Politics of compromise

PAKISTANIS must collectively heave a sigh of relief that election 2008 is not being hotly contested as fraudulent and manipulated, yet it was only free and fair in the universal sense that rigging by official sanction did not take place. Fraud was quite transparent at the polling station level. Voters discovered they had already "voted," votes cast exceeded the number of voters in some polling stations. Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) failed to protect the sanctity of the polling booths, gun-toting followers ensuring mass stamping of ballots and stuffing of boxes in favour of their patron. Things were worse in female booths. With no "directed" rigging, the local aberrations crudely cancelled themselves out. Instead of patting themselves on the back, the Election Commission of Pakistan would do the country (and themselves) a favour by correcting the many loopholes that allow such electoral fraud to take place.
President Musharraf's legacy will record that, in contrast to 2002, elections 2008 were free and fair. Public perception (for a change) recognises that the COAS Pakistan army had more to do with it. When Kayani ordered all army personnel not to interact with politicians he emasculated Military Intelligence (MI) from indulging in what had become a favourite military sport in Pakistan, manipulating politics and politicians. With this restriction extending to uniformed personnel in ISI, IB officials decided discretion was the better part of valour. In the face of increasing terrorism, MI needs a more professional and competent management, one based on merit and commitment, to concentrate on their actual mission statement, not on loyalty to an individual at grievous cost to the State. So do the ISI and the IB!
Aitzaz Ahsan has emerged as the most popular politician in Pakistan after the death of Ms Benazir. His fight for the superior judiciary, bearing hardships as well as injuries in the process, has caught the public imagination. Despite step-motherly treatment by the PPP hierarchy, Aitzaz has never vented his bitterness and frustration, remaining steadfastly loyal. A national leader in his own right, he must not shortchange himself by staking his entire future to the superior judiciary, to the exclusion of everything else. Nobody is suggesting that he abandon his populist legal jihad, but he must display moral courage in giving due cognisance to vital issues such as nepotism and corruption in governance, there being nothing blacker than the NRO.
Aitzaz may well be the alternate political third force Pakistanis have always been looking for, because he gives otherwise unelectable but potent leaders like Imran Khan, etc a new political dimension. While individual antipathy is acceptable, Aitzaz must be pragmatic in with his stance towards the uniform. As a potential future PM, one is not suggesting Aitzaz compromise on principles, but should have a working relationship that sees a professional army pursuing its stated mission with full political support and without political interference, and, on its part shunning indulging in political skullduggery.
With the LEAs unable to cope with terrorism of the suicide-bombing kind, the army will have its hands full waging a relentless internal campaign to root out and eliminate the proliferating bases of terrorism. The future existence of our society, and by extension our country, depends on fighting terrorism as our prime agenda. On that there can be no compromise!
Will Asif Zardari go for a seat-warmer PM from the Punjab and ignore the legitimate claims of Makhdoom Amin Fahim? Makhdoom Sahib held the PPP flag aloft during the last 10 years in adverse circumstances, and his dumping will have both short-term and long-term consequences for the party. Zardari already has his hands full, keeping the party together without the Benazir factor. Appointing cronies to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the PPP is already a matter of internal party debate. By nominating Qaim Ali Shah for CM Sindh he deftly managed to avoid the controversy close friends Pir Mazhar ul Haq or Agha Siraj Durrani would have evoked.
Despite the bonhomie and pledges of eternal friendship, Mian Nawaz Sharif is already looking to make short work of the PPP in the next elections. The nominated leader of the parliamentary party in the Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, is not the charismatic vote-getter his brother is, but his well-known governance capabilities are an asset. The PML (N) strategy is to use any pretext to stay out of the coalition and let PPP take the heat literally in a long hot summer, building his Punjab base and shoring up his vote count in other provinces where it is negligible or almost non-existent.
With the world recession (or slow down) force-multiplying an inflation-driven worsening economic situation, the streets will make the rulers in Islamabad the target of mass anger. Nominating Hamid Nasir Chatha the PML (Q) Parliamentary Leader in Punjab was a very smart move, his excellent rapport with the PPP could be quite lethal for PML (N). If, as is rumoured, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, conspirer extraordinary, becomes the governor, PML (N) will have its hands full holding onto the Punjab.
The game-plan for another election 6-9 months down the road may well come to naught if the PPP-led national coalition without PML(N) survives despite the acute economic adversity. Even the PML(Q) could make a comeback of sorts. The PML (N) demand for keeping MQM out of the national coalition is pure nonsense. PPP will ignore their urban strength at their political peril. MQM's large urban base in Sindh needs to be accommodated, not pushed out into the cold and isolated, particularly when it is able and willing. The urban renewal in Karachi is not a matter of MQM propaganda, it is for real and very visible.
The inability of PML (N) to make any inroads in Sindh, urban or rural, is a major political drawback, because no national leader can ever rule effectively in Islamabad without adequate strength in both Punjab and Sindh.
What a revelation Asif Zardari has turned out to be. One had written him off as a dilettante lightweight interested only making money, mostly for himself and his friends. To his credit, he suffered captivity (1997-2005) with grace and good humour, and did not sign any deal for his freedom. After Ms Benazir's assassination he has emerged as a pillar of the federal structure, swiftly and firmly stamping out the fires of secession that flared on the long night of Dec 27, 2007. It is an irony of fate that the unity of Pakistan now depends upon the maturity of this much vilified person.
Cautious but constant in trying to accommodate all democratic forces, he has shunned the rhetoric of virulent hatred and vengeance one is used to in Pakistani politics. Eight long years in jail have done him a world of good. Could this be the recommended dose for all our budding leaders, the missing factor in developing their character profile? Do not forget Yusuf Raza Gilani and Javed Hashmi as outstanding political leaders who did not bend, in contrast to those who did. While the jury is still out, signs are that Zardari's initiatives are genuine and will succeed, that his politics of compromise could well persuade Mian Nawaz Sharif to abandon his politics of confrontation.

Ikram Sehgal is an eminent Pakistani political analyst and columnist.