The reports are unsettling: Jalaluddin Haqqani – the latest thorn in Washington’s side, the tormentor par excellence of American forces in Afghanistan – once shared centre stage with President Ronald Reagan at the White House and Charlie Wilson, the American cowboy prowling Afghanistan with dollars in one hand and stinger missiles in the other, called him goodness personified. A classic case of friends turned foes? Hardly. And this is why they are so upsetting — the reports indicate how the United States of America changes partners with shifts in its geostrategic policies and politics. This is bad news for those who look up to the US as the single most important sponsor and supporter of democracy, freedom of speech, the rights of minorities and women in this region.
What if, in the near future, Washington discovers that its support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan does not serve the American interest as well as an autocratic, one-man rule could, regardless of whether that one man comes from right, left or is ideologically somewhere in-between? While it is difficult to predict if and when that will happen, the past is replete with not-so-helpful American engagements with Pakistani dictators of various hues and stripes. The glamorous wife of a charming American president sharing photo frames with the founding father of military dictatorships in Pakistan as a medal for his personal charm as well as political slavishness; an obsequious looking Ziaul Haq being welcomed into the Reagan White House in recognition of mutually shared hatred for godless communists; and whiskey-swigging, ‘enlightened moderate’ General (retd) Pervez Musharraf becoming America’s most allied non-NAT O ally for his historic turnabout on September 11, 2001 — these snippets have only one constant: the Americans don’t give a hoot about democracy and human rights as long as someone is willing to do their dirty laundry in his own backyard. Banking on America for strengthening democratic values in Pakistan is like writing on wind or catching at straws.
Behind the images of Ayub Khan, Haq and Musharraf basking in borrowed American glory are the darkened and invisible ruins of ideologies, values and principles that the march of Pax Americana has left in its wake since the 1950s. Current and the future US governments don’t care if gold-rimmed photographs of third world democrats and advocates of human rights with the Kennedys, Reagans and Obamas just become another pile in history’s dustbin that Washington, perhaps, has added to the most. But this is something that democrats and human rights activists in countries like Pakistan should worry about — how will the Americans treat them as and when they outlive their utility for Washington’s international politics?
Here is a historical low down on their alliances. In the 1940s, communist leaders and parties in colonial and postcolonial countries of the south and east sided with Washington-led allies in fighting against The Axis power. By the 1980s, the Americans had found the Islamists to hit the communists who, by then, had become synonymous with what Reagan called the Evil Empire and the rest of the world knew as Soviet Union. In the 2000s, the Islamists became what George W Bush called the warriors against freedom and civilisation. So, who is next? In the logical order of events, it would be the democrats who have sided with the US against religious extremists and faith-inspired militants.
The trouble with such historical analogies is that they generalise and simplify in a sweeping manner. Of course, not all communists sided with the West for the sake of economic benefit, even on a more personal level; the Islamists were not involved in their anti-Soviet jihad only because it brought them financial remuneration. By the same token, democrats and human rights advocates in Pakistan today do not receive American funds to support democratic principles and fight for the rights of vulnerable groups. But the US has this magic touch that turns indigenous gold into made-in-USA dust and that helps explain why advocates of a democratic, fair and inclusive state and society in Pakistan are always equated with some nefarious American conspiracy to westernise – in the worst case scenarios disintegrate – our beloved homeland.
What is important to keep in mind here is that ideas and ideologies bankrolled from outside have as much traction as a cockroach in cow dung. There is a difference between winning hearts and minds and buying them. Buy you can — but those whom you buy cannot be bought forever. They will keep changing sides to align with the highest bidder. Win you must, but certainly not in a top-down way. The emergence of a democratic Pakistan that respects the rights of all its citizens regardless of their creed, sect, ethnicity and financial status, if it ever materialises, will only become sustainable and productive if it has the groundswell of popular support behind it.
In this also lies a message for all those who stand for a democratic and inclusive Pakistan: standing for democracy cannot, should not, be conflated with supporting the US or be supported by the US. The support for and by the US is, either way, a pact that accrues them little political capital, leaves their image sullied as Uncle Sam’s henchmen and cuts absolutely no ice with fellow countrymen. In worst case scenarios, it haunts both sides as Haqqani’s White House powwow must be haunting him and the Americans these days.
It is pointless for you to go on about how the USA does not measure up to your idea of trustworthy people. The only thing that is important to know is that All US presidents and their officials work for their own country. Why is it that the Pakistanis are always rushing to them with a begging bowl? Why don’t they stop and look for the interests of Pakistan? For the Americans, democracy , freedom and human rights are important. They can not change the likes of our so-called leaders, who are military dictators, vaderas, and the landowners who are largely immoral ,ill-educated and have no liking for their poor country-men. How come you lost half of your country? Is it USA’s doing?
It happened because the arrogant ZAB could only stay in power with country separated from the other half. “tum othar aur hum ither” . What a despicable attitude !
It is always educational to look in the mirror.
The USA are not angels, but they help where possible. If we have worthless military leaders and ignorant /arrogant leaders who do not care about their own compatriot it is not USA’s fault but our own. There is only one solution. Stop begging and refuse any help from USA. But think where are the air-conditioned cars for your generals going to come from?
A very good response. I can’t find an example in history, which did not bothered to take account for the loss of half of its country like Pakistan. A nation who honors its destroyers and turned them into heroes simply because they have created fictitious slogans. Looking at the 60+ year’s history of Pakistan, it could be reasonably said, Pakistan is not a nation but an illiterate, and ignorant crowed, artificially assembled, managed by suzerains, a collection of slaves, living in dreams. For centuries its people being brain washed by self-centered, Hippocrates, narrow minded, crafty and bigoted extremists mullahs. This evil crowd (our so called politicians) managed very profitably the murder of millions of humans (life sacrifices by millions in 1947 towards the creation of Pakistan and then refusal of Pakistan to accept those unfortunate stranded Pakistani’s in Bangladesh). The probability that pigs will fly has a better chance than Pakistan can recover from its illnesses. I feel extremely depressed and ashamed for being a Pakistani and wish my father and forefathers Sir Abdullah Khan and Sir Hassan Ali Khan could have stayed away from this dreamed Pakistan. Corrupt nations always blame others for their failures. Pakistan cheap politicians can use USA as a punching bag for personal gains, will it bring any benefit for the masses, I wonder. For God sake think, Pakistan does not need any enemy; it has countless number of Jaffar and Sadiq. At the end I will say God save Pakistan.
I appreciate both of the responses provided to the writer of the article. It shows the weak psyche of Pakistani mentality – a nation, which has not learned from its past follies and blunders. Blaming USA for manipulating Pakistani leadership is a useless point to be talked about. Actually, our leaders are used to slavish attitude and they are the worst plunderers of the wealth of this country on one hand and tormenting the poor masses on the other. we have total system failure in all sectors of life. We need to kick off the corrupt politicians that we have got among us who have been befooling the Pakistan crowd since the creation of this country. We need a complete a system overhaul from education to politics otherwise we will not survive as a nation in the long run. God save Pakistan and Pakistan people. Amen
one who is stung twice by same whole is not a true muslim. in our case, we are the the most unfortunatelly we meet neither criteria of disciplaned nation nor we have enough courage to set our own nation interest. we always blame others for our misfortunes and misiries but if we exmine our history, we find we were never true to our nation. we are a failed nation by any defination.
I have revisted all of the our so called ideolgies and beliefs. I have come to conclusion that partition of our subcontinent was a greatest tragedy for us. It uprooted us from our land ,culture and traditions. In result neither we could become Pakistanies nor could we remain punjabi, sindhi , pathan so on and so forth. It robbes us off our culture, language, and roots.
What is this two nation theory, it does not stand to any logic if really as a muslim you are a different nation from Hindus then why did you leave a bigger chunk of muslim population in India. What kind of partition we were acceded to inwhich we lost our Ksahmir , hyderabad, Junagarah and moreover the most vital resources of all our rivers.
Jinnah who said on one occassion, that, “we want to have a Pakistan where all basic human rights can be guaranteed. we can get rid of the supression of colonial and caste system of majority hindu nation.” But unfortunately we failed both of these goals.
Jinnah who himself was a secular portrayed as a fanatic who wanted a secular state and in his very first speech he showed his political idealogy by saying that ” you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques whatever religon you proclaim it is your private matter and state has nothing to do with your religon But on the contrary we even declared our muslim brothers kafir. Jinnah who himself was a liberal secular and democrate his legacy was occupied by corrupt generals, politicians and fanatic mullahs .
Pakistan which was created to liberate us from the british and hindus but once again we became slaves of army, civil and military bureacracy, corrupt politicians.We lost our identity, our culture , reliogon everything. We were the inheriters of the whole Hindustan, Tajmahal, mughal art, culture, music, dance , architecture, sufi traditions. At the end of the day we were deprived of all of our legacy which was built by the hardwork of centuries of our forefathers and we were given a very small piece of land who was divided into two parts and both parts were 1000 miles apart. Was this for which we struggled. This partiotion divided our punjab,our Kashmir, our Bengal so on and soforth. It turned heroes into traitors and traitors into heroes. Our Leaders Mulana Abual Kalam Azad, Ghaffar Khan, Mulana Hussain Ahmad Madni Ata ullah sha Bukhari , Allama Musaraqi became traitors who laid down their lives languished into jails and the toadies of British beacame our leaders.In short I would say partition was an experiment which failed very badly.Had we been united in one India We could have been a great power. Even You can see now the progress of India and its world stature compared with this we are no where. The great leader of India was Gandhi gee whose struggle compelled British to leberate us and unfortunately we were taught that he was against muslims one who gave his life for us , is belived to be our enemy. The only way out for this unfortunate nation is the democracy and secularism otherwise there will be no Pakistan in next 20 to 30 years.The only leader who tried to build up this nation was Z A bhutto and to some extent Nawaz Sharif but both of them had to pay the price for that and those who split our country they were buried with full military honour in the flag of our country. I am totally disheartend and disappointed with the future of Pakistan. There is no light, no ray of hope in this utter darkness.