http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/221102/editor/opi3.htm.
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                               Opinion Pages

   History repeats itself?

   Mansoor Akbar Kundi
   Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf has been sworn in as the civilian President for
   another five years. His words, deeds and ambitions are identical to
   those of his three predecessors who in their capacity as the chief of
   the Army Staff seized power by displacing a civilian government
   through a coup as the Chief Martial Law Administrators, legitimizing
   his role as a President through a Hobson's Choice referendum, and
   finally as the elected Presidents of a Republic.
   The first speech Ayub Khan made to the nation on radio on October 8,
   1958 said that the army had taken over to avert further political
   chaos and national disintegration, "A word for the disruptions,
   political opportunists, smugglers, black marketeers, and other such
   social vermin, sharks, and leeches. The soldiers and the people are
   sick of the sight of you. So it will be good for yourself to turn a
   new leaf and begin to behave, otherwise redistribution will not be
   swift and sure". He said in public that his authority was a
   revolution. The Presidential Order 1960 on the basis of which
   elections were held, gave the members a Hobson's choice "Have you
   Confidence in the President Field Marshall Mohammad Ayub Khan
   Hilal-i-Jurat". He sought his election through a referendum based on
   an electoral college consisting of 80,000 members of the Basic
   Democracy system as the as the first elected President of Pakistan.
   Out of the total Basic Democrats, 75283 (96.6%) confirmed his
   Presidency with additional powers of framing a new constitution to the
   people.
   The 33 month rule of General Yahya Khan as the Chief Martial Law
   Administrator was the ultimate result of the pattern of governance
   under Ayub Khan. He sought the Presidency and targetted the
   Constitution but the fact remains that he adhered to his roots of
   praetorianism where he resigned from the Presidency. On 25 March 1969,
   he handed over power to Yahya Khan, his Military Chief rather than his
   constitutional successor, the Speaker, the East Pakistani, Jabbar
   Khan. Out of many challenges Yahya Khan inherited from the long rule
   of Ayub Khan the leading one was the holding of elections which he
   held under the Legal Framework (LFW) in 1970. Yahya tried to play the
   role of a guardian but the die had been cast for the disintegration of
   Pakistan.
   General Zia-ul-Haq, soon after the July 1977 coup, pre-planned in the
   the General Headquarters (GHQ) under the code-name "Operation Fair
   Play" made his first speech gave the impression that the army acted as
   a "guardian" and justified the takeover as a "displacement coup",
   promising to restore democracy in less than 100 days.
   In his speech, telecast on the evening of July 5, 1977, President Zia
   ul Haq said, "My sole aim is to organize free and fair elections which
   will be held in October. Soon after the polls power will be
   transferred to the elected representatives - a solemn assurance that I
   will not deviate from the schedule". During the speech he added, "if
   there is another martial law there will be no Pakistan." The coup he
   launched soon led to a seven-year praetorian ruler type role. He
   assumed the office of President in September 1978. In December 1984,
   President Zia ul Haq announced the holding of national referendum on
   December 19, 1984 to seek approval of his policy of "Islamization"
   with a positive vote also being taken as a mandate for him to retain
   the Presidency for a further five years.
   The 12 October 1999 takeover by General Musharraf took over power
   despite the fact that a civilian government was functioning. Unlike
   the previous two coups there was little political chaos and
   instability at the time of the coup. Initially attributed to the plane
   hijacking which posed a personal threat to General Musharraf's life,
   the General justified his action. In his first address to the nation
   by "The armed forces have moved in as a last resort, to prevent any
   further destabilization. I have done so with all sincerity, loyalty,
   and selfless devotion to the country. . This is not martial law, only
   another path towards democracy." He added that "The armed forces have
   no intention to stay in charge any longer than is absolutely necessary
   to pave the way for true democracy to flourish in Pakistan." To him,
   Pakistan was under a sham democracy which he was not going to allow.
   The challenge to the military take over in the Supreme Court led to a
   unanimous decision by endorsing the legitimacy of the October military
   coup on the basis of the "doctrine of state necessity". The court
   ruled out that no matter the action was "extra-constitutional" it was
   justified by the situation which had prevailed within the country,
   notably conditions of lawlessness and the prevalence of political
   corruption. The decision confirmed that the Chief Executive held a
   constitutional post with the powers to amend the constitution (to
   bring the Legal Framework Order (LFO) , but not the fundamental
   principles that can change the spirit of the constitution such as
   federalism, independence of judiciary and parliamentary nature. The
   court made it incumbent upon the government to hold elections before
   12 October 2002 for the restoration of democracy.1
   Soon after the decision, the President under the LFO or Provisional
   Constitutional Order, asked the judges of the Supreme Court of
   Pakistan and relevant High Courts to retake the oath - an essential
   strategy for affirming the loyalty of the higher judiciary. On 26
   January 2000 the Chief Justice Saeed Zaman Siddique and five other
   judges of the 13-member Supreme Court bench who refused to do so were
   dismissed. Saeed Zaman was replaced by Ershad Hassan Khan as the Chief
   Justice.
   The electoral rule in Pakistan having been dormant for 37 months has
   finally been restored under the 1973 Constitution with a LFO entailing
   changes in 29 sections - all designed to strengthen the role of
   President Musharraf as a military backed civilian President. His
   becoming of a President is as I said earlier, a repetition of the
   past.
   The writer is Professor of Political Science at Balochistan
   University, Quetta (dera1955@yahoo.com)