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Challenges for new Pakistani Prime Minister

Muhammad Shafiq - 3/26/2008

The first orders of the newly-elected Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, for the release of all deposed judges set the tone for the future politics of Pakistan. However, it is yet to be seen whether he has become another prime minister or has some real powers to provide relief to the people of the country.

The orders for the release of the judges were according to the Murree Declaration, signed by ruling coalition partners – the PPP and the PML-N. However, the toughest decision of their reinstatement is yet to come. The government will have to restore the judges, under immense pressure from lawyers who launched an unprecedented struggle for their restoration and shook the foundation of dictatorship in the country. The release of the judges will give a new impetus to their movement and the new democratic government will have to bow before their demand. When a powerful dictator could not withstand their yearlong struggle, how can a newly installed democratic government brave it for long? What looked impossible to President Pervez Musharraf and most analysts a few months ago, is about to happen.

The first orders of the new prime minister indicate that President Pervez Musharraf has weakened considerably, but it does not imply that the establishment has damaged or the prime minister has been empowered. It is the point that will decide the success of the new government. There are some questions which need immediate answers. The first question is whether the new prime minister is powerful enough to provide relief to the people of the country or will only act as a puppet in the hands of the establishment?

The situation will become clear in the next few months vis-Ã -vis the powers of the prime minister. Until recently, decision-making and budget allocations have been the sole discretion of the establishment. All previous prime ministers of the country had certain limitations and they only served the purpose of the establishment to rule the country like a colonial power. The people of the country have been deprived of basic rights and amenities since the inception of the country in 1947. No prime minister, even the most popular Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, could provide relief to the people of the country. Instead, all prime ministers had to share the burden of the wrongdoing of the establishment, which maligned them and all politicians of the country.

The people have been deprived of even clean drinking water and all basic rights, including education, healthcare, employment, law and order. The people were left to languish in abject poverty while the establishment spent all recourses on their luxuries. Can the new prime minister demand a share of the pie from the establishment for the people of the country? It is a practice of the establishment to malign politicians and launch a smear campaign so that people lose trust in politicians and democracy. That is why most people still blame politicians, political parties and prime ministers for their plight, rather than holding the establishment accountable, which has ruled the country with absolute authority for 60 years.

Undoubtedly, politicians are subjected to criticism for corruption and inaptness throughout the world and Pakistani politicians too are not angels. However, they had to shoulder the burden of failures and misconduct of the establishment, which brought a bad name to politicians and democracy in Pakistan. It is high time the new government demanded powers to serve the masses rather than just coming to power. If the people of the country are still deprived of their rights, they will lose trust in democracy and democratic parties, although all other systems lead to chaos and destruction, as seen in the last eight years and all other periods of dictatorship in the country.

Another matter of concern for the new prime minister is its heavy mandate. Almost all parties have been accommodated in the new setup, except the PM-Q, the former ruling party which was rejected by the people in the last election. Holding such a big coalition together and meeting their demands will be an uphill task for the new government. Analysts have reservations against the inclusion of the MQM ‑ an establishment party – in the coalition. According to ruling party leaders, the joining of the MQM will help manage the affairs of Sindh and provide relief to its people. However, many observers term the decision against the will of the people of the country. Nawaz Sharif also expressed his concern against the insertion of the MQM and said he could not forget the tragedy of May 12, 2007, in which 48 people were killed and hundreds injured after riots had erupted on the visit of the deposed chief justice to Karachi, which is considered a stronghold of the MQM.

Some ruling party leaders claim the MQM was included in the coalition because they also needed a two-thirds majority in the Senate for the restoration of the judges. But it is highly unlikely the MQM will vote for their reinstatement because the move would ultimately lead to the ouster of President Musharraf, which would not be acceptable to the party. Analysts term the inclusion of the MQM the only bad decision made by the PPP, led by Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the late Benazir Bhutto.

Some political analysts also confuse the weakening of President Pervez Musharraf with a declining establishment while others believe that only President Pervez Musharraf has weakened, not the establishment. They believe the establishment has only chosen to stay away from the public eye to restore its image.