‘Hum aazad hain’, ‘we are free’ went the lyrics of a pop song celebrating Pakistan’s 60th anniversary of independence last year. In reality, 2007 ended with Pakistan’s judiciary dismissed; an emergency declared; and the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Nonetheless, a far more impactful victory was actually struck by the people of Pakistan in January’s elections than any military victory in the ‘war on terror’. While nationally, voters turned against the pro-Musharaf PML(Q) and to Bhutto’s PPP and Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N), the most significant result was in the restive North-West Frontier Province. There, the Islamist MMA, which had banned concerts and cultural shows, was voted out of office for the avowedly secular Awami National Party (ANP). Representing the proud Pathans, the ANP is well placed to deal with the problems in the tribal areas.
Pakistan is still facing a rocky road: suicide bombings are commonplace and a low-intensity conflict rages against the Taliban. In Peshawar, capital of the frontier region, the rumour mill works overtime. One theory is that elements within the security services themselves are responsible for the recent spate of attacks, as they try to justify their tight grip on power and the need for continued support from the west.
Others see the hand of India or America, determined to prevent Pakistan emerging as a stable, moderate Muslim state and justify continuing their ‘war on terror’. The most pragmatic view, put to me by a local news anchor, is that extremist terrorists are trying to test the nerve of the popularly elected government before it even gets into office, becoming even bolder as they know a civilian government would be far more decisive than President Musharaf.
All agree, however, that Musharaf is the cause of the current troubles and that they will only stop when he leaves office. There is real anger at what people see as showpiece and selective actions against terror, such as the storming of the Red Mosque and aerial bombing of a madrasah. People resent these acts, not because they back the fundamentalists, but because they see them as inhumane attacks on fellow Muslims, done purely to please and impress America without addressing the real causes of terror.
The west pushed Musharaf to remove his uniform and become a civilian president, but, tellingly, in March he was still residing at Army House in Rawalpindi, the official residence of the chief of the army. However, the president may well now be preparing his exit strategy. He is rumoured to be building a mansion in his childhood home of Turkey.
There is an important lesson here for us as progressives. We need to trust the people, not just the individuals who do our bidding. Refusal to recognise the elected Hamas government in Palestine, the propping up of dictators throughout the Middle East, and continued support for Musharaf only serve to underscore the perception in the eyes of many in the Muslim world that we do not trust them.
We also need to support development growth and trade to provide jobs to end the economic despair which fuels extremism. For example, I visited a scheme run by a local organisation largely funded by DfID, which is providing skills training to young teens from rural NWFP in electronics, carpentry, plumbing and tailoring so they can have much better employment prospects.
But the key lesson from the recent elections is that we can trust the people to see and judge for themselves. As one Pakistani official told me privately, ‘We are proud to be Muslim, so when the MMA came to us offering an alternative to corrupt politics, we voted for them. But when they did nothing for us, we kicked them out.’
Radical Islam defeated at the ballot box by fellow Muslims is, after all, a far more decisive victory than one made by foreign armies killing radical Islamists in wars.