Pakistan Collapsing
under Musharaf, He had to go
By: Farooq Tariq
PAKISTAN IS ON the fast track to collapse under the Pervez Musharraf
dictatorship. The state is in immense crisis. The infrastructure,
industrial and social, is in total chaos. The economic crisis is showing
its muscles. Inflation is uncontrollable and unemployment is ever
increasing.
The
vast majority of ordinary people of Pakistan believe that he will never
leave power alive: “If he is not killed, he will kill us all one by
one.” He has become the most unpopular president of Pakistan. Musharraf
is widely seen as a person who has orchestrated the murder of Benazir
Bhutto. “Qaatal Qaatal Musharraf Qaatal” (“Murderer the murderer,
Musharraf the murderer”) was the main slogan of the mass reaction.
All
the twist and turns of the Musharraf dictatorship after the murder has
strengthened the doubts of the masses in this regard. “He asked her to
come to Pakistan by negotiating and let her be killed” is a remark you
hear very often. Despite that, Musharraf has consistently shown that he
will stick to power by any means: “He is the ultimate power,” “Pakistan
needs him, Pakistan first,” “Pakistan my top priority” is some of his
routine sloganeering.
Here
in Pakistan, however, many do not trust him anymore here. The
desperation of the masses to remove Musharraf is clear everywhere. The
mass movement had attempted to throw him out of power after the
assassination of Benazir. This was an unprecedented movement for five
days from 27 December, 2007. Not a single shop was open, no wheel on the
move, no factory working, no bank open, no office functioning, no
restaurant or hotel open, no train on the move, flights cancelled,
schools and colleges closed and thousands and thousands were on the road
protesting -- this was the most unexpected outburst of mass anger after
the killing.
Nevertheless, unfortunately, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership
had not learned from history. They saw in this crisis an important
occasion to show that they are the responsible defender of the system.
They appealed to the masses to cool down, go back to their work and turn
their anger into votes for the Pakistan Peoples Party.
This
was the time when the majority of the political parties had declared a
boycott of the elections and demanded Musharraf’s immediate resignation.
Had the PPP joined other parties in boycotting the general elections,
Musharraf would have gone by now.
They
had not realized the post-assassination scenario or anticipated the
total collapse of the economy in the following days. They had not
thought of the tactics Musharraf’s supporters would use to rig the
election if given the chance. In the Sind province (the PPP’s
stronghold) alone, over 4000 First Investigation Reports (FIR) has been
registered by police against a record number of half a million PPP and
other opposition political activists. Many PPP activists were arrested
to be released on bail later. Many thousands have gone to secure bail
even before being arrested.
The
tactics of the PPP leadership put the party in a defensive position.
Three weeks after the Benazir Bhutto assassination, the PPP is on the
run. Yet Musharraf had been on the defensive after the killing. He was
relived when the PPP leadership took the decision to participate in the
elections. At a time when the consciousness of the whole of Pakistan was
anti-Musharraf, with the active participation in the mass movement, the
PPP leadership’s announcement to participate in elections was like a
fire truck putting cold water on the boiling heat.
Moreover, what kind of election is taking place on 18 February? Before
the announcement of the general election, 60 top judges were put under
house arrest on 3 November 2007 when martial law was imposed in the name
of emergency; many are still in house arrest, particularly Chief Justice
Iftikhar Ahmed Choudhry. As of 14 January, all public meetings and
election rallies were banned for a month on the name of “security.”
Thus, effectively, there is not going to be any mass campaigning by
political parties.
Most
of the opposition parties that are taking part in the elections are
already complaining that it will be rigged, and that they have proof of
rigging in the voting lists. All the rules laid out by the Election
Commission of Pakistan about the size and width of the posters,
pamphlets, stickers, signboards and banners have been widely violated by
most of the candidates.
It is
race of money among the candidates, like a business competition --not a
democracy that is going to be restored by the election, but a mockery of
democracy. The general election has given the masses a chance to choose
among exploiters. The condition that a candidate must be at least a
university graduate means that less than one percent of the whole
population had a chance to become candidates.
Three
weeks after the assassination of Benazir, on 17 January 2008, there is
unprecedented price hikes for everything. Wheat flour, the most used
food item in Pakistan, has shot up from 13 Rupees a kilogram to 25 to 50
Rupees, if you can find it in shops. After failing to buy the wheat
flour from the government concessional utility store, some women have
attempted suicide. Food riots have been reported in many parts of the
country.
There
is regular news on television and newspapers that “smugglers” of wheat
floor have been arrested. Previously smuggling was normally restricted
to gold and electronic items. Now wheat flour “smugglers” are the main
enemies of Pakistan. Almost every province has restricted the
transportation of wheat floor, creating more problems for the people of
North West Frontier Province, Baluchistan and many in Afghanistan who
are dependent on wheat flour from Punjab and Sind.
There
are also massive electricity crises. Electricity is released on a
load-shedding basis, with electricity available for 10 to 12 hours a day
in most parts of the country. The countryside is worst hit by this
shortage. There is no commercial gas available to industries for the
last two weeks, thus closing down hundreds of factories. Even hospitals
are not spared. Hundreds of thousands of workers have been laid off from
the factories; they are asked to wait until electricity and gas is fully
restored.
LPG
gas has disappeared. The price has gone up from 50 Rupees a kilogram to
100/110 Rupees a kilogram, if you can find one LPG gas shop open. The
price of one kilogram of vegetables has gone from 100 Rupees to 125
Rupees. There is almost a 25 percent price hike of everything available
in shops and supermarkets. Yet there is neither a wage increase nor any
temporary compensation for the people.
This
is fertile ground for the very rich politicians from Muslim League Q,
who are the main supporters of Musharraf. They will buy votes in bulk
for the general election. The hardship of life under Musharraf, with the
PPP taking part in the election, may cut across the massive sympathy
wave that PPP is counting on.
The
Musharraf dictatorship, however, has failed to curb the ongoing suicide
attacks. Religious fundamentalists groups in Wazirestan and Swat are not
backing down. Despite a heavy military operation, they are striking back
repeatedly. On 16 January, a group of religious extremists occupied a
fort in North Wazirestan, which was used by Pakistan military. The
newspapers reported eight army men killed with 20 disappeared, while
unconfirmed reports put the causalities much higher. The government
reported 50 militants were killed.
There
are several incidents where most of the suicide attackers have been less
than 16 years of age. The completely new generation has been motivated
by religious fundamentalists to make an all-out war against the friends
of imperialism and “enemies of Islam.”
There
is also much discontent among the police force and bureaucracy. They are
sick and tired of being used against the masses. Many police officers
speak against the Musharraf government to their friends and contacts.
There is no support among the public employees for the military
dictatorship, but they are forced to go on.
The
Musharraf dictatorship is isolated and the most hated in the history of
Pakistan. It is a dictatorship supported only by American imperialism
and its allies. It is trying its best to survive. However, the days of
the military regime are numbered. It cannot survive for long despite all
the help of its political friends. Musharraf has survived through the
most modern security arrangements available, but these will not work all
the time in the wake of tremendous hatred that is building up.
