Pakistan Needs Restructuring, Not Elections
A 5 Point Roadmap for Reform

By Maliha Masood, Matrix Correspondent















There is a reason why you can’t find better alternatives when talking about a post-Musharraf Pakistan. Pakistani political parties never developed into viable institutions capable of generating leadership. And you can’t blame this one on entirely on the Pakistani military.

When all is said and done, Pervez Musharraf remains the best option from a lesser of evils scenario. A corrupt and two-faced Benazir Bhutto will be disastrous for the country. While lauded by the media for her pro-democracy stance, Benazir is in fact completely dependent on the military for her power base and to assume otherwise is to be fooled by appearances alone. Make no mistake. If Benazir assumes power, she will not be wielding it single-handedly, but at the mercy and command of her invisible backers, which includes the United States. In other words, hers will be a puppet regime and we can all guess where that will lead.

Without a doubt, Musharraf has miserably failed in using his immense powers, backed by the powerful Pakistani military institution, in redesigning the failed Pakistani political system. Multiple power centers at the top have made the system unstable, resulting in perennial turf wars over the past six decades. The current power struggle in Pakistan is probably one of the ugliest manifestations of this damaged system. This time the domestic infighting is sending the wrong signals abroad.

To make a case for why Pakistan needs the military is to risk alienation from bleeding heart liberals and democrats, but again this is where one needs to be wary of appearances. The image of a Pakistani lawyer handcuffed by the police is not an automatic statement that freedom and justice is under attack. Some of the lawyers arrested were charged with abuse of office, giving away jobs to relatives as a way of doling out favors. For Pakistani elites, with ties to power brokers, getting out of trouble is only a phone call away, and all the important numbers are programmed on their mobile speed dials.

Speaking from a realist's point of view, there are deep structural and constitutional problems within Pakistani politics that necessitate the presence of Pakistani military in civil affairs for the time being. Only the military can help break the choking grip of wealthy, autocratic feudal politicians. And the most frustrating part is that the military is just as much part of the solution as well as the problem.

Encouraging the monopoly of a handful of politicians in the country, perpetuating a troubled system and never encouraging its replacement with a better one is the ongoing legacy of military rule. Any transition to democracy has to slow and calibrated. Oddly enough, pro-democratic expressions in Pakistan came about under a military-led government.

The most revealing example of this is the free and independent media that flourished during the past eight years in Pakistan, a fact not widely known to the rest of the world in the face of the recent media crackdowns by Musharraf. Another success story during military rule has been the economy. At one point, Karachi's stock exchange (KSE) was rated the best emerging stock index anywhere in the world. Pakistan today is ranked 76th by the World Bank in terms of ease of doing business, way ahead of India, for example, at 120th.

Of course, none of this means that a permanent military-led government is the answer for Pakistan. What it means is that the military, for all its negative associations, has had a role in reforming Pakistani politics. And it must embrace this role as a strategic objective. The reforms must be sustainable and the end goal is a healthy democracy with full transparency and accountability.

What Pakistan needs today more than anything else is restructuring and remodeling. Elections are an unnecessary distraction, a placebo effect designed to satisfy the international community. And going by past experience, elections at the wrong time will push Pakistan into more political controversies.

The unfortunate thing is that President Musharraf failed to introduce any real political reforms. Pakistan’s strong military institution must use its influence to introduce the following five drastic changes to the country’s political system:


1. CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION.
President Musharraf must challenge decaying politics by giving the nation a fresh constitution. Around 1,000 people – that’s the estimated strength of present Pakistani political class – will create some noise. But two-thirds of Pakistanis are below 30 years of age. To them, future is more important than the past. The existing constitution creates conflict, doesn’t reflect ground realities, and cripples Pakistan’s potential as a rising power.


2. A STRONG PRESIDENCY.
Executive power must be strengthened and expanded if we want to see a strong
federal government in Islamabad. This means axing the current parliamentary system. Gen. Musharraf must bolster his position by introducing a presidential form of democracy. This structural change cannot be made permanent without a strong presidency with likeminded professionals in federal offices.

3. MORE PROVINCES.
Pakistan needs to move beyond the current four provinces to at least a dozen or more, with more local governments. This will improve governance, create new local leaderships, weaken linguistic- and ethnic-based politics, and – most importantly – strengthen Pakistani nationalism.


4. A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM.
Stability will continue to elude Pakistan without introducing something close to a two-party system – possibly Pakistan Muslim League [PML] on the right and Pakistan People’s Party [PPP] on the left – alternating power, with a half dozen smaller parties tipping the scale on the sidelines.


5. REFORMING POLITICAL PARTIES.
The Election Commission of Pakistan must introduce the requirement of a verifiable, free and secret ballot for the top slots within Pakistani political parties as a precondition to contesting general elections. This will rid Pakistan of stagnating lifetime party leaderships, giving a larger number of Pakistanis a chance to serve the public and pave the way for a better class of politicians to emerge.

Some would say that President Musharraf could have brought these drastic changes during his eight years as a powerful army chief and president. There’s little chance of him pushing such an ambitious agenda now when he is on his way out.

It’s true that it would have been good if he could retain the command of the armed forces in order to ensure continuity in his role as the author of the new system. But that is secondary. This cannot be a one-man agenda. What is more important is that the Pakistani military leadership sponsors this entire reforms program and makes it a strategic objective, regardless of change of command.

And let’s not worry too much about building political consensus. It would be good if it happens, but it’s near impossible to achieve. Pakistani politics are so divisive today that politicians are incapable of seeing a good idea even if it hits them smack in the face.

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