By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
The abduction and brutal murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad is yet another indicator of the acute sense of desperation that has permeated our shadowy corridors of power. The game is up, yet our king-makers insist on raising the stakes. How long the charade can go on is a matter of conjecture; what matters is that too many innocent people have been, and will continue to be, used as pawns by forces much bigger than them.
Having said this, I do not believe in propagating doomsday scenarios, as too many ‘progressives’ do these days. In the final analysis, the latest series of events proves conclusively that the contradictions within the existing structure of power have become untenable. There is no guarantee, of course, that there will be resolution of these contradictions, and if so, that the equilibrium subsequently established will be any less oppressive and exclusive than the incumbent structure.
In any case, there can be no doubt that there is a unique opportunity to reconfigure the structure of power in this country. One can only hope that this opportunity is not allowed to go to waste.
It would be remiss of me not to note that a vast majority of Pakistanis remain relatively unconcerned with the antics of the ruling class, its external patrons, its (increasingly out of control) ex-protégés, and the other players that make up the power nexus. Most ordinary people are bred on a worldview in which questions about the way of the world are seldom asked, and the daily business of making ends meet within the confines of existing political, economic and cultural structures takes precedence over all else.
Yet today there is a sense - amongst more people than has ever been the case till now - that this static worldview has been shaken and that a new one can be fashioned. There is still confusion aplenty due largely to the unending manipulations of spymasters and spin doctors. Yet there is space that is waiting to be captured by those articulate and brave enough to do so.
It is only logical to look first and foremost towards the people’s elected representatives to take up the challenge. The budget session which gets underway today represents the perfect occasion to start the long (and likely arduous) journey away from a militarised state towards a welfare state. Or maybe I am getting ahead of myself. It would be premature to assume that a significant number of members of parliament are actually committed to such a political project. What they should be willing to commit to unequivocally, however, is the supremacy of civilian institutions. A critical mass of ordinary citizens would fully back a unified parliamentary effort to subject defence expenditures to open scrutiny, and thus make clear that no state institution can remain unaccountable to the taxpaying public.
The precedents, needless to say, are not very good. There has never been anything resembling a detailed parliamentary debate on the amount of public money allocated to the military. More generally, the media’s rules of engagement with the military are almost diametrically opposed to those that apply in the case of politicians. It is almost unheard of to speak of corruption in the military, whereas stories on corrupt politicians are a dime a dozen.
Yet change must start somewhere. As I have already suggested, it is not necessary to immediately try and forge a consensus (amongst politicians or, for that matter, within society at large) on the need for the state’s priorities to be changed. At the very least we should acknowledge that it is no longer possible for us to remain subservient to those who are supposed to serve us.
The in-camera parliamentary session that was convened in the immediate aftermath of the Osama bin Laden affair proved that the military establishment knows the meaning of a strategic retreat. Our politicians are not nearly as well-drilled nor do they possess much public relations savvy. But that particular event was important if only because it illustrated the nature of the military’s compulsions.
The budget debate is likely to have almost no impact on the economic policies of government in the year to come. The pressures that we face from the International Monetary Fund and its sister institutions are so great that we have virtually no leeway to depart from their standard set of prescriptions, notwithstanding the unending protests of clerks, teachers, doctors, nurses and a host of other public-sector employees who are amongst the few that actually pay income taxes in this country. It is thus on the question of defence spending and its accountability that parliament can make itself heard.
Even on this point, one must admit, there is only so much room for manoeuvre. We are an American satellite and the world’s superpower is prosecuting a so-called ‘war on terror’ in and around our country. American and Pakistani generals and spymasters may not see eye to eye at present, but this does not mean that war has ceased to be a lucrative and politically necessary need for both. In such an environment, those who play power politics - which includes our politicians - are not inclined to rock the boat on any front.
And so we are in danger of frittering away the space that generations of progressives have sacrificed much to create. It has not dissipated yet, however. If parliament does not do itself a favour by setting a much-need historical precedent, all will not be lost. If it does take up the gauntlet, much, much more will be gained.
Source: The News, Islamabad
URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamWarOnTerror_1.aspx?ArticleID=4787
10:54 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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