Hiding the symptoms does not heal the illness
Just like putting a bandage on a bullet wound is futile unless the bullet has been taken out first, censoring protests and claiming that ‘all is well’ when the country is burning from the inside only does more harm than good. The pain of structural amendments will have to be borne by all in order to mark an organic end to protests in Pakistan.
They say history is the best teacher. The fascinating thing about history is that is keeps repeating itself, over and over again. With new actors, in new circumstances, with newer technology, but the same old plot. Some individuals, groups and nations take lessons from the past, and ensure that they don’t make the same mistakes. Others, not so much. They play daredevil, use the same old path and expect that this time around, the result would be different.
Except that it isn’t.
Pakistanis, as a whole, have a thing for ‘quick fixes’. We put tapes on our chargers when they’re breaking apart, we connect multiple extension wires together, rather than getting the switch repaired, and so on. This attitude, unfortunately, extends to the more serious issues of national security as well. Our authorities constantly look for quick fixes rather than structural amendments as well. From the economy to the political instability, all our issues today can be summed up in this one phrase: we put a bandage on a bullet wound without taking the bullet out.
We don’t need to look anywhere else to understand where the recent country-wide protests against the establishment and the status quo are stemmed from, we have plenty of examples in our own brief history. Imran Khan’s arrest on 9th May was only the tip of the iceberg and the final nail in the coffin. The protests were a result of an year of record inflation, intense crackdowns, rising food insecurity, lack of political power and absence of rule of law. Media blackout were not able to end the protests, and Imran Khan;s release have provided only a temporary halt. The public anger is still very much present.
Let’s try understanding this from a historical perspective:
Fall of Bengal, 1971:
Our history books start narrating the factors leading to the fall of Bengal from the general elections of 1970. There is little doubt about the fact that it was indeed the victory of Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman’s Awami Party, and the subsequent delay of the National Assembly session that led to the large-scale protests in East Pakistan. However, this narrative leaves out a major part of the picture.
Events Preceding the General Elections, 1970:
The public resentment towards the government and the state institutes was stirring even before the general elections. Some experts say that the partition of East and West Pakistan was inevitable. Perhaps it was, but the mess that was created, the violence that was caused and the lives that were lost were all a result of fallacious policies at every decision point.
The population density of East Pakistan was much higher than the Western half. More than half of the population of Pakistan was composed of East Pakistanis. Despite that, Urdu was made the sole national language in 1954, removing Bangla. This obviously caused much resentment in the Bengalis, who already felt that they did not get their equal share in political and economic representation. Under the 1956 constitution, the National Assembly seats were divided equally amongst the two provinces, while the West Pakistani representation in the strongest government institutes – the army and the bureaucracy – was also higher, along with all the head offices being in West Pakistan.
On the economic front too, East Pakistan was ignored for a long period of time. This was most pronounced during the “Decade of Development” under Ayub Khan where the economy of East Pakistan expanded by 47.85% (at an average annual growth rate of 4.06%) against a 100% expansion in West Pakistani economy (at a growth rate of 6.94%) [1]. Moreover, there was the blame on the Pakistani government that the East Pakistani produce accounts for a significant portion of exports, however the same proportion is not spent back on the province. This fuelled resentment further and further, and the situation was further exacerbated by the Bhola cyclone of 1970, which destroyed many crops around East Pakistan leading to large-scale food insecurity .
Inadequate political representation, negligence of economy, rising poverty, natural disasters and cultural factors all played a major role in creating the overall environment of anti-government rhetoric in East Pakistan. This was slow cooked over a decade. The final nail in the coffin came with denying the Bengali people of their legitimate right to form a government after winning the 1970 elections.
Use of Censorship and Brute Force:
Large-scale protests sprung up throughout East Pakistan after the National Assembly session was delayed. The protests soon turned violent when Mujeeb-ur-Rehman proclaimed an independent republic. The New York Times reports President Yahya to have ordered the military personnel in East Pakistan to “do their job and fully restore the authority of the Government”. Curfew was announced in Dhaka, and a number of foreign journalists were barred from reporting [2]. Crackdowns, such as the Operation Searchlight, were conducted against protesters and activists throughout what is now Bangladesh.
During all of this, the state media back in West Pakistan remained highly censured, with little to no coverage of the actual on-ground realities.
The result is written in all history books of the world: Pakistani army/government had to surrender and Bangladesh came into existence on 16th December, 1971.
(this is a summarised description of events containing only the information relevant to this opinion piece)
Where do we stand today?
At the time of writing this article, Pakistan has witnessed over 50 reported deaths across the country in intense protests. The protests were accompanied by internet shut-down in most parts of the country, costing billions of rupees to an already collapsing economy. On top of that, social media blackout, heavy censorship on media and Section-144 being imposed across Pakistan were some of the other government reactions to the protests.
With Imran Khan’s release, the protests have come to a temporary halt, however, the chances of them springing up again remain high as the structural causes have not been removed. The political temperature is touching the melting point, raids are still being conducted in the houses of different Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers, and arrested protesters are yet to be released. Popular journalist, Imran Riaz Khan is missing, a majority of high-level PTI leadership is under arrest.
Protesting only for Khan?
However, one of the biggest mistakes any analyst or decisionmaker can make in the comprehension of this situation is to conclude that the protests are solely a reaction to Imran Khan’s arrest. Viewing the large-scale protests in isolation rather than as a continuation of the stirring instability over the last one year would only lead to more ill-planned ‘quick fixes’.
Yes, people are furious over the arrest of Imran Khan – the single most popular leader in Pakistan at present. However, the people are also frustrated, and the frustration is a result of political, economic and social factors. Over the last one year, people of Pakistan have witnessed record inflation (touching up tp 40% monthly) with little to no rise in wages. Terrorism has been making a swift return to the country, especially in erstwhile FATA region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Unemployment is on the rise, so is food insecurity and shortage of life saving drugs. Flood victims have still not been rehabilitated, and no preparations have been made to avoid a similar catastrophe in the coming monsoon season.
On the political side, people have been denied the right to choosing their leaders. Street power, surveys and social media trends have left little doubt that people are not satisfied with the current government. On top of that, Punjab and KPK are both without elected governments for over the constitutionally allowed 90 days. Yet, the federal government continues to dodge elections despite Supreme Court orders. The Pakistani citizens are believe they are being robbed off their constitutional right to elect representatives. The citizens are also becoming more and more vocal about certain institutions overriding their constitutionally determined roles.
Read More: https://www.theyouthblog.com/2023/04/26/the-sentiments-of-frustrated-pakistani-youth/
All these factors have contributed to a brewing sense of frustration and hopelessness, for which Imran Khan’s arrest was but the last nail in the coffin. And although Imran Khan has been released, the remaining factors remain in place. The public anger refuses to die down.
So what is the way to go?
From use of force in East Pakistan to censorship and military crackdown in Balochistan, the writing on the wall is clear for anyone willing to take heed: these old-age tactics cannot work in modern nation states. There is one and only one solution to restoring peace and stability and that is through a comprehensive dialogue. By ‘dialogue’, I don’t mean behind-closed-door negotiations between a handful of individuals, but rather nationwide open dialogue.
The dialogue process will have to be led by independent actors, perhaps members of the civil society, and must include representatives from all strata of society – government, opposition, military, lawyers, economists, educators, farmers, businessmen, students, labourers and so on. The purpose of the dialogue process should be to join hands in finding sustainable solutions to underlying problems.
Is this an easy process? No. In fact, the process will take time and require open-mindedness and compromises from all members, especially those in power. But this is the only way forward. The country cannot survive if the different members continue to fight one another. The people only stand up to the state actors as a last resort. The state actors must realise that protestors are not ‘terrorists’ or ‘anti-state agents’, but rather the very backbone of the country. Without the element of trust existing between the people and state, there is no survival for either.
Until the dialogue process is worked upon, the only option left for the government is to step down, announce elections and give people their fundamental right to vote and choose representatives.
There can never be a quick fix to such deep rooted issues. In order to make the body healthy, the scars have to be opened up and cleaned. Only then can the process of recovery begin.
[1] Reference: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1871327/16-december-1971
[2] Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/27/archives/armed-rebellion-reported-leader-of-rebels-in-east-pakistan-is.html
The author is a Management Sciences major from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and an aspiring civil servant with a knack for writing.
Well researched, nicely articulated very thoughtful article. Like a competent Physician not only diagnosed the illness from its features but also prescribed the right course of action.
Hope and pray that the ideas of Structural Reforms and Grand New Dialogue are actually materialized.