Dictatorship being the dominant feature of Pakistani politics has certainly introduced a blame game with no visible end. On the one end are those who term the armed forces responsible for the woes of the country and on the other are the people who blame the politicians for their inability to show commitment with the democratic norms — many times they have been at the forefront to invite generals to seize power in the best interest of the nation.
It is also a fact that Pakistan has been a frontline state in most parts of its existence to serve the ends of the capitalist bloc against the powers it has deemed as enemy. Once it was the Soviet Union, now it is Al-Qaeda that first acted as a mentor for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and now supporting Taliban to regain control of the landlocked territory.
The Cold War politics had pitted Pakistan against the Soviet bloc and its sympathisers like India. The break-up of Soviet Union changed the priorities of the US and its allies and made for them ethnicity and religious militancy as the major threat to the International order.
The US engaged both India and Pakistan while it went for military campaign to oust Taliban regime and later fight back Al-Qaeda; significant improvement has been seen in the relations between the two archrivals of the subcontinent. India and Pakistan are now part of a framework to fight terrorism on the platform of Saarc.
Gen (retired) Musharraf emerged on the political scene after the decade-long civilian rule in Pakistan. The economy was in a shambles and religious militancy was threatening the fabric of the society. He reversed the Pakistan's policy vis-à-vis Taliban regime by supporting the coalition’s war on terror. He secured from the US $10 billion to keep the kitty afloat.
The frontline role Musharraf accepted for Pakistan did bring economic benefits but there was also a cost: the mainstream political parties were put on the course of disintegration to fill the camp of the king’s party (read it as PML-Q), and the alliance of religious parties secured considerable seats to the envy of PPP-P and PML-N — the slot of the opposition leader and the government of the NWFP fell into its hands.
The introduction of local government system and undertaking structural reforms were the main features of the Musharraf-led political setup, praised and admired by the western world. He was able to encourage the new elite in the realm of politics while his liberalisation of the economy brought foreign business interests in the country especially in telecom, housing, automobile, banking and oil and gas sectors.
Much went against the traditional elite (either represented in the PML-Q or MMA camp) when Musharraf was in the driving seat. The freedom of expression, launching of so many news channels, his policy of enlightened moderation, interest in opening up the 'no go areas' in Balochistan and the NWFP and introduction of new stakeholders in the economy did erode the authority structure of Pakistani society.
The business community, traders and financial wizards and the landed aristocracy could see no benefit in him when the economy started boiling down and the chances of taking back the subsidies and tax-relief available to them became clearer.
Frustration among the common people rose to new heights when the so-called trickle-down affects of much celebrated economic growth did not appear. The cartels made their existence felt through a phenomenal hike in the prices of essential goods and the incidents of extreme poverty increasingly started catching media's attention.
Here the story of Musharraf comes to an end. The rest of the time he has spent in the presidency is just about the execution of his exit plan. He secured for himself the second term before the last parliament completed its tenure. The team of technocrats (representing financial interest) that he had employed went back to where it had come from. His doffing the uniform did mean that the army had withdrawn from politics. He was last to step down but definitely he could not do it until the formation of new political set-up.
The urge of the exiled leadership of the PPP-P and PML-N to come back and take part in politics did coincide with Musharraf's longing for a way out. He gave a green signal through his pledge to throw the religious party out of power and side with the liberal parties in the upcoming elections. The Arab and Americans did help him reach an understanding with Benazir. He knew that she could bring Sharifs on board. The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was just part of the deal.
Musharraf would have been living a retired life and joined his close relatives in America had the PML-N not stuck with the judges issue. The PPP-P was clear about removing Musharraf from presidency but the politics of its ally did delay the matter. The stalemate is over. PML-N has been convinced that the matter can't be delayed any more. Musharraf should be out of the presidency. It should rejoin the cabinet. Needless to say, Musharraf exit plan is in the final stage of execution.
