C O L U M N S

Pakistan is currently faced with multifarious problems: the political problem of evolving a political system which corresponds to the genius of its people and their democratic aspirations, the problem of economic development and raising the standard of living of its people, the problem of good governance to provide essential services like basic nutrition, health, education, shelter, justice, and rule of law and to build up the physical infrastructure of the country, and the problem of ensuring internal and external security. A cursory glance at our history shows that the successive governments in Pakistan have failed to overcome these problems. There are several factors which are responsible for this sad state of affairs. They include lack of maturity and integrity of our politicians, the adventurism and corruption of our army generals whose lack of comprehension of national issues is matched by their disregard of the constitution and rule of law, and an inefficient bureaucracy made growingly ineffective by politicisation and repeated instances of military rule. However, if there is one underlying factor which is responsible for most of our national ills, it is the problem of strategic exhaustion.
It was Pakistan’s misfortune that soon after independence its political elite failed to provide the leadership that the country needed. The vacuum thus created due to the sheer incapacity of the political leadership to deliver was filled up initially by the civilian bureaucracy but ultimately by the senior generals of the Pakistan Army starting with Ayub Khan. The precedent set by him was followed by other military usurpers including Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. In the process, Pakistan remained under the military rule for 33 years out of the 62 years of its existence. Even when the army generals were not directly ruling the country, they were busy pulling the strings from behind the scenes. The net result was that the political evolution of the country on democratic lines was stunted and the army gradually entrenched itself in the corridors of power so as to dominate and control the governmental decision making processes. The military claimed the lion’s share of the budget. Not only that, the military budget also became off limit for the Parliament. The army generals virtually dictated the country’s security and foreign policies. The army also came to dominate the economic scene by establishing a vast business empire covering the industrial, banking, real estate, and transportation sectors with obvious adverse implications for professionalism in the army.

By Javid Husain