MicroPakistan

It took 4 months and 11 days for Pakistan’s top judges to decide on the reference filed by President Musharraf. There is no doubt that it is a ‘landmark verdict’ and happens to be the first verdict against a military ruler. People in Pakistan are celebrating and rightly so. There are images of people and in particular lawyers distributing mithai (sweets) to mark this momentous occasion.

Many have hailed it as a victory for democracy and for those who believe in democracy, justice and rule of law. I am not sure of its legal significance as the ‘short order’ gives away very little details. In any event, the public had given its verdict a few months ago and if the decision had been unfavourable it would have been regarded as a rigged decision. The SC’s decision basically reaffirms what the people wanted to hear. The real question that comes to my mind is: are we better off today than we were a few days ago? The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

A lot has happened since that inauspicious removal of March 9 2007 and most of it has hit the Pakistani nation hard. Peace has escaped us, many lives have been lost, fear has grown manifold, the financial markets have nosedived, the divisions between different social classes have exacerbated and become glaringly obvious, suicide bombing is now a real threat all over the country, flimsily managed institutions have weakened even further, the army’s intentions are being doubted, the leadership looks clueless and at times oblivious to the many problems, and most importantly the morale of the nation has taken a bad hit. The Supreme Court’s decision will not go a long way in solving any of these problems save one thing that has gained a huge boost and I will talk about that later.

First, let’s recount all that has happened and all that the nation has gone through in these last 4 months of turmoil. Here goes: First signs of government censorship of media emerged; the Chief Justice was suspended (here, here, here and here); police used violence against lawyers across Pakistan; Chief Justice was kept under house arrest; the Government took on the media as a whole; Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup in the first round and then lost its coach the very next day; the national team became murder suspects; DAWN newspaper came out openly and protested against government censorship and restrictions; Lal Masjid entered the picture by kidnapping Aunty Shamim et al; they spoke about an Islamic revolution and set up a state inside a state; they passed a fatwa against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar who had to subsequently resign; news of a deal between Benazir and Musharraf emerged (here, here, here and here); the country faced unprecedented electricity shortage that will affect the people for another 5 years; discouraging news about living conditions in cities in Pakistan came up; a Pakistani banker in the US was convicted of insider trading along with many top bankers back home who became suspects for the same; it became big news when a female teacher was assaulted at Quaid-e-Azam University; Karachi was set up for bloodshed in one of the worst tragedies since mid-90’s; Imran Khan left for London to file a case against Altaf Husain (here, here, here, here and here) ; valuations of a full General’s monetary worth came out in Ayesha Siddiqa’s book; the book was banned in Pakistan; Pakistan was ranked 12th in the ‘Failed States’ list by Foreign Policy magazine; Operation Silence was launched and the Lal Masjid leader was killed (here, here, here, here, here, and here); it was followed by many suicide attacks including one at the CJ’s reception in Islamabad; and finally the historic verdict of July 20 2007.

I am not mentioning all this to dampen anyone’s spirits, but to remind ourselves that in our greatest strength may lie our greatest weakness. The name of that quality is resilience. It is resilience that allows us to move on, but it is this moving on that means we do not reflect and learn from what has happened in the past. In the US they still hold functions to mark 9/11. The British have also been observing memorials for 7/7 victims for the past two years, but in Pakistan we will soon forget the events that have transpired in the last 4 months and the many lives that have been lost. Though most of these events are not connected, if one was to look closely the connection could be seen in the relevance of their timing and their importance in Pakistan’s current history. We must try not to, in fact, we can’t forget these events so that we are prepared for the long and arduous struggle ahead.

Conspiracy theories abound and people have already explained the SC’s decision as part of a well orchestrated plan to allow Musharraf to carry on under the re-legitimised Chief Justice. Considering this Government’s track record it sounds a bit too well planned to be honest and way beyond their planning powers. After all, planning has never been the strength of those close to Musharraf.

So having considered all that has happened and the inconsequential impact that the decision has had on it why are we better off today than we were a few days ago? The answer is because today we have regained our confidence. We have regained the confidence in our judiciary, the confidence in rule of law, the confidence in ourselves and the confidence to fight all odds to achieve an improbable end. 4 months ago in my open letter to the President I wrote, ‘Mr President you might argue that you have strengthened an institution. But, looking at the reactions of your people, Mr President, you have weakened a nation.’ Now, the same institution has responded by not only strengthening itself, but more importantly, strengthening the will of the people.

Yes, it is a small victory. Yes, things are looking bleak. Yes, this does not solve all the problems. But if one was to look at the reactions of the people on the streets it seemed like they had forgotten about the 3 bombing incidents the day before, or the Lal Masjid incident, or the KSE 1000 point crash in 2 days. They celebrated from Karachi to Islamabad, from Quetta to Lahore, from Gujranwala to Hyderabad, from Peshawar to Faisalabad. They all rose in unison and expressed the purest form of one simple emotion – pride. Utmost pride in being a Pakistani.

The decision also has its legal and political significance, which is more long term than the jubilation that the nation feels at the moment. We will probably do a post on that later, but for now let us enjoy these days of joy and pride and hope for even better days to come.