APPEAL TO CIVIL SOCIETY

Appeal to the Civil Society Organizations’ Leadership - AZADI
by Yousuf Nazar
The following email circulated by the emergency mailing lists deserves the attention of all those Pakistanis who want the restoration of 1973 constitution, reinstatement of the judges, and truly free elections.

Civil society agenda & action plan:


An Appeal to HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir, Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, lawyers & journalists associations & other civil society organizations and leadership

It is true that an overwhelming majority of the civil society wants an end to the military rule and military intervention in civilian affairs. It wants the military to perform its lawful duties and not to indulge in politics. It wants an independent judiciary and stands for the reinstatement of all the judges deposed under the November 3 PCO. It also wants a free press, rule of law, respect for human rights and an unfettered democracy. It is also true that heroic stand taken by the majority of the higher judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, a remarkable movement by the lawyers, a just struggle by the media men and women and the increasing awareness and activism among the masses have greatly strengthened the civil society. It is finally finding its feet and wants to be reckoned with but it still has a long way to go before it can play its due role. In the present fateful situation a heavy responsibility lies on the shoulders of the civil society leadership, especially when the military dictator has donned civvies (wolf in sheep’s skin) and is playing a farce in the name of elections. Soon we may have a civilian government working under the military dictator and they may try to derail the lawyers and journalists’ movement. To defeat the dictator’s schemes and to fulfill aspirations of all sections of the society including the common men and women, there is a great need for the civil society to come together, take a joint stand and launch a well-organized and coordinated movement. It is the duty of each and every citizen to participate in such a struggle. I am writing this as an ordinary citizen to call upon the leaders of the civil society in Pakistan to help bring the civil society leadership on one platform. I request them to host a conference of the forward looking and progressive pro democracy elements to:

1. Discuss and possibly set a brief agenda for the civil society. 2. Prepare an action plan for a struggle to end military intervention in civilian affairs, establish democracy, rule of law and independence of judiciary (including the restoration of pre-November 3 judiciary) and media, reach a just contract between the federating units and ensure the supremacy of the will of the people and the parliament.

Why?

1. It is the most catastrophic and the saddest tragedy that Pakistan was hijacked at the time of its birth by the people and the forces that imposed centralism, denied the core principles outlined in the 1940 Pakistan Resolution, rejected the inherent rights of the minorities in a state and paved the way for a few in the elite to control the destiny of the country. These forces were soon joined by the military establishment that eventually took over the whole apparatus and started dictating every one else. 2. The country has been under continued military domination for at least half a century now, at times under direct military rule and at other times under military dominated rule. It is interesting to see that the country has suffered the most when it had been under the direct military rule. It explains the capability and the competency of the military establishment. 3. The long military domination of the society has established the principle of might is right; it has polluted the minds of the people specially our youth, hastened the degeneration and retardation of the society, nurtured insanity and corruption, created a class of opportunists and collaborators and bolstered the feudalism in the country. 4. The uninterrupted 13-year military rule under Ayub and Yahya ended in the dismemberment of the country while the next military ruler Zia mutilated, disfigured and dismantled all the civilian institutions, nurtured extremism, sectarianism, terrorism, racism, use of force and left behind such deep scars that may never heal. 5. The present military ruler is no different from his predecessors and seems to be pushing the country and the people over the cliff and finishing off the job left behind by the earlier dictators.

His actions against judiciary, lawyers, media and other civil society activists are the most condemnable. Today the country is burning and an overwhelming majority of the people is outraged at his actions. What to do? It is the time that the civil society takes a stand and saves the people and the country from an imminent catastrophe. It is the duty of all the civilians to speak up and act. The things can’t be left to just the politicians and the political parties because: 1. The political parties have been severely weakened by the years of military domination of the society, which has subverted the political and civilian institutions. 2. It is simply beyond the much-hampered capabilities of any single political party or even an alliance of several parties to take on the might of the military establishment that it has acquired after the continuous domination of all spheres of political and economic activities in the country. 3. There is a gulf of mistrust among the politicians and between the masses and the politicians. The politicians lack credibility and stand divided and can not agree to a joint stand on their own.

In such a situation, it will help if a conference is called by independent civil society leadership. It may succeed in bringing all the pro democracy leadership together and agree to a joint action plan. Such a conference should help and compliment the political parties and not compete with them and shouldn’t seek in any way to form a new or even an umbrella organization. It should strengthen the political parties and all other civilian institutions and organs. We must understand that the fight is very important and at a very crucial stage. It is not the sole responsibility of the political parties to take up the fight. All the civilians, civil society organizations and institutions have to chip in and have to strengthen the political parties and other civilian institutions. When? Such a conference should be held as soon as possible. I hope the civil society leadership would take an immediate action on this appeal.

Best regards, Aziz Narejo

P.S. A request for readers: If you agree with the contents of this appeal and you think that the civil society leadership must act, please send your thoughts to Asma Jehangir, Wajihuddin Ahmed, lawyers and journalists associations and other civil society organizations and leadership.




Yousuf Nazar wrote in response:


AZADI

I agree with the basic thrust Mr. Narejo’s email. We need a coordinated effort. We need a grand coalition to struggle for the restoration of the constitution and reinstatement of the judges, and a mechanism to hold truly free elections. . If we want to get rid of military dictatorship, we have to raise our voice against the Generals and their masters in Washington. Pakistan is the seventh largest country in the world by population. It is not a Middle East kingdom. This movement is the War for the freedom of Pakistani people. We can not leave it to the political parties alone, who have their own agenda and constraints. We cannot afford any more compromises. This freedom will not come from appealing to the politicians, generals or their masters in Washington. We need an all Pakistan convention of all those groups and individuals who believe in a minimum program of the restoration of 1973 constitution and the reinstatement of the judges.



I propose that such a broad-based coalition be called AZADI and Pakistani flags and white flags should be carried by its supporters wherever they go. We must fight the big battle first. I would appeal to all , Justice Wajihuddin, Asma Jahangir, Aitzaz Ahsan, Imran Khan, Qazi Husain Ahmed, Mr. Achakzai, and others to consider forming a coalition on the pattern of Solidarity movement in Poland because sans such a combined and coordinated effort, we risk dividing our energies and power. This is what the Generals and their American patrons want. We must Unite.

Yousuf Nazar