Denying Democracy

WASHINGTON

Pakistani democrats these days are a disillusioned lot. They have little tohang on to given the reality of domestic alignments and the politics of US aid.Things have come to such a pass that a young minister from Gen. PervezMusharraf’s government can declare with aplomb that "democracy is the rootof all evil" in front of the Washington cognoscenti and walk away without atrace of embarrassment.

Democracy has failed over and over again in Pakistan, said Umar Ghuman,Pakistan’s political GenNext at a recent conference. Those unwilling to giveup on the failed project of democracy gave a spirited defence but they are quitealone in their struggle.

Democracy in Pakistan is the last in line of Washington’s concerns as USpolicy makers eagerly strengthen Pakistan’s military muscle, stuff thegeneral’s arsenal with new weapons in the name of the war on terror and noteven blink. There was no sense of irony as the Bush Administration announced a$1.2 billion arms package filled with naval surveillance planes and thousands ofheavy anti-armour missiles apparently for use against the tribal hideouts on thefrontier.

The sophisticated versions of the weapons being sought are gratuitouslygenerous and unneeded in the terrain and targets of the war on terror. But thereis always the "other" front where the weapons can come in handy as they havein the past. However, the formal notification sent to the US Congress by thePentagon blandly declared the weapons "will not affect the basic militarybalance in the region." Since Washington says so, it must be true.

There is loud talk of F-16s for Pakistan and all indications are that thePentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council have alreadydone their homework on the sale and it is a matter of time and a good confluenceof events before the sale is announced.

When asked about the impending sale, the mantra all the way from CondoleezzaRice on down is that "no decision has been taken." Which means the idea ison the table, has not been rejected and, from the sounds of it, will beexecuted. Pakistan wants the planes both as proof of US commitment and forbolstering its fleet against India.

The sale will adversely affect Indian public opinion and could impact thedelicate India-Pakistan peace initiative but American policy priorities centrearound pleasing the Pakistani military. For India these are worrisomedevelopments but besides repeating the obvious history lessons to their Americancounterparts, there is little Indian diplomats can do.

The last four years of US engagement with Pakistan are a study in how not toencourage democracy -- a specially painful sight when the Iraq project isallegedly all about sowing the seeds of democracy. If US policy makers can’twater and sustain existing institutions in Pakistan, however parched, what hopeof creating brand new ones in Iraq where a dictatorship smothered voices fordecades?

Dispirited, disillusioned and demoralized Pakistani democrats have repeatedlyasked Washington to wake up and use the tremendous leverage of aid and powermore imaginatively to create pulls for democracy rather than a sag for anarrogant and an increasingly corrupt military.

A recent conference on the "Future of Pakistan" organized by visitingPakistani economist S. Akbar Zaidi was a good reality check for US policy makerswho can make a difference if they so decide. Speaker after speaker demanded abetter policy mix instead of the open tap of American aid for the Pakistaniarmy.

Sherry Rehman, a former journalist and now a member of the National Assembly,eloquently talked of the dangerous consequences of US policy, of"blowbacks," of reducing the problem of Pakistan to a mere statisticalbalance sheet of getting "high value targets. " The United States has tradeddemocracy for security in Pakistan before and is doing so once again.

And once again those with the leverage are underestimating the power ofpolitical Islam. There were no speakers from the Bush Administration at theconference with the passionate defence of democracy and freedom -- a gift fromGod to use President Bush’s revelation -- bouncing off the few governmentofficials who attended.

With every periodic engagement, Washington bolsters the idea that a militaryregime is better suited to the people of Pakistan. There are no benchmarks, noconditionalities on the $3 billion military and economic aid package announcedlast year for Musharraf. The US Congress is in Republican hands and cares littleabout forcing the issue.

The release of Benazir Bhutto’s husband is cited by US officials as a movetowards restoration of democracy. While long overdue, if $3 billion can onlyspring one man’s freedom, what will it take for Pakistan’s dismemberedpolitical parties to rejuvenate?

The American commentariat on South Asia has finally begun to mildly criticisethe uni-focal US policy and ask for change but who’s listening? This isturning out to be a dangerous decade like the 80s with a potential for a biggerblowback. Stephen Cohen’s latest book The Idea of Pakistan warns thatignoring deeper problems at this crucial stage would snowball into aninterminable mess. Ashley Tellis has written eloquently about the need to holdthe general to higher standards.

Anyone with a modicum of memory can remember Charlie Wilson’s war wagedwith CIA money against the Soviets in Afghanistan with Pakistan’s Gen. Zia-ulHaq as a willing conduit. The Americans won their war against the Reds butchanged the subcontinent forever.

Today the enemy is not the Soviets but the Americans.

Anti-Americanism among Pakistanis thrives at alarming levels and is risingeven among Indian Muslims. The Pakistani military didn’t have the intelligenceto check the monster it created with jihad then, and it doesn’t today. So whyfall in the same trap again? Why not force democracy in Pakistan, surely aneasier project than fashioning it in Fallujah?