Pakistan better off with Musharraf

‘ ‘ ‘ Former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf will never read as an impressive figure in… ‘ ‘ ‘ Former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf will never read as an impressive figure in the annals of military dictatorships, especially when compared to his predecessors. ‘ ‘ ‘ The accomplishments of Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles de Gaulle and Oliver Cromwell have left an indelible mark upon their nations and, to an extent, the European community in which they lived. Such accomplishments were so great as to make the memory of their transgressions against liberty less painful. ‘ ‘ ‘ Not so for Musharraf, whose recent resignation as president of Pakistan has been bemoaned by so few and celebrated by so many. From Islamabad to Washington, everyone concerned in the last nine years of his rule seems content to witness the end of his reign and see power transferred to an array of squabbling, corrupt bureaucrats masquerading as democrats and statesmen. ‘ ‘ ‘ Let the politicians and pundits rejoice, but I see no cause for celebration at the downfall of a man whose rule might have been Pakistan’s last chance to extricate itself from thousands of years of backward tribalism and religion that will, unless brutally stomped out, forever preserve the mentality of the bronze age in its citizens. ‘ ‘ ‘ Musharraf was, I believe, a man who could have stood firm against the agents of religious extremism and theocracy, a man who could have brought tribalism to heel if only he was given free reign to do so. ‘ ‘ ‘ Instead, at every turn his rule was undermined by the lip service that Western governments and bourgeois Pakistanis pay to democratic values. But where have democratic values gotten the Pakistani people? ‘ ‘ ‘ Like many of the world’s democracies, Pakistan is now at the mercy of those who the people have elected to higher office. ‘ ‘ ‘ For example, let’s take a look at Asif Ali Zardari. The widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari has twice been prime minister of Pakistan and is now a candidate for the presidency. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Known as ‘Mr. 10 Percent’ because of his tendency to demand 10 percent ‘commissions’ on government contracts, Zardari is famous for the corrupt nature of his political past. Oh, and he’s now one of the two most powerful statesmen in the newly democratic Pakistan. ‘ ‘ ‘ But Zardari’s chief rival, Nawaz Sharif, makes him look like the poster child for successful representative government. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sharif is a former prime minister of Pakistan and, along with Zardari, one of the leaders who orchestrated the resignation of Musharraf. Reported to have accepted a million-dollar bribe from Osama bin Laden, Sharif was an advocate of establishing an ‘Islamic order’ in Pakistan complete with a legal system based on the Quran. ‘ ‘ ‘ He also presided over the testing of Pakistan’s first nuclear weapons. ‘ ‘ ‘ But why shouldn’t a man with ties to al-Qaeda and a track record of detonating nuclear weapons be in a position of power? After all, democracies aren’t perfect, and it’s important that the decisions of the masses are respected when it comes to who will represent their interests in government. ‘ ‘ ‘ Well, maybe not. ‘ ‘ ‘ Replacing a weak dictator with a weaker, fractioned and corrupt democratic government isn’t going to solve Pakistan’s problems. Instead, giving the Pakistani people access to nuclear weapons through their democratically elected leaders sounds like a surefire way to create new and more spectacular problems for both Pakistan and its neighbors. ‘ ‘ ‘ But solutions to the Pakistani political question, and indeed the question of governance and nuclear weapons in general, are proving elusive. Dictatorships these days are just too weak or too repressive. ‘ ‘ ‘ What we need is one that is just right, and regrettably it appears that those days are long past. Marshall Tito and de Gaulle are long gone, the remarkable statesmanship and exceptional sense of civic duty that characterized their governments is not to be found in the ‘Mugabes’ of today. ‘ ‘ ‘ And so today we are left with representative government as our cure to all the world’s miseries. But the secret to democracy is that it’s essentially a crapshoot. ‘ ‘ ‘ Look at our own past. We got lucky with Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he ruled more like an autocrat anyway. Lincoln, Jefferson and Eisenhower worked out pretty well, too, but what about all the duds that the American people have gleefully placed in positions of power? ‘ ‘ ‘ I for one hope that Pakistan finds its own Tito before the whole world is made to pay for the weakness of Musharraf and the instability of democracy. E-mail Giles at gbh4@pitt.edu.