Saturday, August 28, 2010
Shadow National Government of Expert Professionals in Pakistan
Good Governance Forum, the Largest, Most Diversified, Top Ranking Globally Searched interactive Think Tank on governance in Pakistan has launched its new public initiative called the Shadow National Government of Expert Professionals. Details can be viewed at http://shadownationalgovernment.blogspot.com
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Masters, Military and Media are now pillars of power pyramid in Pakistan
Masters: U.S.A, ETC
Military: GHQ, ETC
Media: Mirs, Nizamis, Haroons, ETC
Top slot rotates between the Masters and the Military. Media sit at the edges, at times at right, at times at left. Politicians are everywhere but practicaly nowhere. These 'poor guys' (though rich in billions) are always ascending or descending from the sides of the pyramid upwards or downwards. Or, at times, they just lie down on the axis between the military and the media when the masters occupy the top.
Read more soon.
Military: GHQ, ETC
Media: Mirs, Nizamis, Haroons, ETC
Top slot rotates between the Masters and the Military. Media sit at the edges, at times at right, at times at left. Politicians are everywhere but practicaly nowhere. These 'poor guys' (though rich in billions) are always ascending or descending from the sides of the pyramid upwards or downwards. Or, at times, they just lie down on the axis between the military and the media when the masters occupy the top.
Read more soon.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Twists and Turns in Pakistan's Politics
At the time of the signing of the COD between the late Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party and Mian Nawaz Sharif , Quaid of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), while the former president Pervez Musharraf was still in power, was perceived to be a new beginning in the political culture of Pakistan. It was considered to be a giant leap forward for political reconciliation, emergence of democracy and the supremacy of parliament.
The death of Benazir Bhutto turned everything upside down. The scenario that emerged after the Feb 2008 general elections ultimately led to confrontation between the PPP and the PML(N), sidelining of democratic norms and the weakening of parliament.
The lawyers' movement to restore the superior judiciary removed under the Nov 3, 2007 emergency clamped by the former president Pervez Musharraf provided a tremendous impetus to the emergence of democracy in the country.
The last two years of the democratic dispensation in the country have witnessed growing disillusionment with the parties in power than ever before. The Pakistan People's Party being the leading party in power in the Centre has been the most hard-hit of the political spectrum. Its leadership could not live upto its traditionally proclaimed norms of democracy, poverty reduction, employment generation, equitable distribution of wealth, protection of the fundamental rights of the down-trodden, sovereignty of parliament, rule of law and justice, political reconciliation and collective political wisdom and so on. As a result, the party is fast losing ground amongst all classes of the people in the urban and the rural areas of Pakistan due to hyper inflation, massive poverty, rising unemployment, poor law and order, and the absence of basic amenities of life for a great majority of the people.
Pakistan Muslim League of Mian Nawaz Sharif has all along been trailing behind the PPP in the hope of getting relief for its party's Quaid to enable him to contest the parliamentary elections and to become the prime minister of Pakistan for 3rd time. In the process, the party lost popularity across the country. PML(N) -led government in the largest province of Punjab is the only consolation for the party and the people living in the province. The Punjab government is being administered by Mian Nawaz Sharif's younger brother and the current president of the party Mian Shahbaz Sharif.
The political power in Punjab is divided amongst the PML(N), the PPP, and the PML(Q) being the three leading players in the political arena. PML(N) reportedly engineered the breakaway of a large number of legislators of the PML(Q) to become allies of the PML(N) in the provincial legislature. The PPP has been associated with the government, though partially and half-heartedly. Out of 32 provincial ministries, half of them are still unoccupied by the ministers of the PML(N) and the PPP. The Chief Minister is virtually administering 16 ministries at an enormous cost of his health, time, and energy.
The ongoing cold and hot war between the PPP leadership and the superior judiciary is no hidden fact. There is a growing wedge between them. Will the confrontation ever end is a question nobody can safely answer but the general assumption of those in the know of things is that reconciliaton is next to impossible.
The military power led by the Army has been endeavouring to maintain a workable balance amongst the executive, parliament and judiciary. It acts only when the events become too hot to challenge the political establishment.
The outside powers dominated by the United States appear to be in favour of maintaining the status quo in Pakistan to facilitate the American War on Terror in the tribal belt of Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan against the local Taliban.
By and large, the political parties in and out of parliament want to continue with the democratic dispensation. However, the street pressure is mounting and the parties outside the parliament are gearing up to become part of the interim national government in lieu of mid-term elections for the time being. The national government does'nt suit the PPP and the PML(N). PML(N) would prefer to have the midterm elections before its popularity touches the lowest ebb owing to its continued association with the PPP. The PPP would do everything to resist its overthrow through any means.
Presently, the only possible solution lies in the formation of a national government of consensus composed of the political technocrats of the political parties. The country is in dire need of competent, honest and effective administrators in all spheres of state functions to rid the country of massive corruption, gross mismanagement of country's resources and the fast escalating economic miseries of the people across the country.
The Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is due to retire in Nov 2010. He has practically nominated his successor by elevating Lt Gen Khalid ShamimWyne to the position of the Chief of General Staff. However, the Army does not trust the PPP-led government for the selection of the next Army Chief.
It is generally argued that the present and the foreseeable situation clearly demands a change of guards at the federal level before Nov 2010.
Good Governance Forum
--Leading the Way to the Challenge of Change in Pakistan
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Who rules Pakistan?
Pakistan has been ruled by what we may call 'Power Pyramid' in its 62-year chequered political history. There has been three components of power pyramid in Pakistan, namely, the United States of America, the Establishment (civilian as well as military bureaucracy) and the Politicians (mostly from the elite landed aristocracy and the industrial empires). The U.S. has almost always been sitting at the top of the pyramid because of its financial, military and political muscles. At the bottom, it was the Establishment in one corner and the Politicians in the other.
During the past six decades, the country has been ruled by military, or more specifically the army, for more than 30 years. General Ayub Khan took over in a military coup and imposed Martial Law in Oct 1958, just after 11 years of independence following the clashes amongst the political parties which destabilized the civilian political system. His regime lasted till March 1969 when he handed over the power to the then General Yahya Khan who again clamped Martial Law.
After the inception of Bangladesh in the eastern wing of the country, General Yahya Khan resigned and Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over the power in the western wing as the first civilian martial law administrator and president of new Pakistan. His regime lasted from Dec 1971 to Jul 1977.
In July 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq staged a military coup, deposed Mr Bhutto who was then prime minister and imposed martial law in the country. He ruled the country till his death in an air crash in Aug 1988.
From 1988 to 1999, Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif interchanged governments after every 2-3 years, both becoming the prime minister twice during this period.
In Oct 1999, General Pervez Musharraf staged a military coup against Mian Nawaz Sharif and assumed the office of the Chief Executive of the country. He 'suspended' the constitution and ruled till Aug 2008 when he was 'forced' to resign as the last military president by Mr Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party whose party had bagged the highest number of seats in the National Assembly in the Feb 2008 general elections.
From Sep 2008 todate, it is Mr Asif Ali Zardari who occupies the presidency with the same powers that his predecessor usurped from the office of the prime minister under the 17th amendment to the constitution.
It is an irony of fate that the country could never have institutionalized democracy with every state organ operating within its own domain. The executive assumed overriding powers over the parliament and the judiciary under both civilian and military dispensations. Besides, the president or the prime minister, whosoever assumed the executive powers, resorted to taming the parliament, judiciary, media, military, bureaucracy, and the political leaders in the opposition. As a result, each civilian government could not last long and got replaced by either an other party through midterm elections or a military coup.
There is a new emerging power pyramid in 2009 with the launching and strengthening of 40+ TV channels in the private sector, starting from 2002. The media is heading towards its share of the power pyramid. The restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in Mar 2009 played a pivotal role in strengthening the judiciary and moving it towards its share of the power pyramid. The establishment, particularly the military, is perceived to have backed the restoration of the Chief Justice.
As of today, the power pyramid in Pakistan is swirling into a new shape consisting of the establishment, the judiciary and the media. America and politicians are moving into the background, maybe for a come-back at a later stage.
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