Words: 7780
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Selection and Significance of the Topic The topic has been chosen by our group as Pakistan’s stance in the sensitive international community rests with the leadership of President Pervez Musharraf. His takeover was one-of-a-kind in the annals of Pakistan: a military regime yet no imposition of Martial Law. The coup, unlike previous ones, took everyone by surprise. Further, rumours of the coup by General Musharraf being planned were dismissed.
The change in power was at a very critical and precarious time when there was a criminalization of the political system and growing economic adversity; Pakistan was being labeled as a failing state. Though democratically elected, Nawaz Sharif failed to provide a transparent administration. To the people of Pakistan, army intervention was the only way to escape a sham democracy. The fact was reinforced that the stature of army is powerful and preeminent in the country’s complex power structure.
How a leader from a military background was able to improve the deteriorating domestic situation and steer the country away from foreign suspicions is significant in all respects. Relevance of topic to the field of Study The main objectives of the nation-states are survival, continuation and multiplication. With regard to the fact that Pakistan was being termed as a ‘failing state’, it was unable to come up to the core objectives of nation-states.
After General Musharraf took reins of the country, Pakistan was able to progress so much so that it stands today as one of the freest Muslim countries in the world with a totally-not to say stridently-independent Press and complete freedom of association. Although, military cover exists, Pakistan’s civil institutions are functioning as they have been previously. This has rarely been the case when military regimes exist. Central Questions A range of questions have been addressed through this research. Primarily, the challenges faced by General Musharraf and how well he has been able to tackle them are addressed in this paper.
Thus, the salient questions are as follows: Question: 1 How crucial were the circumstances under which Musharraf took over the country? Question: 2 What were the immediate challenges faced by the Government of Musharraf? Question: 3 Has the Government of Musharraf been successful in improving domestic and foreign ties while not deviating from the defense of the country? Question: 4 Regarding popular belief that Human Rights suffer under a military regime, how efficiently has the present Government encountered this?
Central Argument This paper aims to critically analyze the performance of the country when the democratic government was dissolved and the army took over the country. The democratic government had failed to deliver the most fundamental rights and recklessly attempted a coup against the General to establish ascendancy over the army. The result was the countercoup. By reviewing the circumstances which led to a sound and bloodless coup, the study intends to establish that the take-over by the army was a counter-coup.
The paper aims at analyzing Pakistan under the leadership of President Musharraf by studying the scenario within the country and with other countries, particularly the United States of America and India. Methodology The methodology adopted by the group for analyzing this topic has been through the use of the theoretical framework of the concept of the prosperity of the country does not depend on the nature of rule but the transparency and dedication of the government. Musharraf has strived to build a nation and place the nation before taking any decisions.
A bloodless coup was the result of which General Musharraf came into power. Samuel P. Huntington has given the concept of ‘bloodless coups’ in his research. [i] Organization of Study The study has been divided into five chapters. The detail is as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Countercoup: Circumstances and Challenges Chapter 3: Scenario within Pakistan Chapter 4: Pakistan and the World Chapter 5: Fundamental Rights Since the topic is huge, our group has chosen to address a few important aspects of the regime of President Musharraf.
The first chapter introduces the topic along with the central argument and significance of the study. The second chapter begins the study with an overview of the conditions which led to the events in late 1999 and the pressing challenges faced by General Musharraf. How General Musharraf dealt with the domestic scenario-particularly the political, social and economical aspects-and the relations with the world-particularly America and India-are elaborated in the next two chapters. To what extent are the fundamental rights provided to the people of Pakistan is discussed in the last chapter.
Survey of Existing Literature During the research for this project an extensive study of the secondary sources-which include books, on-line research papers and newspaper articles-was carried out. These incorporate the following: 1. 2. Abdul Shakoor Khakwani, Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan: The Case of Recent Military Intervention and Its Implications for Pakistan’s Security Milieu, ACDIS 2003 3. Iftikhar H. Malik, Pakistan in 2000: Starting Anew or Stalemate? Asian Survey 2000 4. Sadanand Dhume, The Friday Times: May 7, 1999, Lahore 5. Pakistan Almanac 2002-2003 . Primary Resources In our primary research we studied the memoir of President Musharraf: In the Line of Fire, in detail. CHAPTER 2 COUNTERCOUP: CIRCUMSTANCES AND CHALLENGES On 12th October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf took full control of Pakistan in a bloodless military coup. Pakistan had come to a point where it was facing uncertainty, political turmoil and instability, under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Domestic Disturbances Nawaz Sharif’s government had been accused of violations of human rights and the mismanagement of the economy.
Law and order was in shambles. Shootings and killings were the order of the day, in particular in Karachi. The unmistakable signs of a nervous government were visible when peace demonstrations were not allowed and opposition senators were arrested in Karachi. The people of Pakistan had elected Nawaz Sharif largely for his pledge to revive the economy, but after about two and a half years of his tenure, foreign investment was drying up, Pakistan’s currency had been devalued substantially due to which prices were escalating, foreign debt mounted to $32 billion and unemployment was rising.
All social indicators- health, education, income-were extremely low and continuously deteriorating. Poverty has risen to alarming levels: from 18% to 34%. The Great Divide: The Kargil Issue The turning point in the governing period of PM Nawaz Sharif was the Kargil issue. Kargil would have proved significant in forcing India to negotiate seriously on Kashmir, if only the political leadership had known how to take advantage of it. The Pakistani military believed they could finally score a significant victory over India.
During the earlier part of the conflict, India was caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses. Within days of pledging support to the campaign, PM Nawaz Sharif succumbed to US pressure and accepted an unfavorable and unconditional withdrawal. The war ended in disaster for Pakistan which lost not only the military battle but also paid dearly on the political and diplomatic fronts. Apart from the humiliation suffered internationally, the estimated cost of the Kargil operation is $ 380 million which formed a significant part of the annual fiscal expenditure on the already burdened economy.
The Kargil episode resulted in the eventual distrust between the Prime Minister and General Musharraf. Both had wanted to place Kashmir as a political and military issue to the World. The Kargil initiated succeeded in doing so but the Prime Minister came under external political pressure. Rather than deriving strength from National Solidarity, he blamed the army and denied any involvement in this issue. The Last Straw: The Hijacking and Dismissal “And who would believe that the chief of army staff, having represented Pakistan in Sri Lanka, upon his return was denied landing in his own country.
Instead circumstances were created which could have forced our plane to either land in India or crash…” President Musharraf Oct 17, 1999 BBC News PM Nawaz Sharif ordered to divert a commercial flight (coming from Sri Lanka) carrying about 200 passengers including General Pervez Musharraf and not allowing it to land at any airfield in Pakistan. The plane was suggested to head to India, Iran or the Middle East.
Owing to the scanty fuel, the plane could only land in India, a country with which Pakistan has shared a history of animosity and tension. Landing a commercial flight in India and that too carrying the Chief of Army Staff is preposterous in every way. The same day, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attempted to dismiss Musharraf while he was out of the country and appoint Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director Khwaja Ziauddin in his place. Senior Army generals remained loyal to their commander and refused to accept General Musharraf’s dismissal.
Thus, the army retaliated on this brute trespassing of authority. Consequently, the plane landed at its destination with allegedly seven minutes of fuel to spare. This is the counter-coup of the army. The PM’s decision of dismissing the Chief of Army Staff is questionable: an army chief, also a constitutional appointee, cannot be dismissed without giving him a justified cause and due process. Worse, the General’s dismissal was announced in Pakistan when he was not present in the country. PM Nawaz Sharif staged a coup by attempting to remove General Pervez Musharraf.
PM Sharif’s untenable decision of not allowing the plane carrying the army chief to land anywhere in Pakistan is proof of an immature and desperate attempt of a nervous government. The weak and influenced personality of PM Nawaz Sharif was instigated with disinformation that General Musharraf planned to remove him and dissolve his government. Nawaz sharif had expected General Musharraf to be more compliant. However, this was not to be; Nawaz Sharif then attempted to take action against the General to establish ascendancy over the Army while pleasing the Americans and the Indians.
After being elected, PM Nawaz Sharif attempted to concentrate power around himself. In 1998, the Prime Minister challenged the military establishment and resulted in the resignation of General Jehangir Karamat. Lt. General Pervez Musharraf was appointed the new chief of army staff. Thus, the prompt army action against PM Sharif was actually a countercoup. The fact that people of Pakistan remained peaceful after the countercoup was a reflection that the dismissal of the government was accepted by the people.
People did not know President Musharraf but they were weary of the discontentment and disillusionment caused by the democratic government and were yearning for a change. “The army acted in the national interest and that is why the nation is rejoicing…Questions of legitimacy were being asked as the government failed to deliver even the most fundamental of policies such as law and order.. I think the coup is not unlike military interventions in the past which have occurred when the civilian government has been ineffectual and inept. Maliha Lodhi Editor, The News Musharraf refrained from establishing martial law, allowed the constitution to remain in force with the exception of a few clauses, dissolved the Sharif government, and became President and politician. It was the solution proposed by the constitutional lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada, to keep the constitution operational except for a few clauses which could be temporarily suspended. General Musharraf was to become the Chief Executive and the Head of the Government.
CHALLENGES Restoration of Democracy After General Pervez Musharraf came into power, his first thought was to save the country from the imposition of another martial law as it proved not only harmful for the country but also for the military and civil institutions. Encountering Domestic Disarray Pakistan is a developing country with the sixth largest population in the world. Pakistan’s economy had, until a few years ago, been characterized as unstable and highly vulnerable to external and internal shocks. The country was being dubbed as a “failed state” by many. The sinking public corporations
The 1990 is a wasted decade with regards to the economy of Pakistan. During this decade a lot of countries made economic progress by leaps and bounds but Pakistan was involved in its own internal problems. In the 1990’s Pakistan’s economy was in shambles. All the major public and financial institutions were turning into sick units. The major public organizations like Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Pakistan Railways (PR), Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were all running huge losses and were proving harmful for the economy.
Corruption and mismanagement was rampant in these organizations. Freezing of the foreign currency accounts The foreign investment in the country was decreasing day by day due to the insecurity being felt by the investors. This insecurity specially increased after the freezing of the foreign currency accounts by the Nawaz Sharif led government in the aftermath of the May 28th, 1998 nuclear tests. The explanation given was that the government, due to trade imbalances, had insufficient funds to make payment of US$11. 18billion in case there was a rush to retrieve the money from the banks.
This shattered the confidence of resident and non-resident Pakistanis and other investors who maintained foreign currency accounts in the country. Several other failed economic decisions Appalling economic decisions were freely taken without consulting anyone or forecasting the consequences. The contract with the Independent Power Producers (IPP) is a case in point. The government alleged that the electricity price was artificially high as a result of bribes taken by the Benazir Bhutto led government. Apart from this, the presence of huge amounts of foreign debts also made the situation more difficult.
Not only were the foreign debts high at $38 billion in 1999 but they were increasing day by day. Almost 65 percent of the total government revenues were being spent on debt servicing. By late 1990’s Pakistan’s economy had entered into stagnation phase especially in the external sector. The foreign trade imbalance (i. e. increasing imports and decreasing exports) was also getting large. At this moment, Pakistan was on the verge of bankruptcy. But the Pakistani economy didn’t collapse completely partly due to the rescheduling of foreign debts and partly due to the existence of an informal parallel economy.
Foreign Acceptance Relations with India Due to the inept performance of the civilian Government where corruption was rampant and economy was on the fall, Pakistan was being ranked as a ‘Failed State’. When General Pervez Musharraf took over the reigns of the country in 1999, the world at large and the west in particular did not respond too well. They employed a luke warm attitude towards the new military government. The new government had to face many challenges regarding the economy, internal affairs of the country and international relations. Human Rights Development
Human development and economic development are interlinked. Pakistan. In Pakistan, due to the weak economy the human development has also been very slow and vice versa. In 1999, Pakistan ranked 138th out of 174 countries. Despite the efforts of the Social Action Plan launched in 1993, the social indicators did not improve much. CHAPTER 3 SCENARIO WITHIN PAKISTAN POLITICAL UPLIFTING Musharraf refrained from establishing martial law, allowed the constitution to remain in force with the exception of a few clauses, dissolved the Sharif government, and became President and politician.
It was the solution proposed by the constitutional lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada, to keep the constitution operational except for a few clauses which could be temporarily suspended. General Musharraf was to become the Chief Executive and the Head of the Government. Thus, General Pervez Musharraf assumed the role of Chief Executive of the country. The major part of the constitution was kept intact. In the next step, a cabinet was chosen. Looking at the bleak economic conditions of Pakistan, a very competent finance minister had to be chosen. Shaukat Aziz, the current premier of Pakistan, was chosen for this post keeping in mind his credentials.
Apart from him, almost the whole team consisted of dynamic individuals willing to take Pakistan to new heights. Seven-Point Agenda After coming into power, the President gave his seven point agenda for the setting the country on the right track. The seven point agenda is given as follows: 1. Rebuild National confidence and morale 2. Strengthen the Federation, remove inter-provincial disharmony and restore National cohesion 3. Revive the economy and restore investor confidence 4. Ensure law and order and dispense speedy justice 5. Depoliticize State institutions 6. Devolution of power to the grass-roots level . Ensure swift and across the board accountability Based on these the President (then Chief Executive) tried his best to bring an improvement in all the areas of governance, so that the situation could be improved. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) are a few of the institutions formed as a result of these policies. Since Independence politicians, businessmen and industrialists have indulged in financial corruption. Over the decade of the nineties, corruption rose to unacceptable levels and almost every government during the decade fell on charges of corruption.
This caused serious damage to the economy of the country, resulting in accumulation of huge external and internal debts. In the absence of any constitutional office with responsibility and authority to take cognizance of corruption, it continued to increase and became institutionalized in all sections of society. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was established by the Chief Executive in the year 1999, to hold the rich and powerful accountable for what they have looted from the State so as not only to cleanse the society but also to recover the looted and unaccounted wealth.
Its establishment was the first step on the road towards the achievement of the President’s vision of “Ensuring swift accountability across the board”. A special NAB ordinance was issued to give power and full autonomy to the organization. Over the few months since its existence NAB has recovered over a hundred billion rupees and its effectiveness is recognized nation wide. MAIN FUNCTIONS OF NAB: ??? Investigate offences of corruption and corrupt practices and prosecute persons involved in such offences. ??? Recover proceeds acquired through corruption and corrupt practices. Recover defaulted bank loans and defaulted public dues. ??? Perform any other function including advice on prevention and ??? Eradication of corruption and corrupt practices to other agencies. The National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) was established for the reconstruction of the institutions of state for establishing genuine and sustainable democracy to ensure durable good governance for an irreversible transfer of power to the people of Pakistan. MAIN FUNCTIONS OF NRB[ii] 1) A political structure and system based on a genuine and irrevocable transfer of total political power to the people. ) A governmental structure and system which is full of responsive to responsible political conduct and ensures that the citizens’ interest is never sacrificed, individually or collectively. 3) A law enforcement structure and system which may serve as an honest arm of the judicial and Governmental structures, that ensures the liberty of every law abiding citizen and threatens every violator of the law without distinction. 4) A public employment system which primarily focuses on the survival, sustenance and progress of the national and the state, but is responsive to the equirements of the under privileged classes. 5) An economic structure and system which promotes the economic growth of the citizens as well as the state through honest means. 6) A public information structure and system which promotes as free an access to information to all citizens as possible within the requirements of national security. 7) An educational structure and system which restores the link between education and the solving of life’s problems on the one hand, and between training and doing a job well on the other. ) A primary health care system that improves the quality of life for every section of the population, and provides access to affordable and accessible medical care to all citizens commensurate with their means. 9) A population welfare structure and system that empowers people through human and social development. The bureau is engaged in removing bottlenecks in the system. Maximum transparency and accountability is being ensured in the system. Judgment by the Supreme Court of Pakistan
On May 12, 2000 the Supreme Court justified the removal of Nawaz Sharif’s Government and take over by the Army because the court considered the dismissal of General Musharraf as Army Chief to be illegal. However, restrictions were placed such as to hold elections within three years and not to make any structural changes in the Constitution.. Devolution of Power Local Government Ordinance The government introduced the Local Government Ordnance under the supervision of NRB. As a result of this ordnance, local governments were introduced at the District, Tehsil and Union Council level.
This system provided efficient and effective governance at the grass-root level. The new system of devolved government would create greater opportunities for political representation and power sharing and the potential to deliver greater accountability of the representatives to the people who elected them. Cementing the Federation was extremely vital. This was achieved through the devolution of power, from the centre to the provinces and from the provincial to the local governments as actually enshrined in the Constitution. As a result, The World Bank praised this system as one bringing silent revolution in the country.
REVIVAL OF ECONOMY In order to revitalize the economy??in major policy guidelines were identified for the purpose of rebuilding of investors’ confidence through stability and consistency in economic policies, and economic security. The objective was to encourage the local investors, overseas Pakistanis and foreign investors to place their investments in Pakistan. After the Musharraf government took over in 1999 their primary task was to form a competitive economic team which would help in managing the economic crisis in the short run as well as the long run, so that the country could avoid being a defaulter.
At this time, a comprehensive plan was made and implemented effectively to revive the economy. The strategy that emerged had four objectives: 1. Achieving macroeconomic stability 2. Making structural reforms to remove microeconomic distortions 3. Improving the quality of economic governance 4. Alleviating poverty President Pervez Musharraf[iii] As a result of these policies, Pakistan has achieved both macroeconomic as well as microeconomic stability. After the freezing of the foreign currency accounts by the previous government the foreign investors were apprehensive of coming to Pakistan.
But the steps and assurances given by the government have boosted the foreign investor’s confidence so that more and more foreign investors are coming to Pakistan and investing huge amounts of capital in the country. The foreign investors are treated at par with the local investors in case of equity ownership, partnership etc. “The geo-strategic location and with its business-friendly environment and consistency in policies, Pakistan has become a lucrative destination for foreign entrepreneurs, offering best of return with adequate legal safeguards on their investment. “
President Musharraf 28th November, 2006[iv] He informed the delegation that the policies of liberalization, de-regulation and privatization had resulted in greater inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and both local and foreign investors enjoy similar incentives and opportunities. Pakistan’s FDI in the year 2005 was over $2. 5 billion up from $300 million in 1999[v]. These figures are reflective of the increased investor confidence in the policies of the government. Macroeconomic Policies The strong policies have led to a significant reduction of the fiscal debts.
A surplus on the current balance of accounts payments has been achieved. The inflation rate has been much lowered. In the beginning, the government enforced a tight monetary policy but later on it was relaxed. Due to this the interest rates came down to almost 5% from around 20% and debt became easily available. As interest rates came down, the demand for credit increased and as a result the private businesses started flourishing. The trade policies of the present government have resulted in increased exports and this has resulted in increased world market share for the Pakistani exports.
The foreign reserve have been continuously growing over the past six years and as a result of this Pakistan has been able to maintain its foreign exchange rate stable. The foreign debts have been reduced to almost $36 billion by the middle of 2006. And in retiring the debts, the government has taken care to retire the most expensive debts first. Tax Reforms The tax reforms have figured prominently on the government’s economic agenda. Tax reforms have been introduced in the country to simplify the taxation procedure, broaden the tax base, eliminating the multiplicity of taxes and eventually reducing the tax rate.
Universal self assessment has been introduced for tax collection so that the taxpayers can submit their own returns and these returns are accepted by the tax authorities to be correct. This system has decreased the interaction between the tax collectors and the tax payers. “Revenues increased from 302 billion rupees in the year 2000 to 700 billion rupees in 2006” President Pervez Musharraf, “In the Line of Fire” Economic Governance The government of President Pervez Musharraf has promoted good economic governance. Transparency is being introduced in every sector. The press has been granted full freedom to report or publish anything.
The foreign investor’s confidence has been boosted so that more and more foreign investors are coming to Pakistan and investing huge amounts of capital in the country. The foreign investors are treated at par with the local investors in case of equity ownership, partnership etc. The development of the Gwadar deep sea port is an achievement of this government and once it has been completed it will take Pakistan to new economic heights. The formation of regulatory authorities for regulating different sectors like the telecom sector, the electronic media sector etc. ave helped a lot in improving the working of different organizations. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been effectively working for the past five years to control corruption in the country. As a result a large number of politicians and businessmen have been jailed and the default amounts recovered from them. Job Creation The present government has also taken steps to eradicate poverty and create jobs for the unemployed youth. For this, labor intensive industries were opened up which absorbed the youth in their folds. This is evident by the development in the construction, industrial and telecom sectors.
SOCIAL ISSUE Education The literacy rate of Pakistan at the time the Musharraf government came into power was 48%. This rate was shameful by any standards. For female education, this rate was even less. The educational standard was also very low and the only quality education was gained through private schools which were quite expensive for the lower class. Not much stress was laid on higher education and University Grants Commission, an institute for the promotion of higher education in Pakistan did not have enough funds to properly promote Pakistan. Another mode for imparting education was through madrassahs.
Although these were mostly free and could have proved to be effective institutions to impart training. But instead these madrassahs, which had poor students enrolled in them, brainwashed the students and inculcated the feelings of hate and violence in them. Due to this kind of training, almost all the madrassah students came out trained as mercenaries and hate mongers instead of educated young men who could benefit the country and themselves. The first and the foremost thing that the Musharraf regime did after coming to power were to adopt a new strategy for the improvement of education in Pakistan.
According to President Musharraf, in his book “In the line of fire”; the government’s primary focus was to improve the literacy rate of Pakistan which stood at 48% in 1999. The second step the government took was to improve primary and secondary education. For this, a new curriculum was formed and the teachers were imparted training. Primary education has been made free in Punjab and this has increased the enrollment of students in schools while decreased the drop-out rate to a great extent. For higher education, Higher Education Commission (HEC) with Dr.
Atta-ur-Rehman as its head was formed. This commission formed a new university ordinance and regulated university education in the country. Funding for higher education was increased from $10 million to $350 million per annum. A National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC) was formed to promote technical education in the country. Apart from this, madrassah education is also being regulated so that the madrassahs have a uniform syllabus and the madrassah students get regular admission in universities on completing madrassah education.
CHAPTER 4 PAKISTAN AND THE WORLD INDO-PAK RELATIONS Historical Perspective Many factors contribute to the fact that India and Pakistan have never been on friendly terms with each other. Due to the instability in the relations between both the countries, four wars have been fought, which further widened the already existing gulf between both the countries. Muslims and Hindus have lived together as a nation for thousands of years in the sub-continent. However there had always existed a gap between both the nations.
After the partition of the sub-continent, the roots of conflict became stronger and stronger. The reasons for the conflict between India and Pakistan are many, firstly because there is a clash of ideologies between Islam and Hinduism, secondly because of the non-acceptance of establishment of Pakistan by India and lastly on the core issue of Kashmir. Kashmir, besides being the fundamental cause of three earlier wars, it triggered the conflict in Kargil in 1999, which led the world aghast at the idea of a nuclear war. India’s Response To Military Takeover In Pakistan
Indian policymakers may not have anticipated a military takeover in Pakistan at this juncture: military coups have become unusual worldwide, and Nawaz Sharif’s party had an overwhelming majority in Parliament. India initially responded to the coup by taking the high moral ground. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said that the events in Pakistan by themselves are a deadly comment on the situation in the country. He added that India’s commitment to democracy had been vividly put across to the international community.
It is ironic that on the eve of the swearing-in of the Vajpayee government, coup leaders took control of Pakistan and the country went under martial law, Jaswant Singh said. Although the world’s most powerful democracy was quick to criticize the coup, it made it clear that it would continue to do business with Islamabad. Agra Summit A historic summit meeting was held between Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Agra, when General Pervez Musharraf visited India from July 14 to 16, 2001.
The summit started amid high hopes of resolving various disputes between the two countries including the five decades’ old Kashmir issue. Both sides started the summit with hopefulness and in a spirit of good will. Both of the political leaders promised to take bold and innovative measures to discuss the core issues between the two countries. The two-day summit between however collapsed and no formal agreement could be attained. The two sides remained inflexible on the Kashmir issue, despite five long and arduous one-to-one rounds between the two leaders and hours of discussion between the two delegations.
Despite the failure of the talks, General Pervez Musharraf joined Vajpayee to call on the two countries to bury their past. He also invited the Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan as he felt that the issues between Pakistan and India were much more complicated and could not be resolved in a short span of time. Attack On Indian Parliament A group of gunmen broke through the tight security to attack the parliament building in the Indian capital of New Delhi on 13th December, 2001. There were about 100 members of parliament in the building at the time, although no one was killed or hurt.
World leaders and leaders in India’s immediate neighbourhood condemned the attack on the Parliament. On December 14, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) blamed Pakistan-based religious fundamentals groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed for the attack. Home Minister L. K Advani indirectly referred to Pakistan and Pakistan-based terrorist groups to be the masterminds for the planning and execution of the attacks. In response to the Indian government’s staterments, Pakistani forces were put on high alert the same day.
Pakistan’s military spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi claimed that the Parliament attack was a drama staged by the Indian intelligence agencies to defame the freedom struggle in occupied struggle in Occupied Kashmir and further warned that India would pay heavily if they engage in any misadventure. On 20th December 2001, India mobilized and deployed its troops to Kashmir and Punjab in what was India’s largest military mobilization since the 1971 Indo-Pak war, amid calls from the U. S and U.
N on India to exercise restraint. Faced with the nightmare scenario of a shooting war turning into a nuclear one with devastating consequences for the region and U. S. war against al-Qaeda, Washington exerted immense pressure on both the countries to pull back their forces from the Line of Control (LOC) and initiate a Cease-fire agreement. Improvement In The Relations With India By dropping its longstanding demand for a U. N. mandated plebiscite and by assuring India that Pakistan would not encourage violent activity in Indian eld Kashmir, President Musharraf has helped create political space for India to substantively engage in finding a workable solution towards Kashmir. India-Pakistan dialogue has yielded tangible results in different areas. The opening of the bus route from Srinager-Muzaffarabad, the rail link between Munabao-Khokhrapar in Sindh and the initiation of agreements on reducing risks of nuclear accidents, has helped to make progress in stabilization of the situation. The free access provided during the 8th October earthquake in Kashmir is a proof of improvement in relations.
PAK-U. S. RELATIONS Historical Perspective The long and checkered Pak-U. S. relationship has its roots in the Cold War and South Asian regional politics of the 1950s. U. S. concerns about Soviet expansionism and Pakistan’s desire for security assistance against a perceived threat from India prompted both the countries to negotiate a mutual defense assistance agreement in 1954. By 1955, Pakistan had further aligned itself with the west by joining two regional defense pacts, SEATO and CENTO. As a result of these alliances, Islamabad received nearly $2 billion in U.
S. assistance from 1953 to 1961, including $508 million in military aid. War On Afghanistan The 2001-present war in Afghanistan started in October 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, marking the beginning of its War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to oust the Taliban and to capture Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin. The Afghan Northern Alliance provided majority of forces for the operations, while the U. S. and fellow NATO members the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Pakistan provided full support.
The officially-stated purpose of the invasion was to destroy Al-Qaeda and deny them asylum and freedom of movements within Afghanistan and to remove the tyrant Taliban regime. Pakistan provided full support to America in its war against the Taliban regime. Some of the major operations and attacks were carried out from Pakistani airbases in Peshawar. Current Scenario Currently U. S. policy interests in Pakistan encompass a wide range of issues, including counterterrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation, regional stability, democratization, human rights issues and economic reforms.
These concerns have been affected by several key developments over the years, including nuclear proliferation and issues of democracy, Indo-Pak conflict over Kashmir and the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. Pakistan As A Major Non- Nato Ally In the wake of the terrorist attacks on WTC, President Musharraf offered Pakistan’s profuse cooperation in the fight against terrorism to President Bush. Thus Pakistan became a vital ally in the U. S. -led anti-terrorism coalition. In a U. S. ffort to shore up the Musharraf government, sanctions relating to Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests and 1999 military coup were quickly waived off. In October 2001, large amounts of U. S. aid began flowing into Pakistan. Direct assistance programs include aid for health, education, food, democracy promotion, child labor elimination, counter-narcotics, border security and law enforcement, as well as trade preference benefits. The United States also supports grant, loan, and debt rescheduling programs for Pakistan by the various major international financial institutions.
In June 2004, President Bush designated Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The 9/11 Commission Report identified the government of President Musharraf as the best hope for stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it recommended that the United States make a long-term commitment to provide comprehensive support for Islamabad so long as Pakistan itself is committed to combating extremism and to a policy of “enlightened moderation. ” CHAPTER 5 FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Human Development In 2001, Pakistan further went down the list of Human Development Index to 144.
At this juncture one of the major tasks of the government of Pakistan was to improve the human development ratings of Pakistan. But as the economy and other factors improving, so did the human development. One of the most important steps taken by the present government to improve human development has been the formation of The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD). This commission reaches almost all of the 110 districts of Pakistan and assists in health, education and capacity building. It provides health and education facilities in far flung areas of Pakistan.
This is playing an important role in human development in Pakistan. In recognition of its efforts, NCHD has received several awards. Human Rights Human rights or “Jus Cogens” means those core human values and norms from which there is no derogation. Human rights are based on the fundamental freedom of humans. They state that every human being has equal rights and that each and every human being possesses some rights. It can be termed as a law to protect humans against and from humans. The present day human rights have their roots in the revolutions and liberal democracies of Europe.
An argument can be given, based on the above mentioned point, that as the Europeans were the first ones to formulate the present day human rights concept, therefore, this concept is better understood and practiced in those countries. Though it is a global issue now and is recognized the world over. Pakistan is also not far behind in this. Back in 1973, the constitution decided 25 basic rights for all. Out of these 25, 15 pertain to civil and political rights while 10 pertain to social and economic rights.
Although they deal with issues such as dignity of man, no torture, no human trafficking, no child labor for children below 14 etc. but they were not enforced at all and these laws were broken without any hesitation. The present government has strengthened the judiciary so that the judicial mechanism supports the effective enforcement of these laws. Pakistan has ratified the Child Rights Convention (CRC). This convention deals with child pornography, sale, child carrying arms etc. As a result of this, Juvenile Justice System has also been formulated which specifically deals with the rights of juveniles.
Such laws are enacted now and again, but their real success lies in their proper implementation. This is where the Musharraf government has been successful i. e. they are trying their level best to successfully and effectively implement these laws in the country. Another type of human rights that the current government has focused on is the freedom of expression given to the people in the form of freedom granted to the media. In the current scenario, newspapers and televisions can report anything that they feel like, and this freedom was unfound in the past regimes.
All the above given arguments prove that the current regime is serious in solving the human rights problem and it has been quite successful in its efforts so far. Freedom of Media “I can assure that political freedom is much more than ever before. Everybody is expressing whatever views he feels for. ” Lt. Gen Tanvir Naqvi Chairman (NRB) 12th December, 2001[vi] There is more freedom of speech than ever before. The President told the editors of newspapers and newsmen that you can write any thing against me but take are of national interest, he continued.
The Government banned media and Press to promote any extremist sentiments. The Government also imposed restriction on distribution of flyers which propagated sectarian violence. Government also imposed a ban on discussing political issues in sermons and also delivering sermons on the microphone. With the opening many local news channels media has been liberated from any Political pressure. Over the couple of years it has been observed that the media is openly criticizing the Government which was never seen before. All Human rights issues from eneral to any specific case all are being discussed in the media because previously all such cases were given a political or financial dimension. It took a man in uniform to liberate media which indeed shows the level of transparency of the current Government. Women Development For the previous governments, women development in Pakistan was not a very important concern. This sector was not given any attention and so it mostly remained neglected. Only a few NGO’s and people voiced their concern regarding the issue. In the year 2000 Zahida Tahir, Inspector Women Police, Faisalabad wrote in her article: In Pakistan’s policy-making on women, problem identification is clear and strong but policy formulation is negatively influenced by macro-level political pressures, limited resources, and limited conceptual understandings. Micro-level implementation and evaluation are extremely weak. Hence, the pattern of decision-making on women, which becomes identified as a policy when it unfolds, appears inconsistent” These comments came when even a year of the present regime had not been completed. And this is true, because at first the women issues were neglected a touch.
However, the President believes that women are discrimintaed harshly in a male-dominated world. They should be politcally empowered because they can remove gender bias and societal inequities themselves. The relatively laxed attitude of the government changed soon specially after the Mukhtaran Mai rape case after which the government started seriously thinking about formulating laws to protect women. President Musharraf stated that Mukhtaran Mai is free to go anywhere in the world and that he seeks to promote the rights of women.
Taking a look at the past seven years from 1999 to 2006, the regime has done a considerable deal for women. Additional seats have been reserved for them in the local bodies’ elections. ‘National Commission on the Status of Women’ was formed to ensure enhanced participation of women in every field as well as their empowerment. Major initiatives are being taken to encourage education among girls through special initiatives and facilities. To enhance the skills of women, Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been formed.
A recent development is the passage of the Women Protection Bill in the National Assembly that deals with the rights of women and the banning of honor killings. Thus, a process has been started and the women in the country are waking up to realize and demand their rights. The government has formulated a comprehensive policy for development and empowerment of women in the country. The Government is also taking steps to provide equality of opportunity and to create space for women to realize their full potential. Vision: ??? Gender equity and equality Social, Political and Economic empowerment of all Pakistani women at all levels. ??? A just, humane and democratic society ; CONCLUSION Pakistan has come a long way and still has to go to new heights. Under the leadership of President Musharraf, Pakistan has prospered in terms of economy and establishing better foreign relations, particularly with India. A Herculean task was presented to Pervez Musharraf when he took over Pakistan as discussed in the paper. His greatest accomplishment lies in the fact that martial law was not imposed on Pakistan and civil institutions continue to function in the manner they had been.
The General was accepted by the masses. “The real mandate lies in acceptance…” Lt. Gen Tanvir Naqvi Chairman (NRB) 12th December, 2001[vii] General Musharraf did not let go of his post in army because it has been the necessary for the restoration of democracy. Measures have been taken to introduce transparency at grass-root levels. Without this, the President feels that good governance and true democracy cannot exist. “I believe that no other country can progress without democracy, but democracy has to be tailored in accordance with each nation’s particular environment.
Only then can it be a functioning democracy that truly empowers people. If it does not function, then it merely creates a facade without spirit and substance,” President Musharraf[viii] Things started to change after the change of power in late 1999 when the military of Pakistan once again came into power. However, in the presence of adverse factors such as drought in Sindh, a near-to-war situation with India and the post 9/11 threats to the country in the name of terrorism and the October 2005 earthquake, the economy of Pakistan has been able to sustain itself.
This strength of the economy has led the international financial institutions like IMF, World Bank, ADB to praise Pakistan’s economy. Pakistan has witnessed strong economy over the past few years and it is evident by the fact that the economy of Pakistan grew at a rate of 7% per annum for the last 4 years (2002 to 2006) and at a rate of 7. 5% per annum for the last 3 years (2003 to 2006). [ix] This has made the Pakistani economy into one of the fastest growing in the world.
Currently, Pakistan is prospering due to strong macro-economic stability, deep rooted structural reforms, liberalized economic and trade policies. All the economic indicators are positive and this will eventually lead to a very strong Pakistani economy. It was perhaps the first time when there was a Military take over without the cover of Martial Law. Instead of superimposition of the Army over Pakistan, there was a system of monitoring introduced. Unlike his predecessors, he allowed political freedom; political parties were not banned and the media was free as well. We all, in the Army, wanted to ensure that this would be the last time the Army was forced to assume leadership of the country. ” President Musharraf ———————– [i] [ii] [iii] In the Line of Fire; A Memoir by Pervez Musharraf [iv] http://www. presidentofpakistan. gov. pk/PRForeignVisitDetail. aspx? nPRForeignVisitId=392&nYear=2006&nMonth=11 [v] In the Line of Fire; A Memoir by Pervez Musharraf [vi] http://www. nrb. gov. pk/press/press_dec_12_2k1. htm [vii] http://www. nrb. gov. pk/press/press_dec_12_2k1. htm