In the throes of crisis

ON the Abyss is a comprehensive and up-to-date book that tries to probe and analyse the enormity of the crisis facing Pakistan. It is based on keen perception and analytical interpretation by a group of outstanding scholars who have been closely observing the political developments in Pakistan. Six essays are written by eminent Pakistani scholars; three by foreign journalists familiar with South Asian politics and two by Indians who are well-known Pakistani watchers.

Ever since the independence of Pakistan, an offshoot of the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in August 1947, the major dilemma facing the ruling elite has been to create a viable national identity out of diverse regional and linguistic groups. With the disintegration of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971, one phase of Pakistani history came to a close. The country has failed to nurture strong democratic institutions and the military regime under General Pervez Musharaff is in the throes of a new crisis. If the General fails, many contributors argue, the alternative will be far worse, "the fundamentalists are waiting to take over."

What are the linkages between democratic politics and foreign policy? In a well-argued essay, Tariq Ali points out that from 1951, when Pakistan became a "U.S. pawn in the Cold War," Washington felt that the army would be the best guarantor of its interests in the region. From 1958 to 1969, the State Department backed General Ayub Khan's dictatorship. The "monstrous regime" of General Zia-ul-Haq was "spawned by the Pentagon and the Defence Intelligence Agency," eager for a "proxy to take on the Russians in Afghanistan." On the Pakistani role in the Afghan crisis, Tariq Ali quotes a retired general:

Pakistan was the condom the Americans needed to enter Afghanistan... We have served our purpose and they think we can just be flushed down the toilet.

Dependence on the United States meant Pakistan became a "frontline state" against "Soviet expansionism". It had also its heavy economic costs. Pakistan began to depend more and more on Western aid agencies. Prof. S. Akbar Zaidi points out that Pakistan currently owes 32 billion dollars, which is 47 per cent of its GDP to institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF and others.

Khaled Ahmed, well-known journalist, describes the Pakistani dilemma as well as the fundamental flaws of the political system. General Musharaff sits uncomfortably on the top of an army that has been indoctrinated with the idea of an Islamic Jehad over the last two decades.

What is more, there are too many Islamic generals committed to the principle of "international Jehad". The increasing Islamisation of the army and the fear that if General Musharaff fails the fundamentalists are bound to take over the country is what compels most secularists in Pakistan to view "Musharaff's government as Pakistan's last defence against Talibanisation."

Who owns Pakistan? Development economists, during the 1960s, used to portray Pakistan as the "first Asian Tiger". Economic delegations from South Korea and Indonesia used to visit Pakistan to learn the Pakistani model of development. Today there is a general consensus that Pakistan is a "failed state, a country in the process of melt down, the economy being kept afloat by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank."

Shahid-ur-Rehman quotes Dr. Mahboob-ul-Haq that the economic wealth of the country in 1968 was concentrated in the hands of "22 families". These families owned "66 per cent of the total industrial assets, 70 per cent of insurance and 80 per cent of banking." Describing the "mess" into which Pakistan has sunk, Rehman writes,

Pakistan is at war with itself - there is a war among four nationalities, between Shiites and Sunnis, between the provinces and the federation, between the rulers and the ruled.

Mani Shankar Aiyar, India's former Consul General in Karachi, in a provocative essay, analyses the options available for the Indian Foreign Office. The Pakistani military had been the leitmotif of India's Pakistan policy since the military took over in 1958. But what about the record of civilian rulers? Their record, by no stretch of imagination, can be characterised as India-friendly. It was Jinnah who ordered the raid into Kashmir in 1947. It was at the instigation of Bhutto that the "lunge towards Akhnoor" was ordered in 1965. As is well known, the Sino- Pakistani alliance was the brainchild of Bhutto. And as regards Kargil, Aiyar mentions that "it was Musharaff's war, but no less was it Sharif's." Aiyar concludes:

There is no alternative to dialogue... Chasing the will o' the wisp of democracy in Pakistan is not, and should not be, an Indian problem. How we conduct the dialogue, and not with whom, is the crux of the matter. If it is to be Musharaff, so be it.

This interesting collection of essays should be read by all Indians interested in India-Pakistan relations and the nature of the Pakistan state.

V. SURYANARAYAN

On The Abyss: Pakistan After the Coup - Contemporary Essays, HarperCollins, Distr: EastWest/Rupa, p.280, Rs. 195.

The Indian Review of Books

Indian Review of Books,

62-A, Ormes Road, Kilpauk, Chennai - 600 010.

Internet: www.irb-ewb.com

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