He is playing with the constitution like Ayub, he held a referendum like Zia, and he is as powerhungry as Nawaz Sharif and Benazir — ladies and gentlemen, Gen Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government was dismissed by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf on 12 October 1999, most Pakistanis were overjoyed. As Gen Musharraf disembarked from his 'hijacked' PIA airliner to issue the necessary orders, it hardly mattered to most whether the replacement wore khaki or a sherwani. Sharif's three-and-a-half years had become an affront to democracy: the prime minister was blatantly maximising his power through constitutional amendments, stifling freedom of expression, and suppressing judicial independence.
Those expecting a change for the better soon realised that a democratically-elected government is better than a military dictatorship for the long term stability it represents. With Gen Musharraf's record before us, the obvious conclusion is that despite their much hyped propensity for corruption, it is politicians who must run the country — and long enough to be able to make a difference. This they have never been allowed to do. Pakistan has never experienced true democracy, and at best, has had 'controlled democracy'.
Analysing Pakistan's political history, it is difficult not to conclude that the army as an institution has been the major hurdle to resolving problems of governance and development. With defence gobbling up a major portion of the budget, key sectors like health and education bear the burden. Those who suffer are the ordinary people — more and more continue to fall below the poverty line in the trade-offs made to support the military