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EDITORIAL: Musharraf’s ‘true democracy’

In a country where democracy has always been difficult to define under the best of circumstances President Pervez Musharraf has laid claim to “true democracy” under his rule. He told the people of Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum that his government had introduced “real democracy” in Pakistan by empowering people “politically and economically”. He then went on to define democracy: “Democracy essentially means empowerment of people, progress of the county and freedom of expression... What else does democracy mean?” He then made further claims: the local government system had taken root with the completion of its first term, and the Senate elections had taken place. He proclaimed that the next general elections would be held in 2007, which would be the first time the assemblies would have completed their five-year term. After that, he said, poverty would be reduced through the creation of employment and control of inflation. He also compared past development budgets with the present one as an economic achievement, and flagged the year 2016 when the dams would be completed and when presumably he would still be around in uniform. At least that is what Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said when he too spoke at Pind Dadan Khan.

If the domestic political opinion is not reliable about the achievements of President Musharraf, let us look at what the world says: while his foreign and economic policies are better than in earlier years when Pakistan had “democracy”, his marshalling of a political consensus has failed; his efforts to stem Islamist and criminal terrorism for the revival of law and order have failed, and his “democratic” order is dangerously poised to crumble in the face of an across-the-board breakdown of the social contract that only a fully representative leader can restore by negotiating with the political parties that embody the country’s mainstream politics. Without this process of negotiation the environment of freedom of expression that he has created will actually make things difficult for him.

About the president’s “going”, there is a deliberate lack of clarity which is not in the spirit of “democracy” at all. President Musharraf says the general election will be in the year 2007, but the PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain seems to have a different “formula” for getting him re-elected, possibly with his military uniform on. Mr Hussain has made public the following plan: (1) That elections will be held under caretaker governments (with the same president on top) at the centre and in the provinces installed three months before polls; (2) that members of the caretaker governments will not be allowed to contest elections; (3) that the president will be re-elected not by the new parliament, but by the present parliament through the same method of vote as before; (4) that the next election will take place after the re-election of the president; and (5) that the opposition will definitely take part in the general elections no matter what it threatens to do.

This means that the election may not be held in 2007 and that “true democracy” may come under undue pressure if President Musharraf extends his reign beyond any that our dictators in the past have enjoyed. On the other hand, there is a general consensus that a new election commissioner mutually agreed in parliament be appointed to remove all doubt about “rigging” and other “strong-arm methods” that have haunted the 2002 general elections, and the presidential referendum before that about which the president is not too happy. However, the latest filling of the post of chief election commissioner signals that no such effort at rendering the general election immune from hanky-panky will be made and the legitimacy of the 2007 election will be more or less marred, as has happened with the local body elections and the latest Senate election which the president has presented as achievements of his “true democracy”.

At the best of times “true democracy” is something to aim at in the Third World in general and Pakistan in particular where the army has always called the shots. But whatever order Pakistan has, should be sustainable. Our past experience shows that generals don’t produce sustainable systems simply because these systems are too identified with their own persons. A regular transparent transition of power is needed no matter how messy the politicians make it. *

SECOND EDITORIAL: Save the railways from collapse!

At the concluding session of the two-day “84th Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendents’ Conference” held at the Pakistan Railways headquarters in Lahore on Saturday, what came to light was nothing short of a shambles. The GM (Operations) Salimur Rahman Akhund heard the officers say that all provisions for the maintenance of the system were short by 50 percent; that the railways stations were poorly maintained and subject to encroachments; the tracks were old and unserviceable and dangerous for the moving stock; and that the signalling system was long obsolete and not properly manned because of inadequate recruitment and lack of training.

Because of poor maintenance of tracks and bad signalling train accidents are not infrequent in this country. The last time trains collided in Sindh it was found that there was a shortage of signalling staff and that the signalling system itself had broken down. Even in Punjab where trains used to be reliable, fewer middle class passengers are inclined to travel because the trains sway dangerously on a rickety track. Links with Sindh in the south are totally dependent on the railway. The roads have been unsafe for the last two decades because of poor security. Terrorists of all kinds have realised this and are now targeting the trains — the January 29 train derailment between Bakrala and Domeli stations in Punjab has been found officially to be an act of sabotage. We have lagged behind the Indian railways system for many years, but now the time has come to take a closer look at it and put more money into it and overhaul its governance. *

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