The army regimes that have ruled Pakistan have always been dicey over the question of election from Ayub in 1958 to Musharraf in 1999. They follow a similar pattern: illegitimate takeover, pursuit of corporate interests, wheeling and dealing. Desperate for legitimacy, they create facades of democratic structures with the help of turncoat politicians, self-seeking landlords, businessmen and criminals. The president is unique among them for having ruled this country for eight long years and now seeking another term of five years.
Until recently, no one knew when the election was going to be held, while General Musharraf and the ruling coalition went about campaigning and marketing their government at enormous public cost.
The election schedule was announced by the Election Commission (EC) as late as mid September. It fixed filing of the nomination papers for September 28, scrutiny for 29, withdrawal etc for October 1 and election on the October 6. The general had a head start on everybody; but if he thought he could get a free run through an element of surprise in his strategy, he was mistaken.
September 28 passed peacefully all over the country as the nomination papers were filed. But not surprisingly in view of his constitutional ineligibilities, September 29 was expected to be difficult. The petitions against General Musharraf’s eligibility having been rejected on maintainability in a judgment regarded by some as controversial, the administration decided to come down heavily on the lawyers who were in a foul mood on that day.
On September 29, the lawyers went on a strike all over the country and held demonstrations. Here in Islamabad the roads leading to the Constitution Avenue were sealed early but the lawyers had already managed to collect in the Supreme Court, not far from the Election Commission, both situated on the Constitution Avenue.
Trouble was expected because the government was bent upon twisting all rules to accommodate General Musharraf, a patently unqualified candidate in terms of the constitution. After the announcement of the schedule, the government issued a notification, in effect, exempting Musharraf from the application of Article 63 of the constitution, and thus qualifying him on the day of the scrutiny of papers.
In the event hundreds of plainclothes men lined the road leading to the EC and thousands of police were deployed at various locations. There were present APCs and water cannon trucks, while tear gas shells were fired from the APCs indiscriminately, some actually falling inside the Supreme Court premises.
It is true that the lawyers were emotionally charged; yet the police, in riot gear, outnumbered them several times. Indeed the lawyers were chanting unsavoury slogans against General Musharraf, but from all accounts they wished to walk down the road to the EC without resorting to violence. But at some point the police stopped them on the road which started the clashes.
A free for all then followed as the plain clothes men and the lawyers engaged in fierce battles injuring nearly a hundred people. The police beat the lawyers with batons mercilessly. But the lawyers, now full of anger, began to throw rocks at the police, the police responding in kind. I saw Mr Ali Ahmad Kurd who is a slightly built man being carried from the limbs by about a dozen policemen in plain clothes.
Mr Aitzaz Ahsan along with Khawaja Asif on the road advising the lawyers to be calm. Suddenly Aitzaz was hit by a heavy rock on his belly which made him reel. Soon he was attacked by the police vengefully. But for Mr Zamurrad Khan, MNA, who shielded him otherwise Aitzaz would have been grievously hurt. In so doing Zamurrad fractured his arm but Aitzaz survived.
As if such brutal treatment of the lawyers was not enough, at some point the police began to beat up the journalists. It was difficult to believe that all this happening right under the nose of senior police officers who were present. A minister of state got trapped in the fracas ending up being hurt. Tempers ran high on both sides delaying the departure of the PM from the EC by several hours. The Punjab CM’s limo nearly ran over a journalist who wanted to complain about the police brutality.
Clearly, disproportionate force was being applied to control a situation which was by no means dangerous. Had they not been provoked, the lawyers and the journalists would have caused no harm other than shouting nasty anti Musharraf slogans. This was the consensus in all the media persons, both local and foreign, that I spoke to.
As I write, General Musharraf’s candidature cleared by the Election Commission has been challenged in the Supreme Court by Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad and the PPP candidate Amin Fahim. The petitions have been admitted and a ten-member bench has been constituted to start regular hearing on Thursday. Since the government is bulldozing its way through these elections, indications are that the street agitations will go on. Mindless use of force by the administration will only invite more trouble.