yahya Khan is nowhere to be seen; Ijazul Haq, the son of former General Ziaul Haq, has no political base to launch an election effort. Only history will decide General Musharraf’s fate,” said Asif.
But not all was criticism. Pakistani scholar Dr. Tariq Banoori believed that General Musharraf’s era had real democracy when compared to the so-called democratic governments of the past. He argued that democracy is not just the act of electing someone by casting a vote. “In a true democracy people get justice, equal rights, education, healthcare and the basic necessities of life.” According to Dr. Banoori, these developments are taking place under General Musharraf. Although President Musharraf’s rule can be challenged, he said, his policies are in the best national interests.
Asif challenged Banoori’s arguments and questioned how General Musharraf’s policies could be right when the country is experiencing growing poverty and illiteracy. “How can you talk of justice in such a society?” he asked. He went on to say that foreign investment had dropped significantly while Pakistan’s membership in the Commonwealth was suspended.
A local graduate student, Umar Usman, answered Asif’s arguments by pointing to Pakistan’s $12 billion in foreign exchange reserves and the acknowledgement of Pakistan’s importance by the United States and the West; these, Usman felt, were an indication of the present government’s success. Asif, however, countered that the common Pakistani had not benefited from the $12 billion and believed that the money was being wasted on trivial projects, instead of providing the people with the basic necessities of life.
Asif said the Pakistani general was afflicted by a lust for power and had become like a “real estate agent.” When Musharraf was promoted to lieutenant general he was allotted one or two parcels of land. When he retires, Asif said, he will have 250 million rupees in his pocket and will get one more plot of land. Unlike politicians who seek votes by going from house to house, an army general uses his military might to force politicians to vote for him.
“If the generals are so fond of power, then they too should seek the people’s vote by going from house to house. We have no objection to the general’s gaining power in this way,” Asif added.
