October 22, 2005

IN 1999, Turkey experienced an earthquake which, according to official estimates claimed the lives of 17,000 people. Apart from unleashing widespread death and destruction, the quake’s violent tremors also became catalytic in shaking up the Turkish public’s perceptions of their political elite, leading to the discrediting of the incumbent government and its subsequent defeat in the polls.

The Turkish people lost faith in the political establishment as it became clear that the military, bureaucracy and mainstream political parties had failed in providing effective relief to the quake’s victims. In particular, there was strong criticism of the growing corruption and cronyism within the ruling strata, one example of which was evidenced in the venality of the construction industry, leading to calls for a different type of politics, a different concept of governance, in which strong arm tactics were replaced by greater efficiency, accountability and openness.

In Pakistan, the ruling elites are, however, confident that the frustration, sorrow and anger occasioned by this earthquake will subside along with the gradual decrease in the aftershocks and continuing increase in the relief goods and that life will soon return to normal.

Given the scale and intensity of the disaster, Pakistan may find it difficult to revert easily to the pre-October 8 status quo ante. As the death toll continues to mount, as the bereaved bury their dead, as rescue teams continue to sift through the rubble, and as thousands remain without shelter, it is likely that this terrible event becomes a catalyst and leads to extensive soul-searching amongst the aware citizens. The devastation can become instrumental in delivering a guilty verdict on our political establishment for not only tolerating corruption and incompetence but also being itself a major part of it.

Our strategies for coping with the aftermath reveal much about our socio-political structures. This tragedy may in effect become a mirror of the Pakistani state — a mirror that induces the people to raise wide-ranging questions not only about its crisis managing capacities, but more significantly, about its very priorities and ethos as these have taken shape over successive decades and through various regimes. Specifically, the state’s failure to forge the country’s destiny and protect the common man’s future may not go unquestioned.

There is little doubt that the magnitude of the quake and its concentration in mountainous regions, which are difficult to access, pose a huge challenge to the government. Hence, in his first address to the nation, General Musharraf voiced the feelings of the nation at large when he noted that Pakistan faced ‘a test’, in which success would only come if the country rallied together with a sense of unity and solidarity.

He and other senior political figures have been emphasizing the need for concerted action directed towards one overriding goal, namely alleviating the distress and dislocation caused by the quake. It is revealing to note that ordinary citizens have acted, in large numbers, at various levels to assist the relief effort, and in many cases, have been going it alone prior to the arrival of governmental or overseas help.

The absence of any governmental action in the affected areas soon after the earthquake also shows the absence of any contingency plan to deal with the occurrence of such a natural disaster. The quake also raises questions about building regulations and their enforcement to ensure quake-proof construction and, more importantly, about whose responsibility it is to carry out rescue and relief operations — political government or the army? (Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi says it is the responsibility of the civil administration, President Musharraf made it clear in his second address to the nation that it is primarily the army’s task.)

One may note that despite their readiness to be mobilized in the face of calamity, the Pakistani public retains a degree of scepticism towards whatever steps are being taken. Much of Pakistan’s history bears testament to the political engineering of ruling elites to deny people an effective voice or a constructive role in nation building. Despite the frequent change of regime in the country, there has been little change in the predominant notions of rule, namely, it is a government of the elite by the elite and for the elite. Even the shift between civil and military led governments has impacted little upon this dynamic given the degree of convergence between the interests of these respective pillars of state. Thus, government remains cast in an elitist, colonial mode rather than being embedded within civil society.

Hence, it should not surprise us that Pakistan’s establishment holds ordinary Pakistanis in such contempt that they are made to feel like aliens in their own country, excluded from the streets of their own capital, imprisoned on the behest of foreign governments, and left to fend for themselves due to incompetence and corruption. This trend has received a further fillip in the recent turn towards neoliberal economics and the steady replacement of the state’s presence by private actors.

It is, therefore, quite problematic for the regime that the earthquake has rendered Pakistan’s citizens not only visible but also useful. Given its protracted involvement in the country’s political trajectory, the military has not remained free of the public disaffection directed at other sections of the ruling establishment — politicians, landlords and bureaucrats. Similarly, it is seen as more concerned with protecting the interests of the rich and powerful rather than defending and promoting the security of ordinary citizens.

It is in this context that a radical rethink is required of the army’s institutional ethos. It needs to reinvent itself by assuming a role which exceeds that of a technocratic institution mechanically ‘correcting’ ‘the wrongs committed by erring politicians but without altering the underlying structures which allow such wrongs to re-emerge. Pakistan may have gained its freedom from colonialism in 1947, it is imperative that its army now gains independence from the remnants of a colonial mindset.

The earthquake has demonstrated that the state needs to be geared towards contingency planning, and providing succour to those in desperate need and that our army must see itself as a part of the Pakistani nation, rather than apart from it.

The terrible loss of life and property incurred in the quake will haunt our nation for years to come. If there is to be any redemption in the face of this calamity, it can only come from a determination on our part to steer governments in Pakistan away from viceregal delusions (which has characterised their modus operandi hitherto), to more pro-people responsibilities. The relief operation called for by this quake will need to outlast the mere provision of blankets, food and tents. The next challenge is rehabilitation of battered communities and reconstruction of shattered infrastructure.

The unity and purposefulness needed at this grim hour cannot give way to a resumption of the state of affairs in which governments of Pakistan float above a popular sea with impunity and disdain. The bare hands which lifted bodies out of the rubble are needed to reclaim Pakistan, and make its governments accountable. The earthquake and thousands it has killed should not make us forget that every year 70,000 children die in Pakistan because the state does not provide clean water to its people.

We have the ability to provide for all our people, all we need is the will. In the months ahead, all those who believe in Pakistan must continue to display the same dedication and selflessness that has inspired ordinary people to throng to the task of rescuing helpless men, women and children from piles of mud and stone. We need to remind the occupants of high office that one cannot put Pakistan first by putting Pakistanis last.

The writer is a research fellow at the University of Leeds, UK.

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