March 9, 2003

WE in Pakistan too often get so bogged down in the daily problems and crises that afflict the state and the individual that we lose sight of the larger picture. As we grapple with issues of our own creation, we become incapable of the objectivity so necessary to find a way out of the mess we find ourselves in. Indeed, instead of looking for solutions, we usually end up looking for excuses. In such a situation, we would do well to look at the state of the nation through the eyes of the dispassionate outsider, and this is just what Veena Kukreja has provided us with in her book Contemporary Pakistan.

Many Pakistanis will argue that an Indian is hardly a disinterested party, but this book is a scholarly, well- researched work that relies on a wide range of Pakistani and foreign material to study and analyze the multi-faceted crisis that confronts Pakistan today. However, to learn why we are where we are, we have to examine the events and players who determined our course in the formative years of Pakistan. Kukreja analyzes the ethnic and provincial factors that delayed constitution- making and dealt democracy a blow from which it still hasn’t recovered.

The fact, as she notes it, is that the Punjabi-Mohajir nexus that joined West Pakistani bureaucrats-turned-politicians, generals and feudals in an alliance to ensure that power was not transferred to East Pakistan which had a majority of the population. Thus, to deny Bengalis power, all kinds of constitutional contortions were resorted to, and this repudiation of the democratic principle of ‘one man, one vote’ was the key factor that delayed constitution-making until 1956.

In the public eye, this sordid wheeling and dealing lowered the image of both politicians and democracy. It also gave ambitious generals the political space they needed to grab power themselves.

The book is divided into nine chapters with each of them exploring some aspect that feeds into the present crisis. Thus, the military, Islamic fundamentalism, narco-power, ethnicity and the economy are all discussed in some detail. Inevitably, there is some repetition, but Kukreja writes simply and clearly, avoiding the heavy, turgid style that scholars so often assail us with. The book carries footnotes that identify an impressive array of sources. The 27-page index gives a daunting number of journals and writers the author has consulted.

However, she has occasionally reached conclusions on the basis of certain isolated incidents that do not necessarily signal a trend. For instance, she suggests that the judiciary is becoming ‘more assertive’, probably on the basis of the Sajjad Hussain episode during Benazir Bhutto’s second tenure. Those of us who have watched the repeated capitulation of our higher judiciary when faced with the military can hardly agree with this optimistic conclusion.

But few of us would disagree with the last paragraph of her book: “Therefore Pakistan in the near foreseeable future is not likely to transform itself into a moderate Islamic democratic society. At least in the near future, democracy in Pakistan, if and when it is restored, will remain a puppet democracy... the military will continue to be central to the power structure of the country.”

The author’s analysis of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism is as chilling as it is thorough. Charting the rise of the jihadi movement and the support given by successive Pakistani governments to the Taliban, Kukreja sees little light at the end of the tunnel. Terming Musharraf’s repudiation of these elements as largely cosmetic, the author sees little evidence of the political will required to tame and de-fang them. But while analyzing the causes that led to this phenomenon, she does not mention the flow of funds from Wahabi sources that have paid for the establishment of so many madressahs that are churning out the foot soldiers of the various extremist gangs that flourish across the country today.

The chapter on the role drugs play in our economy and polity is equally sobering, relying on solid figures to make the case that this trade has skewed Pakistan’s society to an unbelievable degree. Profits from drugs have fuelled the construction and transport businesses, and real estate speculation is rife. Once these obscene profits have acquired a veneer of respectability, the transition to legitimacy is easy. Political power and social acceptablity are the two faces of the heroin coin. Many of today’s fortunes in Pakistan are built on ‘powder’ foundations.

While proving the military’s links to drug trafficking, the author reminds us of the Zia era when a number of army officers were arrested. People like General Fazle Haq, then governor of NWFP, were widely suspected of being involved. She has also underlined the role played by the army-run National Logistics Cell in this vastly profitable trade. Notes Kukreja: “...the substantial number of officers living well beyond their means has been noted for well over a decade”.

While Contemporary Pakistan frequently makes painful reading, it covers a lot of ground and opens a lot of self-inflicted wounds. Clinically, Kukreja dissects many false assumptions and punctures several undeserved reputations. Had this book been written by a Western author, many Pakistani readers would have accepted the criticism it contains.

Unfortunately, the author’s nationality will reduce its credibility here. However, this would be both unfair and unwise. If we cannot subject ourselves to the introspection necessary to at least initiate the kind of surgery needed, we should accept the X-ray taken by an outsider, whatever his or her nationality. The very fact that many Pakistanis will suspect and reject an Indian view out of hand even without reading it is confirmation of the lack of objectivity and dispassionate analysis we suffer from.

 

Contemporary Pakistan

By Veena Kukreja

Sage Publications, B-42, Panchsheel Enclave, Post Box 4109, New Delhi-110017, India Email: marketing@indiasage.com  Available in Pakistan at

Mr Books, 10-D Super Market, Islamabad. Tel: 051-2278843-5.

Email: mrbooks@isb.comsats.net.pk Website: www.mrbooks.com.pk

ISBN 0-7619-9683-4

348pp. Indian Rs295

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