On May 11, Pakistan spoke. As a result, Nawaz Sharif, will become the first three time prime minister of Pakistan. This will also mark the first time power has been transferred to succeeding “democratic” governments. The firsts do not end here.
This will be the first time the politicians of the country are showing signs of maturity and acceptance and may bring about positive change. Imran Khan has accepted defeat, he is intent on being a good leader of the opposition and thus making the parliament functional.
Nawaz Sharif is even set to appoint Imran as the anti-corruption watchdog. These are winds of change. Usually, the approach taken by the government and opposition in the sub-continent has been based on disrespect, contempt and non-cooperation.
For the first time, a former military ruler is being put on trial. For the first time, the army – the most powerful institution in the country, has kept the status quo and has influenced the trial of Musharraf directly. Things could so easily have happened differently. They still can.
Imran, while he accepted defeat, has accused of rigging in the elections. The accusations do not stop there. There have been reports that almost 50 polling stations in Pakistan posted turnouts that measure to more than 100%. There is violence going on and Taliban is marauding and murdering people on the street. But for now, most of the macro signs are good.
Positive changes, or more specifically, signs that change may be coming must be accepted with enthusiasm, as well as a pinch of salt, considering the many times that masses in the sub-continent have been fooled. We have had cloudy skies many times as we have waited for the much-needed downpour. But the drought has carried on.
Change does not come out of the blue. Pakistani politics did not decide to be accepting of the opposition for nothing. It is perhaps an existential crisis that forced the otherwise hardline, uncompromising politicians to change their mind. Pakistan has simply grown tired of its military rulers. Or, more importantly, the current political system has realized that it had to change or else face being peripheral to Pakistan and Pakistanis. .
In the beginning of April, the British Council in Pakistan conducted a pseudo-poll among young Pakistanis. The results were staggering:
96 percent opined that their country is heading in the wrong direction; 38 percent approved Shariah rule; 29 percent asked for democracy; More than 20 percent support military rule over democracy.Now, there may be a debate on the accuracy of the polls, but what cannot be denied is that this is a reflection of at least a section of Pakistan’s population. It is encouraging that politicians have already sensed it and have shown a willingness to adapt.
Bangladesh has a fateful relationship to Pakistan. The happenings, however unrelated, seem to have similar patterns. Bangladesh too, is on the brink of serious political turmoil and the worst case scenario for Bangladesh would be to move into a stalemate, the failed state that was Pakistan.
Pakistan has spent almost 40 of its 60 years of life falling in and out of direct or indirect military rule, the military still is considered as the go to resort to “stabilise” Pakistan in turbulent times. Bangladesh too, has been ruled by the military from 1977 to 1991 and the most recent military rule is four years young. The situation is analogous to Brownian motion – lots of movement, no direction and haphazard results.
Bangladesh and Pakistan are similarly – although at different levels, plagued by inflation, unemployment, power and fuel shortages.
Islamic and Sectarian violence in Pakistan has claimed thousands of lives since 9/11 and many former premiers of Pakistan like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir, have either been executed or killed. Bangladesh has had its fair share of killings; both Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman were assassinated and sectarian violence is tearing the country apart right now.
Pakistan was formed in 1947, and was intended to be a Muslim state, containing Punjabis, Balochis, Khars and Bangalis in her population and had almost 1m sq-km (including the now seceded Bangladesh), divided by borders spaced a thousand kilometers apart. For a nation, administered centrally by design, it was a nightmare and destined for failure. Tribal states usually resent central authority.
On the other hand, Bangladesh’s birth by secession from Pakistan allowed it to have a better chance of survival and prosperity. Bangladesh consisted of people who generally believed in the same faith, spoke the same language and ate the same food. She has smaller area of land that was supposed to be easily administrable and contained an adequate amount of natural resources.
Yet, forty years after independence, we Bangladeshis are staring at a similar fate. The population is being divided in tribes – believers vs bloggers, Islamists vs infidels, pro muktijuddho vs anti muktijuddho, awami league vs bnp, Bengali vs ethnic minorities, public vs administrators, politicians vs public, businesspeople vs workers. These differences are not natural and are coming into being because of the malpractices that have been going on since the birth of the country.
Amidst all this, Bangladesh is achieving healthy growth and prospering by having opened its markets to the world. However, we will have to face the consequences if we don’t get our act together soon.
Rather that electing representatives, this country virtually elects a own ruler every 5 years. People pay taxes to pay the salaries of public “servants,” who also enjoy amenities and privileges. Yet, the administration scores highest among the most corrupt and feels free to treat it’s employers as subjects. Businesspeople post profits while their employees continue to work their socks off in unsafe environments, probably to eventually die in a fire. Only then, the PM calls on the army to act responsibly during “emergency” situations.
The cultural flaws that remain in this country need to be addressed on an emergency basis. Otherwise, democracy will inevitably fail in this country and people might lose belief and faith in the politicians and the politics of this country. Change, even though not imminent, is the order of the day. The data to remember in this context is, more than 50% of Bangladesh’s population is young, under the age of 40.
Shahtab Mahmud is a journalist.
