9-14-08, 8:18 am

Political Situation of Pakistan

Pakistan has entered into a democratic period after passing through a long interval of military dictatorship. Since 1977, the presidential office has remained occupied, directly or indirectly, by representatives of civil or military bureaucracy even when the government was apparently civilian.

Now, after Mr. Asif Ali Zardari's election as president of Pakistan, we can hope that presidency will no longer function as the center of conspiracies and intrigues. Now, when the two offices of prime minister and president have been filled with elected representatives of people, it is their responsibility to keep the conspiring elements of the civil/military bureaucracy at a distance. They should accept the mandate given to democratic forces at different levels. They have to avoid the past undemocratic attitude of destabilizing the elected provincial governments.

An elected civilian government has emerged after a protracted people's struggle, and the gains of this struggle have to be protected by all means. It is the joint responsibility of the ruling coalition, parliamentary democratic forces, the democratic forces outside parliament, and all of the Pakistani people to consolidate the hard earned democracy.

The newly elected government has to address certain problems faced by people on priority basis. The spiral of price hikes, unemployment, poverty, decreasing purchasing power of middle class, menace of terrorism and scarcity of fundamental requirements of life have forced the the mass of people to live a sub-human life. Masses expect an improvement in shortest possible time.

The government will also have to take suitable long-term steps to give correct direction to internal and external policies. Some of the prerequisites for progress and prosperity of the country include the following: the restoration of the original constitution of 1973; giving maximum autonomy to provinces; avoiding violence by using administrative and political steps; making the judiciary completely independent; decreasing dependence on International Monetary Institutions to the lowest possible level; guaranteeing minimum wages to industrial and farm workers and necessary legislation for protecting their rights; restarting closed industrial units; giving equal rights to different religious communities and minority segments of the society; making education free up to intermediate level and decreasing the cost of higher education; restoring the confidence of people having separatist tendencies due to denial of their due rights for a prolonged period; implementing agricultural reforms announced during past periods; changing the privatization policy so as to keep services and profitable industries in the public sector; immediate discontinuation of the blind process of selling the national assets; and stopping the policy of subservience to United States of America.

Since the establishment of real democratic order and its consolidation is the common responsibility of all democratic forces, it is the duty of democratic forces outside parliament and specially those of left to try to transform the elected civilian government into real democratic one. To organize joint activities on the basis of a minimum program will be a good start in that direction.

Organizing peasant, labor and democratic conferences will help in protecting the seedling of democracy from anti-democratic forces, specially military establishment and their allies i.e. International Monetary Institutions and International Imperialism. Government should also avoid trying to silence the voice of dissent. It should encourage positive criticism and should help grow democratic and left forces.

If the creation of hurdles for political movements by intelligence agencies and their assistance to negative forces is not stopped, it may result, with the active involvement of America, in a dangerous polarization of political forces in the near future.

We may, thus, witness the emergence of two distinct camps comprising all fundamentalist and anti-democratic forces, having Jihadi culture and right of center political parties on one side and all pro-America, so-called liberal forces and the ruling coalition on the other side. The two diametrically opposed forces may create anarchy in the name of either fighting America or defeating fundamentalism, respectively. In this situation military generals may be tempted to takeover the reins of government, and this may also affect the country's geography.

--This slightly edited statement was Issued by Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of Pakistan.