Pakistan Clamps Down On Its Sham Democracy

by Muddassir Rizvi

(IPS) ISLAMABAD -- The military has pulled the strings from behind the political scene for decades, but the institutionalization of its role in this South Asian country this month removes much of the pretense that it is a full parliamentary democracy.

Unlike the coup by Gen Pervez Musharraf in October 1999, which led to men in uniform openly governing the country, an Apr. 14 vote that approved the National Security Council (NSC) -- which allows the military a legally sanctioned role in governance -- did not get as much international fanfare.

But its results are much more far-reaching and represent a quite significant change in Pakistan's political dynamics in the last five years alone.

Amid opposition walkouts and protests, the creation of the high-powered NSC took only three-and-a-half minutes. Members of the Senate supporting the military-backed coalition government approved the bill through a voice vote, following earlier approval from the National Assembly, the parliament's lower house.

Headed by the president, the 13-member council includes the chiefs of the army, navy and air force, in addition to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a serving military man of the rank of a general drawn from one of the three services.

The council then also includes civilian officials -- the prime minister, leader of the opposition, the chief ministers of the four provinces and the chairman of the Senate and speaker of the National Assembly. Foreign ministers and defense ministers are observers.

"It was a black day in Pakistan's history," Raza Rabbani, leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party in the Senate, told IPS.

"The power has been given to the military. Why would they impose martial law?" said Siddiqul Farooq, information secretary of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party, which is led by Nawaz Sharif, now in exile

The April vote means that the military no longer operates behind the scenes, so that their interference in political affairs would become legal -- the council's creation, after all, is part of the constitutional changes that Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf first pushed in 2002 despite opposition.

Under its constitutional mandate, the newly created council will advise the government on security matters, crisis management and other issues of "national interest."

The government sees it as a step towards political stability, but opposition parties dispute the claim, saying it is "permanent martial law."

"The basic constitutional structure is being changed. The parliamentary system of government is being replaced with military presidential system," said Senator Prof. Khursheed Ahmed, a member of the Jamaat-i-Islami party. "It is in fact the national insecurity bill that the government has passed."

"This is a tragedy, the worst in the history of Pakistan's parliament and Senate," an outraged Rabbani said.

Pakistan's military has been trying to institutionalise its role in politics and governance for the last two decades, but its earlier efforts were thwarted by parliaments.

A similar Council for Defense and National Security was constituted in 1996 by a caretaker government, but fizzled out quickly after the Nawaz Sharif government took over in February 1997.

Pakistan was under direct military rule for more than 25 years after independence in 1947, but officials say fears of the NSC are baseless.

"Opposition criticism is misplaced," said a government spokesman. "The NSC will only be an advisory body, whose recommendations requiring implementation will be subject to approval by the either of the two houses of the parliament for appropriate action."

Musharraf argues that the council will help build a better relationship with the government and would precisely prevent direct military intervention in the future -- a claim ridiculed by opponents.

The council's birth comes as debate rages about Musharraf's commitment to step down from the office of the army chief by December, yet another sign of the military's wielding of real political power in Pakistan despite elections last year to have the structure of democratic institutions, like parliament, in place.

Likewise, "the new body will only be a pawn in the hands of the president, who has annexed important constitutional powers," added Farooq.

The haste by which the Senate passed the NSC bill has also angered religious parties, which had themselves supported the parliamentary approval of Musharraf's constitutional amendments in December 2003.

Through his controversial amendments, Musharraf annexed powers to dismiss the government, dissolve the parliament and appoint heads of all constitutional offices, including provincial governors, chiefs of armed services and chief justices of the supreme and high courts.

Even many politicians who otherwise support a national security council, but with only an advisory role, believe that the NSC's military members will not take a "no" for an answer from the parliament.

"The haste in which the bill was passed by the Senate to give military a role in politics only indicates the shape of the things to come," observed Zafar Mirza, general secretary of the National Democratic Party. He believes that the NSC is needed but that ideally, such an intervention should have been made only after national political consensus.

While the bickering continues, a number of Pakistanis appear indifferent to the military's new role.

"The military have always been a major power player in the country. The sky won't fall now that their role has been constitutionally recognised," commented Babar Ali, a former worker of the PPP.

"Parliament has never been a sovereign decision-making body. By agreeing to constitute the NSC, it has only recognized its inability to work as an autonomous institution," he said.

Shaheryar Mirza, a master's level student of development studies here, said: "The military alone is not a solution to all issues. Their ability to harmonise conflicting political opinions remains debatable. Their sense of superiority would only undermine the civilian sphere and encourage them to work to strengthen their institutional interest."