Pakistan was created as a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent after a bitter struggle was waged and great sacrifices were made. The struggle for the creation of Pakistan lasted for some time until this dream was finally realized by the efforts of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his companions. Jinnah and other leaders based the new government on the foundations of democracy and upon the promise of achieving remarkable development in both the western and eastern parts of the new nation. However, unfortunately, Jinnah, the charismatic leader, could not consolidate the foundations of democracy because of his death in the second year after Pakistan came into being. As for Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan, he was assassinated in 1951, four years after the creation of the country. After the death of these two towering leaders, Pakistan was not in a position to enjoy stability for a long period of time. A number of political leaders came to the helm of national affairs, but they were unsuccessful in consolidating the much sought after democratic system. Such a system was necessary to guarantee the new nation's stability, which is required for spurring the march of economic development so as to ensure the country's progress as well as the prosperity of its people. This scenario created a suitable environment for the intervention of the army. The first military coup was led by Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, the then commander-in-chief of the army. He ruled the country for more than one decade. Ayub Khan was succeeded by General Yahya Khan who designated himself Chief Martial Law Administrator of the country and installed a military government in both East and West Pakistan. During his rule, political unrest and revolt erupted in East Pakistan led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, president of the Awami League party. Yahya Khan imposed emergency in the country to contain the revolt and promised to hold free and fair general elections within two years. The Awami League won an absolute majority in the National Assembly (parliament) in the elections held in 1970 and it was Mujibur Rahman's turn to form the government. But this was unacceptable to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won most of the seats in West Pakistan, and he refused to attend the parliament session until a new constitution was framed for the country. This led to a political crisis and the subsequent civil war that ended with the secession of East Pakistan. According to most political observes, this resulted in realizing the ambitions of the two top leaders (Bhutto and Mujib) – a new nation of Bangladesh in East Pakistan for Mujib and the rule of the remaining part of the country (West Pakistan) for Bhutto. During the rule of Bhutto, elections were held, but the opposition alliance took to the streets accusing Bhutto of widespread rigging in the elections. This led to another military coup, led by General Zia ul-Haq. It is clear that history is being repeated in Pakistan at regular intervals. What is going on in Pakistan now suggests that the anti-government protests led by Imran Khan, leader of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistani cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, are virtually seeking to invite the military once again to take over power after overthrowing the elected government on the pretext that the elections were rigged. But who is responsible for rigging the elections? Had the incumbent prime minister held the elections, the accusations would have been comprehensible to everyone. But the elections were conducted by the previous PPP government, which lost the elections, and handed over power to those who won the elections without creating any problems. Independent observers confirmed that the elections were free and fair, and this fact was acknowledged by everyone at the time, including Imran Khan, whose party won a considerable number of seats. The elections were held about one and a half years ago, but it is only now that Imran Khan has discovered that the elections were rigged! He has taken his followers to the street, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who won the elections. What prompted Imran Khan to remain silent all this time? Why did he not object to the results of the elections when they were announced? Is he not aware that his current move to mobilize his supporters to stage a protest sit-in will harm the country's stability and economy, besides being detrimental to the political process and growth of democracy? Causing harm to the interests of the people and paralyzing traffic across the country may give the army ample justification to intervene and seize power just as it did in the situation created by the Pakistan opposition, represented by PPP in West Pakistan and the Awami League in East Pakistan. This was what helped Ayub Khan to overthrow the government through a military coup. Even though Ayub Khan was ready to allow the democratic process to continue to prevail in the country, the adamant position of opposition parties made this almost impossible. Had they responded to him positively, Pakistan would have been remained united. A similar situation occurred during the period of Bhutto as well as during the periods of some of his successors. Imran Khan is apparently not aware of the fact that his attempt to intimidate the security forces obstructing his party members and supporters during their agitation is contrary to democratic traditions and customs. This may harm him and his party as the voters may punish them in the next election because the people of Pakistan are tired of rhetoric and false promises. Instead they want stability and the resolution of problems and challenges through democratic and peaceful means. They want politicians who assume power through the ballot box to be removed in the same way which is what takes place in democratic nations. It is the right of the opposition to unearth the mistakes of an elected government, hold it accountable for its errors and protest peacefully. This is significant especially when Prime Minister Sharif has announced his readiness to conduct discussions with the opposition and fulfill their reasonable demands in a way which does not affect the nation's stability and development.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
