By: Farooq Tariq
Masses have spoken once
again. They do not like the military dictatorship. They want
Musharaf out. They have acted in their own manner to express their
hope to oust Musharaf. Massive anti Musharaf vote on 18 February
2008 across Pakistan speak for itself.
Anyone seems to be
supporting the military dictatorship has been punished. The pro
Musharaf Muslim League Q (PMLQ) lost badly despite the entire pre
poll rigging. The religious fundamentalist parties taking part in
the elections were the worst hit. It was an electoral revolution
against the military dictatorship. Thanks to the advocates movement
that has spearhead the struggle against Musharaf in a different
arena.
Contrary to the analysis of
many, the boycott campaign by All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM)
helped anti Musharaf vote to express in a united manner. The tone of
all the 18 mass rallies of APDM was anti Musharaf. The boycott
campaign was particularly successful in Baluchistan and North West
Frontier Province (NWFP). Here the split in MMA on the question of
boycott strategy was the fundamental reason for the victory of Awami
National Party (ANP) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
If APDM parties would have
taken part in the elections, MMA might have been united. In that
case, they might not been humiliated the way they have been now.
From 13 percent in 2002 general elections, they have gone down to
less than five percent. They cannot play any part in any future
government’s formation strategy.
If Imran Khan’s Pakistan
Tehreek Insaaf, the Left parties and the nationalist parties of
Baluchistan and NWFP who are the main parties behind APDM, were to
take part in the general elections, the anti Musharaf vote would
have been divided. It may have helped the PMLQ to win some more
seats.
It was an all out attack on
Musharaf from all fronts. Those boycotting and those participating
had one popular slogan in common, “go Musharaf go”.
The advocate’s movement and
the courageous stand by the top judges had made Musharaf very
unpopular. He did not believed the pre poll surveys, which predicted
less than 12 percent support for him.
The defeat of pro Musharaf
parties has a lot of parallel to the historic defeat of Bartiya
Junta Party (BJP) during the 2004 Indian general elections. The
so-called “India shining” sloganeering was repeated by PMLQ during
this election campaign by massive advertisements in the electronic
and print media. The “development” at the cost of suffering of human
beings will never pay back in political terms is a lesson of this
humiliated defeat of PMLQ.
PMLQ leader Choudry Shujaat
Hussain was so convinced of his development work in his constituency
that he slept in the afternoon of the Election Day. He commented on
16 February 2008 to a private television channel GEO, “I have
provided electricity to every village of his constituency, there is
no need for more campaign”. He lost both seats that he was
contesting. He forgot that while he provided electricity to all the
villages of his constituency at the cost of other districts but the
prices of every day items had not come down but increased
tremendously.
The PMLN landslide in
Punjab was due to Nawaz Sharif clear stand on the restoration of the
judiciary, lowering of prices and no compromise with Musharaf
dictatorship. The demand of restoration of top judges is very
popular in Punjab particularly where the advocate movement has been
more vocal.
Unfortunately, Pakistan
Peoples Party of assassinated Benazir Bhutto hesitated on the
question and ultimately decided not to support the demand of
restoration of judges. It paid the price in Punjab where despite
the entire sympathy wave; PPP was unable to capitalize fully the
anti Musharaf vote.
Masses have spoken. Now the
leaders of PPP and PMLN have to act accordingly. They must demand an
immediate resignation of Musharaf. They must take up the restoration
question of judges immediately. They must not share power with
Musharaf.
They must change the
economic priorities of Musharaf era, the implementation of neo
liberal agenda. The masses has suffered a lot because of these
polices. There has been unprecedented price hike because of the
so-called free market policies. Musharaf has acted upon every advice
of IMF and World Bank. His tall claim of economic growth stands
absolute exposed.
I wrote an article, “Can
Musharaf Survive” on 25 January 2008. It starts from this paragraph,
“It
seems that Musharaf is on his last leg. He has become the most
detested and despicable president in the history of Pakistan. No
longer are there progressives, liberals or moderates in his camp.
His enlightened moderation has been buried with the passage of
time”.
It goes on, “The
Pakistan Muslim league Q (PMLQ), Musharaf favorite, is in absolute
crisis after the recent shortages of food items, electricity and
gas. The PMLQ candidates are the target of anti-Musharaf
consciousness. The general perception is that if you are against
Musharaf; do not vote for the PMLQ. Following Benazir assassination,
the wave of sympathy has opposed the PMLQ. Unless there is an
all-out rigging of the election, there is no guarantee that Musharaf
supported candidates will win the election. If Pakistan Peoples
Party and Pakistan Muslim league Nawaz (PMLN) candidates gain a
majority in the next parliament, Musharaf will find very difficult
to repeat what he did following the 2002 election, when he bribed
many PMLN and PPP parliamentarians to join hands with the PMLQ to
form a majority government”.
It ends on this
note, “Boycott, or no boycott, the future scenario seems more and
more problematic for Musharaf. His departure seems written on the
front door of every home”.
We had understood
the processes that were going on among the working class in
Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Labour Party Pakistan had not the mass
basis to bring this anti Musharaf consciousness to its conclusion,
the end of capitalism and feudalism and for a Socialist Pakistan.
LPP along with other
Left parties will continue to press demands for the total isolation
of military from politics. Those responsible for atrocities under
military dictatorships be brought in peoples courts, a real
accountability for the generals in politics.
The vote on 18
February is vote of no confidence on Musharaf policies. PPP and PMLN
must change the course of economic policies of Musharaf. Otherwise,
with a brief period of honeymoon, they will be seen as those who
have betrayed the wishes of masses.
The parties of the
rich and capitalist, the PPP and PMLN have been able to capitalize
on anti Musharaf feelings of the masses. They cannot go very far on
the dictations of IMF and World Bank. There is no other alternative
but to build a party of the working class. That is what Labour Party
Pakistan is all about.
